The digital edition of June 20, 2020 Powersports Business is now posted and ready to read at your leisure. As always, it features insight and intelligence that you simply won’t ...

I was pleased this morning when I Googled “Black Friday motorcycle dealer” and found pages upon pages of search data that showed a lot of powersports dealers had their hats in the ring as the first big holiday shopping weekend kicked off.

Powersports Business and its bloggers remind you each year that your dealership should be participating in holiday sales, Black Friday and other significant retail days and events. We’ll keep reminding you of that year after year – and provide you unique tips for capitalizing on these days – because showcasing your dealership’s goods while other retailers are promoting theirs is highly important. But one we haven’t yet touched on is Small Business Saturday.

Recently, while preparing for an upcoming side-by-side ride, I was on the hunt for off-road gear. As a novice, I needed nearly everything: a helmet, goggles, a jersey, pants and gloves. I began my hunt on the Internet, just like most customers do these days, but what I found was quite disappointing.

Now that I’m back in the office and a week removed from Profit Xcelerator, I have been reflecting on the event, and I’ve found my thoughts about its success are all positive.

Events have always been a form of marketing for most dealerships, but they’ve become more prevalent in the past few years as dealers are reaching out to invite more customers into their stores to encourage more spending.

What is it that customers like about department stores like Wal-Mart and Target? What drives consumers there week after week? The most obvious reason is department stores are a one-stop shop.

Close your eyes for a minute and imagine how great it would be if you could increase profits in every department of your dealership. How could that help you?

As a new vehicle segment enters the market, a new customer is following. Electric vehicles, including motorcycles, side-by-sides and city cars, are growing in popularity and are beginning to be sold more frequently at powersports dealerships.

I was utterly shocked when I recently received an automated email response from a dealer’s information email address that said because of the high volume of emails that are sent to that account, I may not get a response for up to 72 hours.