The Trials and Tribulations of Brand Loyalty

No one talks about the downside of brand loyalty. It’s the ultimate dream to sell a rider their first bike and then keep them in the family throughout the rest of their riding years - right? Everyone wants that loyal following of advocates who go out into the world, promote the brand, and help it to grow it organically. And we’re lucky in the motorcycle industry because riders are already brand loyal - they know what they want and are willing to wait or search for it.

But while having a loyal following is always the goal - operating in an industry where many of the buyers are already set on a brand can be a double-edged sword. If you can capture the buyers attention - then you may be able to keep them for life - but on the flip side, it can be difficult to coax them away from another manufacturer once they’ve joined their following.

So - do you want brand loyalty or not? For manufacturers - it’s obvious - they want to grow and keep loyal buyers. But for dealers - it’s a tough balance - particularly if you are a multi-line dealer. While you also want buyers who come to you and stay for their entire lifecycle - you may want to sway a buyer’s loyalty from one manufacturer to another because that’s the only way you can make them a customer at all.

It’s odd to think of brand loyalty as something that could be a negative - and it’s really not, particularly if you have it. If you don’t - or are trying to convince a buyer to change their tune - focus on understanding why they’re loyal - pinpoint what drives it - and then build trust with them in other ways. Maybe leverage your dealership and the service you can provide or the resources you offer - build brand loyalty for yourself, rather than the manufacturer, specifically. Or help them understand why the brands you sell are worthy of their loyalty - pointing out similarities and differences, carefully, between the brand you’re interested in selling them and the brand they’ve been loyal to.

Loyalty isn’t set in stone - thankfully - so it’s yours to encourage or take away. If you have it - for your dealership or a manufacturer you sell - nurture it. If you are looking to bring someone from one team to another - keep in mind buyers can be defensive when they are loyal to a brand - so make sure to tread lightly.

You Want $100 More - But Why Should You Get It?

So here’s the situation. You have a unit for sale, and the guy down the street has something similar. Your unit costs a little bit more - whether that’s $100 or $1000 - and you’re unwilling to lower the price. Could you, convincingly, tell a buyer why they should spend that extra money with you? Have you thought about what you would say if you were asked? If not, you should. It’s an important question and one that you need to have an answer for because the reality is, even though buyers are price-conscious - if you’re providing the right kind of customer experience, they might be willing to spend more to do business with you.

Okay, okay. I understand that this seems basic. Provide a good customer experience - no kidding. But you’d be amazed at how many dealerships aren’t. We’ve heard stories about poor experiences between dealers and potential buyers that you wouldn’t believe - and you can only imagine what the does for the actual buyer considering spending thousands of dollars.

So what should you be doing?

(1) Define your value story
I’m sure you have some idea of what your value story either is or should be - and you could clearly articulate it if you were asked. But your value story should be more than that. It should be firmed up, not something you quickly develop on the spot when asked. You need to take the time to really write it down, play with the verbiage, and define it - not only for your customers, but for your staff. This statement should be as ingrained in your business as your dealership’s name - and you should be sharing it early and often. Maybe put it on your website, social media, and sales materials - answering the question of why you’re worth more before the buyer has to ask.

(2) Regularly train and monitor your employees
A big part of ingraining your value story in your business is making sure that it’s something your employees buy into. You want them clear on the messaging and why it’s important that they share it consistently with customers. But here’s the thing, you don’t want the customer to be hearing different value stories depending on who they talk to - you want the message to be the same across the board, so it’s important to train your staff on how to have the value story conversation. They should feel proud to share this message - after all, it should be what helps them sell more bikes. But they are only going to understand exactly how important this message is if you put the time and effort into making it an important part of your business.

(3) But, prepare for all types of buyers
And here’s the flip side of consistent messaging - while you want the core of the message to be the same - you also want your employees to feel comfortable enough with your value story that they can easily tailor it to the various buyers you see on your lot every day. The motorcycle industry, in particular, has many different buyer personas within it - from new riders, to long-time cruisers, to motocross junkies - each group has their own priorities and it’s important to tailor that value message to each group’s needs, while staying true to who you are as a business. This also goes back to the training piece. You want to make sure your staff practices having this conversation with different buyer types - thinking through exactly how they will tweak your value story to meet the needs of a particular audience. But, in order to do that successfully, the need to be fully comfortable with the core message first.

