DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION lationships and have built a business they believe is based on word-of-mouth marketing ,” said Coulam . “ But WOM is as much online , maybe more so today . We pick up our cell phones whenever we have questions , and we look at reviews from pizza to power equipment . And if dealers doubt this , we ask how many people walked into their store . Then we can show dealers how many people looked at their website . We have analytics right on a website dashboard .”
DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION lationships and have built a business they believe is based on word-of-mouth marketing ,” said Coulam . “ But WOM is as much online , maybe more so today . We pick up our cell phones whenever we have questions , and we look at reviews from pizza to power equipment . And if dealers doubt this , we ask how many people walked into their store . Then we can show dealers how many people looked at their website . We have analytics right on a website dashboard .”
A website builder like LeadVenture has a range of pricing packages . “ We tailor it to the dealer ’ s goals ,” said Zane . “ If they want to do more ecommerce , more marketing , or if they just want to start with the basics .” The key , he says , is to start with a software company that has connections to industry manufacturers and suppliers . Software looks like Squarespace and Wix can make website building a DIY opportunity . But those sites will not have the connectedness of a site built by a company with industry connections .
“ From a marketing perspective , the opportunities are the same across many industries ,” said Brett Morris , owner of Dealers Digital , “ and it ’ s about data .” Morris has developed websites and digital strategies for a range of OPE dealers . His main digital strategy for dealers aligns with McLaughlin ’ s “ digital exhaust ” reference . “ It ’ s about how dealers collect and use data about customers and their shopping habits ,” said Morris .
Transformed Customer Communication Dealers need to make it a priority to get customer contact info , especially email addresses . “ Capture email addresses at point of sale ,” said Morris . “ Asking for an email address to register a warranty makes it part of the sales process ,” he said , “ without scaring the customer into thinking they will get a bunch of marketing messages .”
Send those customers messages that are helpful to them first , messages that add value to the products they purchased at your store . “ It needs to be topical and relevant ,” said Morris , “ ZTR maintenance specials should not go to the person who bought a subcompact tractor .”
Look for a solution that works with a CRM ( customer relationship manager ), Morris and Dealers Digital have one . “ Segment your customer lists ,” he said , “ that ’ s important , and I like email for that .”
Dealers need to take control of their own data . “ With margins seemingly shrinking on wholegoods
More than half of all ecommerce sales happen on a mobile device . Stihl is helping dealers take advantage of that digital opportunity .
sales ,” said Morris , “ wouldn ’ t it be easier to reach out to the customers and market to the people who have already purchased a mower , to sell them parts , service , warranty , etc . Dealers need to be mining that data . Who bought when ? What are the service and purchase cycles ? Ultimately , it ’ s up to the dealer .”
You should automate much of this communication , according to Ideal ’ s Tim Berman . Especially for service . “ About 30 percent of our dealers are doing two-way text communication , and many are automating this for service .”
Ideal is rolling out an automated communication service that notifies a customer when service work is being done . “ No dealer can have someone on the phone calling all service customers to update them on work ,” he said .
This transformation can help on the sales side too . “ One of our dealers was growing fast and struggled to keep in touch with customers for satisfaction checks . This is possible ,” said Morris , “ a lot of software can survey customers . And you can automate Google reviews .” Morris said this dealer just wanted to see the feedback for internal uses . “ But he said it ’ s got to be automated because I don ’ t have time to make the calls .”
Technology is not a magic wand for all the work in their stores . Or as McLaughlin put it , “ Yes , dealers still need to do the daily $&* t , shower , shave , and then we can all do the cool technology work using all the digital exhaust .”
www . OPEBusiness . com December 2023 OPE Business 23