Cooperative Advertising: The Winning Growth Strategy

Cooperative Advertising: The Winning Growth Strategy

Table of Contents

Your Marketing Budget: The Power of Cooperative Advertising for Your Dealership

In today’s competitive market, it’s more important than ever for dealerships to find effective ways to increase their visibility and sales. That’s where Cooperative Advertising comes in.

Cooperative Advertising is a cost-sharing arrangement between manufacturers and dealerships to promote products and services. It offers numerous benefits for lawnmower and tractor dealerships, including increased exposure, enhanced credibility, and higher sales.

In this blog post, we’ll dive deeper into the world of Co-Op advertising and provide valuable insights on how lawnmower and tractor dealerships can maximize their advertising efforts. We’ll discuss the various Co-Op advertising programs offered by manufacturers, how to qualify for Co-Op advertising funds, and best practices for creating effective campaigns.

By the end of this blog post, you’ll have a better understanding of how to leverage Co-Op advertising to increase your dealership’s visibility and sales. So, let’s get started!

Understanding Co-Op Advertising

Cooperative Advertising, also known as Co-Op Advertising or Marketing Co-Op, is a marketing strategy where manufacturers and dealers or retailers share the costs of advertising to promote their products and services. The concept behind Co-Op Advertising is that both parties benefit from increased visibility and sales.

Manufacturers typically offer Co-Op Advertising programs and policies to their dealerships, which provide guidelines on how the funds can be used and what types of advertising are eligible. The amount of funding available to dealerships can vary based on factors such as the manufacturer’s marketing budget, the dealership’s sales volume, and the type of advertising being used.

Lawnmower and tractor manufacturers such as Cub Cadet, Kubota, Exmark , and Scag offer Co-Op Advertising programs to their dealerships. For example, Cub Cadet’s Co-Op Advertising program provides funding for advertising in local newspapers, magazines, and online platforms. Kubota’s program offers funding for advertising on television, radio, and outdoor billboards. Exmark’s program allows dealerships to use Co-Op Advertising funds for dealership websites, online advertising, direct mail campaigns, and event sponsorships. Scag’s program provides funding for advertising on social media, local radio stations, and outdoor signage.

Manufacturers may also have policies in place to ensure that the Co-Op Advertising funds are being used effectively. For example, some manufacturers may require that the manufacturer’s logo or name is included in the advertisement alongside the dealership’s logo or name. Other manufacturers may require that the advertisement meets certain design or content guidelines.

By participating in Co-Op Advertising programs offered by manufacturers, lawnmower and tractor dealerships can take advantage of cost-effective advertising opportunities and increase their visibility and sales. However, it is important for dealerships to understand the guidelines and policies associated with each program in order to make the most of their Co-Op Advertising funds.

Maximizing Co-Op Advertising Opportunities

Co-Op Advertising can be a powerful tool for lawnmower and tractor dealerships to increase their visibility and sales. To make the most of Co-Op Advertising opportunities, dealerships need to understand how to qualify for funds, choose the right advertising channels, and create effective advertising campaigns.

How to Qualify for Co-Op Advertising Funds

Qualifying for Co-Op Advertising funds varies by manufacturer and program. Typically, manufacturers require that dealerships meet certain criteria, such as purchasing a minimum amount of inventory or meeting certain sales targets. Dealerships may also need to submit advertising proposals for approval before receiving funding. It’s important for dealerships to carefully review the guidelines and requirements for each Co-Op Advertising program to ensure they meet the necessary qualifications.

How to Choose the Right Advertising Channels for Your Dealership

Choosing the right advertising channels is crucial for a successful Co-Op Advertising campaign. Dealerships should consider their target audience, budget, and marketing goals when selecting advertising channels. Some effective channels for lawnmower and tractor dealerships may include local newspapers, radio stations, outdoor signage, and online platforms such as social media and search engines. If you are too busy running your dealership to manage your digital advertising, we can help! Contact us today to get started!

Tips for Creating Effective Co-Op Advertising Campaigns

Creating effective Co-Op Advertising campaigns requires careful planning and execution. Some tips for success include:

  • Clearly define your marketing goals and target audience
  • Use eye-catching visuals and messaging that speaks to your target audience. A lot of manufacturers have pre-approved digital ads to choose from.
  • Include both the manufacturer’s and dealership’s logos or names in the advertisement.
  • Adhere to the manufacturer’s guidelines for design and content.
  • Track and measure the effectiveness of your advertising campaigns to make adjustments as needed.

