Giving thanks…

Silent gratitude isn’t much use to anyone — G. B. Stern

Well here we are, November. We’ve been waiting patiently (most of us) for eleven months for you to show up. And now that you’re here, I’ve got a few things I’d like to discuss with you. Let’s start with this giving thanks thing that, as a month, you’re pretty well known for. Not trying to steal your spotlight, November, I’ve had some thoughts on the giving of thanks that I’d like to share if you don’t mind. This might seem a little self-indulgent, but hear me out.

For you who read this blog regularly (thanks for doing so!) I’m always preaching to you about thanking the customers who walk through your dealership doors and the importance of doing so. Customers are the lifeblood of any business and without them businesses do not exist. Pretty simple concept.

Here’s another simple concept to think about. Customers who are engaged and feel a sense of pride in who they do business with, who wouldn’t think of going anywhere else, who tell others how great their experience always is — these customers do something else as well. They spend almost double the amount per retail experience over casual customers. They will spend more for an item, give you more of the spendable dollars in their wallets, and bring you more customers because of how they feel about you.

Giving thanks, sincere thanks, can sure go a long way in how customers feel about you, your business and in turning them into folks that take pride in doing business with you. Where is the giving of thanks on the calendar in your dealership? Is it marked by holidays, or by days? Is thanking your customers something that is done the third Thursday of every month, or every day of the month?

I’d like to give thanks to all the folks at Powersports Business magazine. The staff and publication is second to none, and I don’t think any of us thank them enough for what they do. Hey November, we can’t forget about thanking all the dealers and the OEM’s. They drive the greatest industry on the planet and bring more smiles and grins to folks than will ever be counted. All the accessory and aftermarket folks, thanks for all the cool stuff and what you do. Can’t forget about all the folks that work in the dealerships, work in the factories, our customers and everybody else that just enjoys what we do and why we do it. Thanks!

It can be easy to forget what a simple thank you can do, and it can be just as easy to forget what not giving thanks can do as well. We all want to feel appreciated. Showing folks you care starts by giving thanks, and being thankful that you can.

Have a great Thanksgiving, everybody … MM

Mark Mooney is the principal of Mark Mooney Powersports Consulting, a Santa Cruz, California, company that works with OEMs and powersports dealers to strengthen dealership performance. Mark is a nationally known speaker and teacher that works with dealers throughout the United States. Mark Mooney Powersports Consulting is “empowering performance and strengthening profitability through practical solutions.”

Email: mooneypowersportsconsulting@gmail.com

Website: www.markmooneypowersportsconsulting.com