Motorcycle Dealership Marketing Strategies
Which Brand Matters Most?
Dealers pretty much rely on their manufacturers’ brands to draw customers. The problem is that lots of dealers sell the same brands, especially in urban areas, where there can be five shops selling the same bikes within a 40-mile radius.
Be a Service Hero
Your service department is another way to express your shop’s unique brand. If you’ve got a great service manager and strong mechanics, don’t overlook the little things that can improve customer loyalty and sales. Here are some ideas:
Draw New Customers with Unique Expertise and Products
Be different! The parts, accessories and apparel you stock can give you a unique position in your market. For example…
How Do You Promote Your Brand?
It should be obvious, but the only way to build your shop’s brand is to communicate it to your community, customers, and prospects. If you’ve been reading the other posts on this page, you know that your brand isn’t something that can easily be promoted with signage or in-store displays alone, because you need to convey more detailed and useful information. You’ll need to use online media to get your messages across. In the next few blogs, we’ll look at some online media channels, and how best to leverage them. First things first....
Are You Emailing?
Your customer email list is a rich resource for directly promoting your brand. Each email you send should offer timely, relevant and useful information about a specific topic related to buying, parts and accessories, service, trade-ins, local rides, or others likely to entice customers to read beyond the subject line. Here are some tips...
It may not occur often to dealers, but beyond your bikes, parts, service and accessories, you’re also in the business of promoting riding. Consumers have plenty of options for recreation and transportation, so why should they choose motorcycling, and what can you do to encourage that choice?
Are You Encouraging New Riders?
Marketing With Blogs
Blogs are another way to increase your online visibility and promote your shop. If you saw my previous blog on emailing, you can use many of the same tactics to create blogs. You can cover the same kinds of topics, but you can also include other things like ride reports, product reviews, commentary (on trends in racing, commuting, adventure riding, or touring), and even bios of yourself and some of your key teammates.
Marketing With Newsletters
If you’ve been reading through these blogs on the website, I imagine that by now, you may be thinking, “Yikes! MORE content?” Yup. More content. Content is KING when it comes to promoting your brand online, and more is nearly always better. Here are some ideas for topics…