By following these tips and taking advantage of Co-Op Advertising opportunities, lawnmower and tractor dealerships can increase their visibility and sales while minimizing their advertising costs.

Best Practices for Co-Op Advertising

Track and Measure the Success of Co-Op Advertising Campaigns

One of the key benefits of Co-Op advertising is the ability to stretch your marketing dollars by sharing the costs with manufacturers. However, to ensure that you’re getting the most out of your Co-Op advertising investment, it’s important to track and measure the success of your campaigns.

To do this, dealerships can use a variety of metrics to evaluate their campaign performance. For example, tracking impressions can help you understand how many people saw your ad, while clicks can indicate how many people were interested enough to visit your website. Conversions, such as form submissions or phone calls, can help you gauge how many people ultimately acted as a result of your ad.

By monitoring these metrics, dealerships can make informed decisions about how to optimize their Co-Op advertising campaigns for better results. For example, if you notice that your ad is getting a lot of impressions but not many clicks, you may want to consider tweaking your ad copy or design to make it more compelling. If you’re getting a lot of clicks but few conversions, you may want to review your landing page to ensure it’s optimized for conversion.

Overall, tracking and measuring the success of Co-Op advertising campaigns is crucial for dealerships to understand what’s working and what’s not, and make informed decisions about how to improve their campaigns for better results.

Common Mistakes to Avoid When Using Co-Op Advertising

Not adhering to manufacturer’s guidelines: Many manufacturers have specific guidelines for the design and content of Co-Op Advertising campaigns. Dealerships that don’t follow these guidelines risk having their ads rejected or not approved for reimbursement. To avoid this mistake, dealerships should carefully review the guidelines and ensure that their campaigns adhere to them.

Not properly tracking and reporting on campaign performance: It’s essential to track and measure the success of Co-Op Advertising campaigns. Dealerships should monitor metrics such as impressions, clicks, and conversions to understand the impact of their advertising efforts. If they don’t properly track and report on campaign performance, they won’t be able to make informed decisions about how to optimize their campaigns for better results.

Spreading advertising budget too thin across too many channels: While it’s important to choose the right advertising channels, it’s equally important not to spread the budget too thin across too many channels. This mistake can result in weaker overall performance, as the budget is not sufficient to produce meaningful results on any one channel. Instead, dealerships should focus on a few key channels that are most likely to reach their target audience and produce the best results.

How to Build and Maintain Strong Relationships with Manufacturers

Building and maintaining strong relationships with manufacturers is crucial for lawnmower and tractor dealerships to get the most out of Co-Op Advertising. Dealerships should establish clear lines of communication with their manufacturers to understand program changes, updates and requirements. This helps dealerships stay up to date with the latest offerings and opportunities available to them.

When you are transparent and responsive in communication with manufacturers can help to build trust and strengthen relationships. Dealerships should provide regular updates on their advertising campaigns’ performance and make sure that they are meeting the program’s requirements to maintain eligibility for future funding.

Maintaining a good relationship with the manufacturer also helps in getting more funding or increased co-op funding. It could also help in accessing exclusive offers, promotions, and discounts. Hence, it is essential for dealerships to take the necessary steps to establish and maintain strong relationships with manufacturers to maximize the benefits of Co-Op Advertising.

Maximize Your Co-Op Advertising for Success

Co-Op advertising can be a powerful tool for lawnmower and tractor dealerships to increase their visibility and sales, while minimizing their advertising costs. By understanding how Co-Op advertising works, how to qualify for funds, how to choose the right advertising channels, and how to create effective campaigns, dealerships can maximize their opportunities for success.

In this blog post, we’ve covered the basics of Co-Op advertising, including how it works, the types of programs offered by manufacturers like Cub Cadet, Kubota, Exmark, and Scag, and best practices for tracking campaign success, avoiding common mistakes, and building strong relationships with manufacturers.

By taking advantage of Co-Op advertising opportunities and following these best practices, lawnmower and tractor dealerships can improve their marketing performance and drive business growth. So don’t wait – start exploring your Co-Op advertising options today and see the benefits for yourself!

Frequently Asked Questions About Cooperative Marketing & Cooperative Advertising

What is cooperative advertising and how does it work?

Cooperative advertising is an advertising technique in which two or more businesses share the cost of an advertisement. It works by the businesses pooling their resources to create a joint advertisement that promotes each other’s products or services.

What is an example of cooperative advertising?

An example of cooperative advertising is when a lawnmower dealership and a tractor dealership agree to run a joint advertisement in a local newspaper. The ad might feature both dealerships’ logos and products and promote a sale or special promotion.

