OPE+ December 2023 | Page 22

Minnesota OPE dealer Century Power Equipment lets its website start a wide range of conversations with customers . If your website says " call for info ," is someone ready to answer calls ?

with a particular part from that manufacturer , that all becomes digital exhaust . And then when a new work order is created , parts recommendations will happen .” A rough equivalent is the recommendation you might get from Amazon when you shop .

While Flyntlok is making this possible , not every wholegoods manufacturer has an ordering system that makes this possible . McLaughlin says that Stihl , John Deere , and Kubota are among the OEMs that have digitally connected ordering systems .

Such systems , when integrated with a well-designed DMS , can help OPE dealers improve the value of every interaction they have with a customer . “ The most fun we have ,” said McLaughlin , “ is trying to predict what the customers actually want , and machine learning helps us do this .” He says they are always looking for ways to digitize information and use machine learning to improve customer service . When the digital transformations happen , salespeople can be trained less and solve problems faster to improve customer interactions throughout your dealership .

“ You know you ’ re succeeding if the phone rings less ,” said McLaughlin . “ This is happening in many other industries . When you get your car serviced , the communication is automated so you have no questions or problems . You can even pay by text .”

Service Profitability Transformed Technology is transforming service shops so dealers stay efficient and profitable , without relying on service staff to recall every piece of information . “ Automated pricing is a big one ,” said Tim Berman . “ Use

We can get there with machine learning . We ’ re already doing this in service , using data and coding with AI too . When we get digitization right , this will benefit all our customers .

SEAN McLAUGHLIN CEO , FLYNTLOK

your DMS to automatically charge more for parts in service use as opposed to retail sales , this can be automated . It ’ s generally not happening . Some dealers want to , but they don ’ t know how to .”

Let your systems automate different functions of the service and billing process . “ Dealers can automate things like recycling fees , battery excise taxes , shop supplies , and more ,” said Berman . “ Pricing for parts margins by dealer ’ s cost can all be setup in the system . Set up low-price items to have higher margins , then margins drop as retail price rises . Automate this or you ’ re going to forget one or two and you ’ ll be losing money . This saves you time on training new staff and creating process checklists . Get this work off the whiteboard and the clipboard and into your DMS . Pricing doesn ’ t sound super sexy , but this is a set-it-forget-it way to make more money . You don ’ t have to hire someone else to do this .”

McLaughlin is using technology to improve service performance too . “ Many older and experienced service techs are savants who can diagnose and fix anything , but we have fewer of them today ,” he said . “ We can get there with machine learning . We ’ re already doing this in service , using data and coding with AI too . When we get digitization right , this will benefit all our customers .”

Marketing Transformed “ It all starts with a good website ,” said Paul Berkholtz , senior territory manager for LeadVenture , “ but some dealers still use just Facebook as their digital presence . Meanwhile , their customers and potential customers are looking online and shopping online , and these dealers need to be more visible .”

“ Many power-equipment dealers have the common enemy of the big-box stores ,” said Tony Zane , sales manager for LeadVenture , “ that all have a very active digital presence . And it ’ s mobile . That ’ s why a lot of initial sales go to the big-box stores .

“ A lot of dealers have created great customer re-

22 OPE Business December 2023 www . OPEBusiness . com