dealer profile

Building a Brand that Keeps Customers Coming Back

By Heather Wilson

If you know , you know . The location of Great Western Outdoor means it needs digital marketing to raise visibility ; it ’ s not enjoying much incidental drive-by traffic .

Charles Bridges and his grandsons were powersports industry veterans when they decided to cut a path into the power equipment industry in 2021 . Since the ’ 70s , Bridges has operated a dealership . He now owns and operates Great Western Motorcycles in Statesville , North Carolina , and Great Western of Hickory in Hickory , North Carolina . Both are focused on powersports vehicles and service .

He and his two grandsons , Brandon and Jeremy Prokupek , opened the doors of a power-equipment dealership called Great Western Outdoor in January 2021 after purchasing an existing power equipment dealership in Marion , North Carolina ( formerly Specialty Outdoor since 2008 ). General Manager Andrew Norman joined the team in early 2021 .

“ When I was growing up , my dad worked for the Bridges family at their motorcycle shop ,” Norman said . “ When I was in high school and just after graduating , I worked at the motorcycle shop in Hickory . Then , I went to work at a plant . I was miserable . They posted this GM job , and I applied .”

At the beginning , Great Western Outdoor had a small showroom and the service area needed to be cleared out , said Norman . From there , the dealership expanded by building a 3,000-square-feet building on the same property .

Norman manages the day-to-day operations , which includes sales and service of Stihl , Briggs & Stratton , Cub Cadet , Simplicity , Hustler Turf Equipment , Ferris , and Bad Boy mowers , tractors and side-by-sides .

Even with a range of brands to meet customers ’ equipment needs and budgets , inventory of particular items continues to be a challenge . Briggs & Stratton is still struggling to meet whole good inventory needs , as Norman said they have only received about onethird of what they ordered in whole goods from the manufacturer .

Despite product shortages ongoing since the pandemic , Norman said they have good working relationships with manufacturer sales representatives . “ We ’ ve got pretty good reps ,” Norman said . “ Several come into the dealership often and are always helpful when we do have questions . They make suggestions and inform us on changes to models , but our goal is to buy what we can sell .”

Visibility Today While Norman primarily handles operations , he tries to make a daily post on the dealership ’ s Facebook page to help out with marketing . Prokupek is focused on working on the business . Also the owner of a marketing company , he leverages his expertise with search engine optimization ( SEO ) to attract customers to Great Western Outdoor .

Prokupek noted that almost all shopping starts online , so it ’ s critical that Great Western Outdoor has a good online presence that features fresh photos of the showroom and invites the consumer to engage .

“ The more you ’ re visible , and the more the consumer sees you , the more likely they are to remember your name , go to your store or visit your website when that time comes ,” Prokupek said . “ With digital platforms , you can target specific customers looking for the products we sell .”

They need to do all they can to increase visibility because Great Western is not exactly in a heavily traveled area . Located about 15 miles south of Interstate 40 in the quiet green hills east of Asheville , N . C ., the dealership holds a

22 OPE Business September 2023 www . OPEBusiness . com