What are the types of cooperative advertising?

There are two types of cooperative advertising: vertical and horizontal. Vertical cooperative advertising involves businesses at different levels of the supply chain (ex: a manufacturer and a retailer) collaborating on an ad. Horizontal cooperative advertising involves businesses at the same level of the supply chain (ex: two retailers) collaborating on an ad.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of cooperative advertising and marketing?

The advantages of cooperative advertising and marketing include cost savings, increased exposure, and access to new markets. The disadvantages include potential conflicts between businesses, difficulty coordinating efforts, and loss of control over the messaging and branding.

What is cooperative marketing?

Cooperative marketing is a marketing technique in which two or more businesses collaborate to promote their products or services. The businesses may pool their resources to create joint advertising campaigns, participate in joint promotions, or share customer data.

Cooperative Marketing in Agriculture

Cooperative marketing in agriculture is a strategy in which farmers or agricultural businesses collaborate to market their products. This may involve creating a cooperative that markets products on behalf of its members, or simply sharing resources to promote individual products.

What is the importance of cooperative marketing?

The importance of cooperative marketing is that it allows businesses to share resources and reduce costs while still reaching a wider audience. It also allows businesses to access new markets and customer segments that may have been difficult to reach on their own.

What is the function of cooperative marketing?

The function of cooperative marketing is to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of marketing efforts by pooling resources and expertise. It allows businesses to share costs and risks while still reaching a wider audience and achieving marketing objectives.

What are the objectives of cooperative marketing and advertising?

The objectives of cooperative marketing and advertising include increasing sales, reaching new customers, improving brand awareness, and reducing marketing costs. It may also involve building relationships with other businesses in the industry and improving overall market competitiveness.

5 Reasons Why Lawnmower & Tractor Dealerships Need to Own Their Domain Name

Contents

  Domain name

What is a Domain Name?

A domain name is the address of a website that people use to find and access it on the internet. It is a unique identifier that distinguishes a website from others and is an essential part of establishing an online presence. For businesses like lawnmower and tractor dealerships, owning a domain name for their website is especially important. In this blog post, we’ll explore why lawnmower and tractor dealerships need to own their domain name and how it can benefit their business. We’ll discuss the advantages of having a domain name, such as building a strong brand identity, establishing credibility, and improving search engine optimization. So, let’s dive in and explore the importance of owning a domain name for lawnmower and tractor dealerships.

How Much Does a Domain Name Cost?

The cost of a domain name can vary depending on several factors, including the top-level domain (TLD) chosen (such as .com, .net, .org, .biz, .info, etc.), the domain registrar used, and the length of the registration period. Generally, a domain name can cost anywhere from a few dollars to several hundred dollars per year. For example, a .com domain name can typically be registered for around $10 to $20 per year, while a more specialized TLD like .law or .consulting may cost more. It’s important to note that some domain registrars may offer promotions or discounts for first-time buyers or for longer registration periods. Additionally, some premium domain names may cost significantly more due to their popularity, marketability, or brand recognition. It’s also worth mentioning that domain names are typically registered on a yearly basis and need to be renewed annually to maintain ownership. Failure to renew a domain name can result in losing the domain, so it’s important to keep track of renewal dates and renew the domain name in a timely manner.

How do I go about buying a domain name?

If your dealership needs a domain name, we can help! Contact Us to get started! To purchase a domain name for your lawnmower and tractor dealership, you will need to follow these general steps: Choose a domain registrar: There are many domain registrars to choose from, such as GoDaddy, Namecheap, and Google Domains. Compare prices, features, and customer support before selecting a registrar that suits your needs. Check domain availability: Once you have selected a domain registrar, use their search tool to check if your desired domain name is available. If it is not available, the registrar may suggest similar domain names or variations that are available. Select a domain name: Choose a domain name that is easy to remember and relevant to your business. Try to keep it short, simple, and easy to spell. Complete the registration process: Once you have found an available domain name, follow the registrar’s instructions to complete the registration process. This may involve providing personal or business information, selecting a registration period, and making payment. Set up domain hosting: After purchasing the domain name, you will need to set up hosting for your website. You can choose to host your website on the registrar’s platform or use a third-party web hosting service, like Dealers Digital. Build your website: Once your domain name and hosting are set up, you can start building your website. This may involve designing a website yourself, using a website builder, or hiring a web developer.

