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Delivering a high-quality holiday shopping experience for your customers

Thanksgiving is here, which means the holiday season is officially in full swing. Is your dealership ready for holiday shoppers? Spring and summer may be considered the “busy season” for powersports sales, but consumers are more likely to make a big-ticket purchase during the holidays than at any other time of the year. In addition, you will likely see customers who wouldn’t normally come to your dealership shopping for a loved one. Even if this person had no prior interest in powersports, the visit may pique their interest and encourage them to come back in the future. The experience you provide for customers both old and new is not to be taken for granted. Here are three suggestions for making that experience a great one:

  1. Start with your staff
  • Are your employees ready to deliver exceptional service to holiday customers? This should be the goal every day, of course, but this time of year presents an opportunity to refresh your team. Consider holding a pre-holiday training session to remind your staff of the policies in place and your expectations for their performance. Make changes or adjustments to the sales process as needed for holiday sales.
  • Use caution when hiring extra holiday staff. Those teenagers and college students on winter break can be a huge help, but even during this short amount of time it’s important that you’re investing in the right people. You want to hire employees who fit the culture of your dealership and who show the characteristics and principles that your business values. Especially during this season, hiring good people is more important than hiring people with tons of experience.
  1. Lead by example
  • Go the extra mile this holiday season. This is a busy time for everyone, but if your employees see you cutting corners, they’re likely to do the same. Put your best foot forward – work that extra hour to help a shopper find exactly what he’s looking for, prep paperwork ahead of time to cut down the length purchase process for your customer, tidy up the showroom instead of visiting with your co-workers when you have downtime. When your employees see this kind of behavior coming from you, they are more likely to mimic it themselves.
  1. Remember the reason for the season
  • Find ways to give back during the holidays – and provide ways to help your customers do the same. In addition to things like toy donation boxes and canned food drives that are easy to do in-house, consider holding a seasonal event with proceeds going to a local charity, or sponsoring a family in need this holiday season. Volunteering for a local shelter or non-profit would also be a great team-building activity. Getting involved and donating your time and/or money is a great way to celebrate the true meaning of the holidays, and your customers will appreciate you for it too.

Enjoy the next month, and don’t forget to spend the extra time off with those you love. We’ll be back next month with our usual marketing-focused advice to help your new year kick off to a great start. Happy holidays, Powersports Business readers!

Lauren Labunsky is the public relations manager at Dealer Spike, a leading web services provider for powersports dealerships. The award-winning digital advertising company is focused on helping dealers increase sales through powerful, distinctive website design and a full suite of online marketing tools to drive results. Dealer Spike’s expertise comes from real-world dealership experience and a team of professionals who also ride. When you work with Dealer Spike, you’re working with digital marketing experts who have a passion for your industry.

Website: www.DealerSpike.com

Phone: 800/288-5917

Email: Press@DealerSpike.com

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