(4) Provide excellent customer service from the get-go
Aside from your value story, the actual experience you provide the customer - from the time they initially contact you through to when they sign on the dotted line - is the most important thing you can do to differentiate yourself from the guy down the street. And, while it may not be something you struggle with at your dealership - you’d be surprised to find out how many dealerships do. We’ve heard calls where the sales representative comes across as annoyed in their initial phone calls with the customer - it sounds like the buyer is inconveniencing them by calling - which isn’t the experience any dealership would want. So, are you really taking time to listen to the sales calls your reps are having? How they respond to a lead? How quickly they get back to a prospect? These may seem like small things, but they make a big difference when it comes to winning buyer loyalty. Even if you think this is an area where your dealership excels, take some time to go back and be sure.

Here’s the thing - you probably already have a good idea of why your dealership is better than your competition. The real task at hand is making sure that you are communicating it to the buyer throughout their experience with your shop. It takes some work - training for your staff and careful monitoring - but it will be worth it because buyers will notice and choose to do business with you.

An Ode to Branding

Marketing teams are often viewed like the right side of this image.

Creative. Colorful. Qualitative.

Brands that truly know who they are - and can communicate it - harness these traits to connect with their audience in an emotional way, subconsciously instilling value and trust for their products. With so many options to choose from, brands - and the experience they provide - is what drives loyalty, growth, and advocation.

Before consumers had a multitude of choices, marketers could get by with distinguishing their product using facts -- our brand has 50% less sugar, helps you sell 75% more units, makes you 100% faster. But as consumers became more savvy, they realized numbers can be manipulated and their loyalty came at a higher cost. Now - they want brands that are not only superior, but also understand their perspective. 

Powerful brands - like Yeti - have done such a great job tapping into the experience of their consumer that people follow along with them solely because of the story they tell. They have a great product - but spend more time focusing on lifestyle and emotion-invoking imagery than they do truly pushing their product. And even if the majority of their 1.1 million Instagram followers haven’t purchased a cooler - they might - and either way, they provide invaluable organic marketing and brand awareness for Yeti.

So how do you get some of that for your dealership?
Thankfully, motorcycling is a passion-based industries. You don’t have to convince your followers - like toilet paper or detergent brands - to be excited about what you have to offer. They’re going to be passionate whether you’re involved or not. So their loyalty is yours for the taking. 

The more you get to know your consumers - the more likely you are to develop campaigns that resonate long beyond buying and selling -- keeping them coming back to you no matter where they are in the lifecycle or what their needs are.

Branding is certainly not only for big, national brands. Some of the most successful brands are small, local organizations that are rallying a geo-targeted audience for support. So all the same things you see these brands trying - you should consider too. 

Remember - buyers are looking for something to follow along with, so push yourself to use imagery beyond the literal - showing your buyers more than just what’s for sale. Include images of units being used, pictures without units at all - focusing more on the lifecycle - or giving consumers an inside peek at your dealership and all the goofiness and work that happens there. Give them something to connect with. Something that resonates with them and makes them want to follow along. Mimicry is the sincerest form of flattery - so encourage check out other companies - in your area and nationwide, in your industry and outside - to see what’s working for other businesses and then adapt that strategy for yourself.

Brands have staying power. It’s why they are so important. There will always be someone else who comes along that can do what you do - but it’s the brand, and the emotional connection you’re working to develop with your followers, that is designed to withstand the competition. The stronger you make your brand - the stronger you are.

Seasonality: How to Guard Yourself During the Winter Months

Seasonality is like a dirty word in our industry. The weather turns cold and riders across the country roll their bikes into the garage for the season. Not only are they not riding - they aren’t buying - which can put a strain on the bottom line of your dealership.

If we had a solution that could completely remove seasonality - we would definitely be your favorite people around. But since that magical power doesn’t exist yet - hopefully Elon Musk is working on it - we can at least provide you with some tips to help you get through the slower months of the year.

Don’t stop your advertising campaigns
We don’t have to tell you that buyers are passionate about riding - so they don’t stop thinking about it when the weather turns cold. They are shopping year round trying to decide what bike they want to be on come spring. And here’s the cold hard truth - if you stop advertising during the winter months, these buyers may have already decided on another dealership by the time you restart your campaigns - solely because they didn’t know your dealership existed since you weren’t present where they were searching.

Engage your current community
The off-season is a great time to build brand awareness within your current community. You know they won’t be distracted by nice weather or the promise of a great ride - so help fuel their passion for the industry and your dealership while you can capture their attention. Think about hosting a DIY workshop with one of your mechanics or have any first-time buyers come by the dealership for some riding advice. This is a really powerful community for you to engage because they chose to buy from you - instead of someone else - making them ideal candidates to be true brand advocates for your dealership. Spend the winter months showing them how much you appreciate their business and how you will continue to serve them post-purchase.