5 Reasons Why You Should Own Your Domain Name

Branding: Owning a domain name that reflects the name of the dealership or the brand of lawnmowers and tractors they sell can help build a strong brand identity. It also makes it easier for customers to remember and locate the dealership’s website. Credibility: Owning a domain name gives the dealership credibility and legitimacy. It shows that the dealership is serious about its online presence and has invested in creating a professional website. Control: Owning a domain name gives the dealership control over their online presence. If the dealership relies on a third-party platform or social media site to host their website, they may be subject to changes in terms of service, platform outages, or other issues that are beyond their control. Customization: Owning a domain name allows the dealership to customize their website to better suit their needs. They can choose their own design, layout, and content, and they are not limited by the restrictions of a third-party platform. Search engine optimization (SEO): Owning a domain name that contains relevant keywords can help improve the dealership’s search engine ranking, making it easier for potential customers to find them online. Additionally, owning a domain name that reflects the dealership’s location can help them attract local customers. Owning a domain name is an important investment for lawnmower and tractor dealerships as it helps build their brand, establishes credibility, provides control and customization, and helps with search engine optimization.

Establish Your Dealership Online

Owning a domain name is an essential step for lawnmower and tractor dealerships looking to establish an online presence and attract customers. By owning a domain name, businesses can build their brand, establish credibility, and improve their search engine optimization. While the cost of a domain name can vary, it is generally an affordable investment that can pay off in the long run. If you’re a lawnmower and tractor dealership looking to take your business to the next level, owning a domain name is a must. By choosing a memorable and relevant domain name, selecting a reputable registrar, and following the necessary steps to complete the registration process, you can set yourself up for success. So, don’t hesitate to take the first step in establishing your online presence today!

Maximizing Your Reach with Social Media Marketing for Lawn Mower & Tractor Dealerships

maximizing your reach with social media doesn't have to be difficult

You understand the importance of maximizing  your reach and driving more leads and sales to your dealership. But how do you actually do that? One of the most effective ways to achieve this is through social media marketing. Billions of users across various platforms allows social media to provide an unparalleled opportunity to reach and engage with your target audience.

Lawn mower dealers, Tractor dealers and outdoor power equipment dealerships face unique challenges when it comes to marketing your products and services. With the right strategy and approach, social media can be a powerful and low-cost tool for increasing brand awareness, building customer relationships and driving more sales.

In this post we will cover the key benefits of social media marketing for lawn mower, tractor and outdoor power equipment dealerships and provide actionable tips and strategies you can easily implement for maximizing your reach and success on social media.

Understanding Your Target Audience

It’s important for you to understand your dealership’s target audience for many reasons. It can help you to determine which products and services they are most interested in and what their needs and preferences are. This information can then be used to create relevant marketing campaigns and product offerings that will resonate with the target audience.

Knowing your target audience will also help you to tailor your messaging and social media content to their interests and preferences, which, in turn, will increase engagement and build stronger relationships with your customers.

When you understand your target audience, you can better allocate your resources to the channels and platforms where they are most active, maximizing the effectiveness of your marketing efforts. It can also help you provide a better overall customer experience. By answering questions and providing support and by showcasing the types of services and products your offer.

To gather data about your target audience, you can use tools like social media analytics, customer surveys, and market research studies. You can also look at demographic data from your existing customer base and analyze customer reviews and feedback to gain insights into their preferences and buying habits. By understanding your target audience, you can create more effective and targeted advertising campaigns on social media, and ultimately maximize your reach and impact.

Drilling it Down

Let’s take a deeper look at the (generalized) target market for Outdoor Power Equipment, Lawnmower & Tractor Dealerships.

Demographic Information:

  • Age: Typically, the target audience for lawn mowers and tractors is between 35-65 years old. However, it can also depend on the specific product and its intended use for example older adults may be more interested in riding lawn mowers for easier maintenance, while younger adults may be interested in more heavy-duty equipment for larger properties.
  • Gender: Can be either male or female, as both genders may have an interest in maintaining a lawn and/or garden. This industry has predominantly had a higher percentage of male clientele.
  • Location: Typically are homeowners and property owners who live in suburban or rural areas.
  • Income: Typically have a moderate to high income, as these products can be relatively expensive.
  • Occupation: May be homeowners, property owners, or business owners who require equipment for maintaining lawns, gardens, or properties.

Buying Habits and Preferences:

  • Need for Equipment: May need new or replacement equipment for maintaining their lawns or properties.
  • Brand Awareness: May prefer certain brands, based on past experiences or recommendations from friends or family members.
  • Budget: May have a budget in mind for their equipment purchases.
  • Online vs. In-Store Purchasing: Historically has been in-store.

Social Media Usage and Behavior:

  • Platform Usage: May be active on social media platforms Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, and may use these platforms to research and gather information about products and services.
  • Engagement: May engage with brands and businesses on social media by following their accounts, commenting on posts, and sharing content with their friends and followers.
  • Ad Response: May respond well to social media advertising, particularly if the ads are relevant and offer a clear value proposition.

Now that we know who we are trying to reach, we can look at creating relevant content.

maximizing your reach is key in driving business growth

Creating Relevant Content

What does it take to create relative content? Armed with the information you have gathered about your target audience (which may differ some from the above example, depending on where in the US you are located) you can consider the importance of visually appealing content, highlighting unique features and benefits of your products and services, and creating a strong call to action and create some killer content!

Importance of Visually Appealing Content

  • Attention-Grabbing: To stand out on social media, it’s important to create visually appealing content that grabs the attention of your target audience. This can be achieved through the use of high-quality images, videos, and graphics that showcase your products in an attractive and eye-catching manner. Customers in this industry prefer to see the products in use rather than stand-alone images.
  • Building Brand Awareness: Visually appealing content can help build brand awareness and increase recognition of your dealership and its products among your target audience.
  • Making a Strong First Impression: Social media users are bombarded with countless ads on a daily basis, and first impressions are crucial. By creating visually appealing content, you can make a strong first impression and increase the chances that your target audience will engage with your content.

Highlighting the Unique Features and Benefits of Your Products

  • Product Differentiation: Highlighting the unique features and benefits of your products can differentiate your dealership and its products from competitors and position your business as a leader in the industry.
  • Providing Value: Emphasizing the benefits of your products can show your target audience the value that your products can bring to their lives and how they can make their lives easier.
  • Demonstrating Expertise: Showcasing the unique features and benefits of your products can demonstrate your dealership’s expertise and knowledge in the industry, which can help establish trust and credibility with your target audience.

Creating a Strong Call-to-Action

  • Encouraging Engagement: A strong call-to-action (CTA) can encourage your target audience to take a specific action, such as visiting your website, making a purchase, or contacting your dealership for more information.
  • Increasing Conversion Rates: By including a clear and compelling CTA in your content you can increase the chances that your target audience will take the desired action, which can ultimately lead to increased conversion rates and sales.
  • Measuring Success: By including a clear and specific CTA, you can also measure the success of your advertising campaigns by tracking the number of conversions and actions taken.

analytics can help you with maximizing your reach

Analytics

You can use analytics to access how your content strategy is working and adjust the course when needed. Take time each week to look over the performance of your posts and take note of which posts performed the best.

  • Are they Videos, Still Images or Facebook Stories?
  • What was the topic?
  • Have you covered this topic in full or are there other points you can address in follow up posts?

Analytics can play a critical role in maximizing your reach on social media by providing valuable insights into the performance of your social media marketing efforts.  What types of metrics should you be tracking?

  • Engagement: Likes, Comments, Shares and Followers. Posts with more engagement are resonating with our audience more.
  • Demographics: Keeping an eye on the demographics of your audience can help you to better tailor content to fit your specific audiences needs and wants.
  • Reach: Impressions, Reach & Page Views show you how many people are seeing your content and how far it is spreading.
  • Conversion Rates: Use analytics tools to track conversion rates and determine the effectiveness of your social media campaigns in driving leads and sales.

By using analytics to track the performance of your social media marketing efforts, you can make data-driven decisions and optimize your strategy to maximize your reach and drive better results.

Summing it Up

Social Media Marketing is an essential tool for lawn mower and tractor dealerships looking to reach a wider audience and drive more leads and sales. By understanding your target audience and creating relevant content, dealerships can increase engagement and build stronger relationships with their customers. Using analytics to track the performance of your social media marketing efforts and making data-driven decisions can help you maximize your reach and stay ahead of the competition.

Whether you are just getting started with social media marketing or looking to take your strategy to the next level, implementing these proven strategies can help you achieve your goals and succeed in the digital age. With the right approach and the right tools, dealerships can harness the power of social media marketing and achieve long-term success.

Are you to busy running your dealership to worry about social media? We can help! Contact Us today to schedule a consultation and get started!

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Maximizing Your Reputation: The Importance of Customer Reviews for Outdoor Power Equipment Dealerships & 5 Proven Strategies to Boost Them

Customer Reviews

Why are Customer Reviews Important?