Plan for busier months
Once warmer months roll back around - your dealership will be busy and it gets harder and harder to continue with your engagement and marketing plans because you are focusing on sales. We get it - that’s what keeps your dealership afloat. Take advantage of the quieter season to build out as many plans as you can - so when the busy season rolls around, you can just “pop them open”, so to speak, and they’re ready to go.

Think about creating evergreen content that you can easily use when the time is right. You could write a number of generic unit descriptions for popular makes and models you carry so that they can be adjusted slightly for a specific piece of inventory - taking some of the work out of putting up listings during the busy season. Or work on developing a content repository for your social media efforts so you have some of your posts already scheduled.

You can also take this time to evaluate the pictures you’re using on your inventory. If most of your imagery is stock photography - take the time to update those with actual pictures of your units. Then as you receive new inventory in - you can photograph those on the fly. By doing this work ahead of time - it will alleviate some of the stress come high season - so you can focus on implementation and selling.

By viewing seasonality as a time to build and refine - you’ll see that these quiet months can actually be some of the most beneficial for your dealership. It’s your time to distinguish your dealership against the competition and get ready for the inevitably busy season to come. If you back off during the colder months - you’ll lose momentum - and that will put you behind the competitor who capitalized on seasonality come selling season. It’s hard to catch up once you’re behind. Don’t take the risk.

The Importance of Employee Appreciation

It’s crazy to think Thanksgiving is right around the corner and the holiday season will soon be in full swing. It’s a time when people count all the things they are thankful for -- and friends, family, and health usually top that list. But, have you ever thought of including your employees in that list as well? Your team is the life of your business - that’s why it’s crucial to make sure they feel valued and appreciated year-round. We’ll dive into why employee appreciation is so vital to a business and give you a few ideas on how to step up your gratitude game. 

So, why is employee appreciation so important?

Happy people make happy employees - it’s as simple as that. It might sound obvious, but when your team feels valued, morale and motivation tend to rise. According to a survey by Recruiter Box, the number one reason most Americans leave their jobs is they don’t feel appreciated. It’s a sad fact that can be avoided. The same survey stated that organizations with effective recognition programs have 31% lower voluntary turnover than organizations with ineffective programs. So, if you’re trying to keep your employees around it may be time to start an employee recognition program. We’ll give you a few ideas on how to show gratitude for your employee's hard work year-round. 

Public Praise - There’s nothing wrong with some good old-fashioned recognition by simply telling your employees they are doing a great job, but if you want to go the extra mile, try sending a company-wide email or giving a shout out to your employees on your dealership’s social media pages or on the homepage of your website. When you show off your team’s hard work it shows that you are proud of them and that you value them as employees.

Provide Fun Benefits - If your employees are going above and beyond and are exceeding their goals there’s no doubt they should be rewarded. Providing fun benefits to your team can boost morale and can provide motivation. Hosting a happy hour or team lunch, leaving them a small gift, or letting your employees leave early are just a few ideas on how to show your gratitude. Get creative with the benefits you provide, after all, you know your employees best.

Get Your Team Involved - It’s always nice to hear praises from the boss, but it’s also a great idea to get your team involved in your appreciation program. Ask employees to nominate their peers for employee of the month or start a kudos board in your break room where your team can praise each other's efforts.

Make Small Dealership Updates - If your dealership has the financial means, making a few small updates to your space can go a long way for employees. You could start small by buying an updated coffee maker or adding a variety of snacks, tea and coffee options for your employees. Creating a dedicated space for your employees to gather and relax shows your team that you care about their well being and enjoyment in the workplace.

These are just a few ideas to get the wheels turning on ways you can show your employees how much you care about and value them at work. Do you have an employee appreciation program at your dealership? Share your ideas in the comment section below.

Retargeting Explained

There’s a ton of technology out there focused on marketing to people who have already been in contact with your brand online. And if we’re being honest, the sheer amount of technology we have access to can be overwhelming at times. But we’re here to help. Do the terms remarketing or retargeting sound familiar? These strategies are becoming increasingly popular ways for brands to connect with consumers. So let's break down the difference between the two strategies, review exactly what retargeting is, and talk about how it’s being used to reach customers.

So, what is the difference between retargeting and remarketing?

Glad you asked. A lot of people get confused about retargeting and remarketing because the terms are often used interchangeably, but they are different. The biggest difference between retargeting and remarketing is the strategy that's used to reach potential customers who have left your website. Retargeting works to engage consumers who have left your website without making a purchase or completing a desired action, and typically relies on cookies to drop ads. Remarketing, on the other hand, usually relies on email - but can also encompass any marketing to a consumer known to your business. It’s a great option rather than blind advertising because the consumer has already shown some kind of interest in your dealership, heightening your chance of a conversion.