Customer reviews are essential for outdoor power equipment dealers as they can make or break a dealership’s reputation. Good reviews will help to build a dealership’s credibility, while bad reviews could damage your success. They are a powerful tool that provide valuable insights into customer experience, boosting credibility and visibility, and helping to build a strong reputation for the dealership.

The Benefits & Impact of Customer Reviews

  1. Increased Visibility & Credibility: Customer reviews can help increase a dealership’s visibility and credibility by providing valuable content for the dealership’s website, social media, and review websites. This content can increase your dealerships online presence and help potential customers find your dealership more easily.

Positive reviews can improve the reputation of your dealership and attract new customers. Addressing negative reviews can help mitigate any damage to your dealership’s reputation.

  1. Improved Search Engine Rankings Positive customer reviews can help improve your dealerships search engine rankings, making it easier for potential customers to find the dealership when searching for related keywords.

Reviews can provide additional, relevant and unique content on a website, which positively impacts your rankings. Customer reviews are a large part of local search engine optimization. If your customer includes location specific keywords and information, it can help you rank higher on search engines.

  1. Boosts Customer Confidence & Trust: Customer reviews can help build trust and confidence in your dealership with potential customers. Positive reviews can show that your dealership provides quality products and excellent customer service. The way you handle negative reviews can persuade a customer to give your dealership a chance despite the negative review.

Reviews provide and open and transparent view of your dealership. This allows customers to see both positive and negative experiences. This transparency can increase customer confidence and trust and they can make a more informed decision based on actual experiences.

  1. Valuable Customer Feedback: Customer reviews provide valuable feedback for your dealership. This feedback can help you to identify pain points or customer frustrations, and actively work toward making a better customer experience.

This feedback can also help you identify areas that customers have unmet needs or preferences which can help your dealership develop new products or services or improve existing ones to better accommodate your customer’s needs and wants.

  1. Increased Social Proof: Positive customer reviews can increase social proof and help build a strong reputation for your dealership. This can lead to more positive word of mouth referrals and increased customer loyalty.

Reviews serve as social proof that others have had a positive experience with your dealership, which can increase customer confidence and trust.

Customer Reviews

5 Proven Strategies to Boost Customer Reviews

  1. Encourage Customers to Leave Reviews: Encouraging customers to leave reviews for your dealership can be a challenge, but with the right strategies, it can be done effectively. Most customers don’t leave a review because they forget. If you aren’t asking people for the review, most won’t remember to do it.

You also want to make it as easy as possible for customers to leave a review. Provide clear directions on how to leave a review and make the process as simple and straightforward as possible.

  1. Respond to Customer Reviews: Responding to both negative and positive customer reviews can help encourage people to leave more reviews in the future. Responding shows that your dealership cares about your customers have to say and is committed to providing a positive experience.

How you respond to negative reviews shows potential customers that you listen, and you will make it right with them, should they have an issue when shopping with your dealership.

  1. Use Email & Social Media: Reach out to customers via email after they make a purchase and ask them how they are enjoying their product and to leave a review. You are much more likely to get a review when you ask at a time that is convenient for your customer and give them a chance to go back to it if they are busy.

Use social media to reach out to customers and ask for a review, or to showcase good reviews for your Facebook audience to see.

  1. Personalize the Request & Offer Incentives: Address the customer by name and mention the product they purchased or other details about their visit. This will make the request seem more personal and less generic. Offer and incentive such as a discount or free accessory product for the review. Customers want to feel rewarded for their completing your request.

Review data can be used to make informed marketing efforts and help you target your audience more effectively. In turn, being able to personalize your review request even more.

  1. Implement a Review Request Process: Implementing a review request process ensures that every customer is asked for a review. This also allows you to gather valuable feedback (both good and bad) from both customers and employees. This can help you identify areas for improvement and increase overall satisfaction.

A review request process shows that a business values the opinions of those who shop with them. It also shows that you are interested in their experience, and can lead to stronger, more positive customer relationships.

An Essential Tool to Boost Business Growth

Customer reviews are an essential tool for businesses looking to build and maintain long-term success. They provide valuable feedback, boost customer confidence and trust and can even boost those search engine rankings! For Outdoor Power Equipment Dealerships, collecting and utilizing customer reviews can have a significant impact on your success.

By gathering honest insights from customers, dealerships can identify areas for improvement, prioritize their efforts, and help to make targeted changes to their products and services. Positive reviews can help improve your dealership’s reputation and credibility, attracting new customers and boosting customer confidence in your products and services.

Implementing a review request process can show customers that a dealership values their opinions and experiences, leading to stronger, more positive customer relationships. This can lead to increased customer satisfaction, loyalty and word-of-mouth marketing.

Outdoor Power Equipment dealerships should make customer reviews a priority and actively seek out and utilize customer feedback to drive long-term success. By doing so, you can continuously improve your offerings and enhance the customer experience, setting yourself apart from the competition and build a thriving business.

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customer reviews can drive business growth

 

 

Harnessing the Power of the Customer Journey to Drive Business Growth

drive business growth

Mastering the Customer Experience

Managing customer experiences is crucial for any business looking to drive business growth and retain customers. After reading reviews about a business, almost all potential customers will take their next step in a space that the business has complete control over. This means that the majority of customer interactions and experiences are within your control. Whether it’s through your website, physical location, or communication channels, the power to shape the customer experience is in your hands. By effectively managing these spaces, you can turn leads into paying customers and create a positive, lasting impression that will keep them coming back. In this blog post, we’ll dive deep into the importance of managing customer experiences and provide you with tips and best practices for optimizing your website, creating a positive in-store experience, and managing communication channels to improve customer engagement and satisfaction.

The Customer’s Journey: By the Numbers

  1. 96% of adults read Local Business Reviews
  2. 91% of consumers take the next step in the buyer’s journey.
  3. 51% of those people will visit your website.
  4. 27% of those people will visit your physical business location.
  5. 13% of those people will contact you (phone, text, email, live chat)
  6. 8% of consumers move from reviews to your social media profiles.

Source: The Impact of Local Business Reviews on Consumer Behavior

Harnessing the Power of the customer's journey to drive business growth Owning the Customer Experience

It is more important now than ever to create a positive and seamless customer experience across all touch points. By effectively controlling your website, physical location, and communication channels, your dealership can create a consistent and cohesive brand image and message. Additionally, you can use customer data and insights gathered from these spaces to personalize and optimize the customer experience, improving the chances of conversion.

Maximizing your control over the customer experience starts with identifying and addressing pain points. Utilizing data from your website, physical location, and communication channels can help you do just that. By analyzing website data, you can pinpoint areas that need improvement and enhance the user experience. Similarly, data from your physical location can be used to optimize store layout and improve the in-store experience. And by monitoring communication channels, you can improve customer service and address concerns in a timely manner. By utilizing data from all these sources, you can create a seamless and positive customer experience that drives business growth.

Let’s take a deeper look at each touch point.

Utilizing our website to drive sales Utilizing Your Website to Drive Business Growth

Having a strong online presence is crucial for businesses in today’s digital age. A website can be a powerful tool for attracting and retaining customers for lawn mower, tractor, and outdoor power equipment dealers. A well-designed website can provide customers with information about the products and services offered, as well as detailed specifications and pricing. It can also allow customers to easily browse and purchase products online, making the buying process more convenient for them.

Your dealership’s website can also be used to create a sense of trust and credibility with your customers. By including customer testimonials, photos, and videos of products in use, and detailed information about the company’s history and experience in the industry, a website can establish the business as a reputable and trustworthy provider of lawn mower, tractor, and outdoor power equipment.

A website can also be used to provide customers with ongoing support and education. For example, a dealer can provide information on how to properly maintain and repair equipment, or tips on how to get the most out of their equipment. This can help to build customer loyalty and encourage repeat business.

If your dealership has no website, or it isn’t quite up to par, we can help. Dealers Digital can help you maximize your online exposure and boost sales. We are the green industries digital marketing experts with over twenty years of digital media experience. Contact us today to get started.

Optimizing Your Dealership’s Website

Here are a few tips and best practices to optimize your dealership’s website to drive conversions and improve the overall customer experience.

  1. Navigation: Make sure that your website is easy to navigate. Use a clear and consistent layout, organize your content in a logical and easy to understand way.
  2. Optimize for Mobile: Over 80% of people browse the internet via mobile and expect for their experiences to be seamless. Your website should be responsive, meaning it adjusts to fit the screen size of the device being used to view it.
  3. Clear Calls to Action (CTA): Your site should have clear CTA’s that guide visitors towards the next step. Whether that is to make a purchase, request more information, or to schedule a consultation.
  4. Contact Information: Make it easy for visitors to contact you by including your phone number, email and physical address and contact form prominently on your website.
  5. Testimonials & Reviews: Use testimonials and reviews from satisfied customers to help build trust and credibility with potential customers.
  6. Search Engine Optimization: Optimizing your website for search engines (IE: Google) can help increase your visibility and drive more traffic to your site. There are many free resources out there to learn about and implement SEO, or you can hire an agency, like Dealers Digital, to help. Get your Free Local SEO Report.