But, let’s dive into retargeting..

As we mentioned, retargeting is a form of online targeted advertising where the goal is to reach the large percent of people who might have interacted with your website but left without completing the desired call to action (making a purchase, completing a form, submitting a lead, etc.). According to Outbrain, the average conversion rate for first-time site visitors is just 2%, so retargeting was designed to help reach the other 98% by following website visitors through either online or placement ads after they have left your website. Have you ever visited a website and clicked on a product without purchasing? We all have. Have you seen that same product in ad space on a different website? That’s retargeting, and it’s all possible thanks to cookies - which is a small piece of data sent from a website that’s stored in the browser of the user which allows tracking of the websites they visit.

Check out the image below to see the flow of retargeting:

Image: Retargeter.com

Has retargeting seen positive results?

Retargeting has been a huge success for many businesses and is becoming an increasingly popular marketing strategy. In fact, according to a survey by Invespcro, retargeting customers are three times more likely to click on your ad than people who haven’t interacted with your business before. In the same survey, 26% of customers said they will return to a site through retargeting and these numbers are expected to grow as 50% of marketers say their retargeting budget will increase in the next six months.

Are you interesting in retargeting?

If so, you’re in luck. We’ve just released brand new retargeting offerings for our dealers, and many have already seen huge success. We are offering the following retargeting product offerings:

• Display Retargeting 
• Dynamic Retargeting - Unit Ad Listing 
• Dynamic Retargeting - Social Unit Ad Listing (Facebook & Instagram specific) 

If you haven’t talked to your Cycle Trader representative about integrating retargeting into your package, what are you waiting for? The best part of our retargeting product is that we do all the work for you. Call your Cycle Trader representative today at 888.747.1192 - they’d love to walk you through our various retargeting products to find which will best fit your needs.

Tips for Hiring the Right People

It’s no secret that hiring the right people can either make or break your business - especially in our customer service-focused industry. That’s why it’s so crucial to have a solid team in place at your dealership. Sounds simple, right? Well, that’s not always the case. Finding your next great employee isn’t always easy, but we’re here to help. We’ll give you 5 quick tips on hiring the right people so your business can continue to succeed and grow in new ways.

Be honest and clear about what the job entails - To find the right employee, you’ll want to start by writing a detailed job description to avoid wasting your time on unqualified candidates. Be sure to include all duties and responsibilities that will be expected of the position (even less glamorous aspects). This shows future employees what’s expected of them and will help them decide if the position is a good fit even before formally applying. It’s also a good idea to include “Other duties as assigned” just to make sure you leave some room for additional tasks not explicitly covered in the description.

Interview more than one person for the job - It’s okay to be picky when hiring a new employee, in fact, we encourage it. Even if you feel like your first candidate’s interview went well and they would be suitable for the job, interview at least two or three more. It’s always a good idea to have a large selection of candidates when hiring so you can be confident that you’ve chosen the ideal fit for the position. Don’t have a ton of applicants for your role? It’s okay to hold out for the right one - and sometimes talking to candidates who aren’t the right fit helps to show you who the right fit would be.

Know exactly what you’re looking for - You’re likely to have an abundance of applications come in once you post a job, even if they all aren’t necessarily qualified, so the tricky part is weeding out applicants. It’s important to know exactly what you’re looking for in an employee and it’s a good idea to have a list of non-negotiable qualifications that you’d like to see on a resume (ie: sales experience, customer service experience, etc.). If the applicant doesn’t have all of the qualifications you require, move on to the next. 

Have a list of questions ready - Having the questions you plan on asking written down will keep you on track during an interview and will ensure candidates remain on a level playing field when it comes to questions. Scenario questions are great options that can help you get a real feel for the candidate and you can easily compare how others handled the question. We always like to throw in a few abstract questions - like what’s the best compliment you’ve ever received - to see how quickly a candidate can think on their feet, and get to know them a little better.

Keep personality in mind - Personality is so important when it comes to hiring a future employee. Keep in mind how the candidate’s personality traits align with the potential job as well as the company culture. In some cases, it’s a good idea to get your current team involved in the hiring process to see if everyone jives together and if your team has any feedback on the particular candidate. Plus, it will help them feel more invested when their new co-worker starts, helping ease the transition. 

Every dealership needs a strong team in place, and it all starts with the hiring process. We hope these tips will help you take a deeper look at your own process to see what’s working and what might need tweaking when it comes to hiring future employees.