The Value of Your Physical Location

Reviews are a powerful tool for driving foot traffic to your dealership! Reviews provide customers with valuable information about your dealership’s products and services, and can influence their decision to visit your dealership in person. A dealership with a high number of positive reviews is more likely to attract customers, which in turn, increases sales.

Your dealership should make an effort to encourage customers to leave reviews, and respond to both positive and negative reviews in a timely and professional manner. The way that a company handles a poor review says a lot about who they are.

Cultivating a Positive In-Store Experience & Utilizing Your Physical Location

Here are some tips on how to cultivate positive in store experiences and utilize your physical location to drive sales.

  1. Create a Positive In-Store Experience: A positive in-store experience can help to turn customers in loyal brand ambassadors and encourage them to leave positive reviews. By providing excellent customer service, having a knowledgeable staff and creating an inviting and visually appealing store layout can help you to achieve this.
  2. Utilize Your Physical Location: You can offer promotions and sales that are only available in-store or highlight products that aren’t available for purchase online. You can create in-store displays, or by offering special discounts or deals for customers who visit the store in person.
  3. Provide in-store consultation: Offer in-store consultation services like product demonstrations, product trials or shopping assistants. This will allow your customers to have a more hands-on experience and get more personalized recommendations, which can lead to increased sales.
  4. Encourage Customers to Leave Reviews: Encourage customers to leave reviews by providing a clear call to action, like a sign or card that directs them to the review. Respond to reviews in a timely and professional manner, and then use the positive reviews to help promote your dealership.

3 Types of Communication Channels

Effective communication is crucial for providing a positive customer experience and driving conversions for lawnmower and tractor dealerships. By managing phone, email and live chat effectively, your dealership can ensure that you are responsive to customer inquiries, provide accurate information, and address any issues in a timely and professional manner.

Phone: Phone communication allows for immediate, personal contact with customers. It is important to have well-trained staff who can answer questions and help quickly and efficiently. Business texting has become increasingly important in managing customer pickup and service notifications.

Email: Email communication can be used to provide detailed information to customers, such as product specifications, financing offers or promotions. It is important to respond promptly to customer inquiries and to make sure that the information provided is accurate and up to date. We offer automation solutions.

Live Chat: Live chat allows customers to receive immediate assistance while browsing your dealership’s website. It is important to have staff available to answer to chat requests in real time, or use a chat-widget, like Dealeramp to provide 24/7 automated responses.

managing customer service Managing Communication Channels Effectively

By effectively managing these communication channels, your dealership can improve your customer’s experience and increase the likelihood of conversions. You’re also likely to increase your customer engagement and satisfaction while you are at it. Customers can reach out to your dealership in the way that they feel the most comfortable and convenient. This provides them with a greater sense of control over their buying experience.

  1. Set clear expectations: Let customers know when they can expect a response to their inquiry, regardless of the channel. This will help manage the customer’s expectations and reduce frustration.
  2. Respond promptly: Respond to all customer inquiries as quickly as possible. This shows that your dealership values the customer’s time and is committed to providing a positive experience.
  3. Train Staff: Ensure that your entire staff is well trained in your dealership’s products and services, as well as in communication and customer service best practices.
  4. Personalize your communication: Address customers by name and make sure to use a professional and friendly tone. Your customer will feel more valued and comfortable.
  5. Gather and act on feedback: Regularly gather feedback from customers and find ways to act on it. This can help the dealership identify areas for improvement and make changes to better meet customer needs.

The Importance of Social Media Marketing

Despite the statistic that only a small percentage of customers may move from reviews to social media profiles, managing and maintaining a strong presence on social media platforms is crucial for any dealership’s marketing strategy. While the customer journey may vary, social media offers a variety of opportunities for dealerships to increase brand awareness, engage with customers, manage reputation, generate leads and stay informed about industry trends and customer preferences. By effectively utilizing social media, dealerships can improve the customer experience, drive conversions, and gain a competitive advantage in the market.

Brand presence and awareness: Having a strong social media presence can help increase brand awareness and establish your dealership as a reputable and trustworthy source.

Customer Engagement: social media offers an opportunity for your dealership to engage with customers, answer questions and provide information about products and services. This helps build loyalty and trust with your customers.

Reputation Management: Social media can be used to monitor and respond to feedback from customers. This can help your dealership proactively address any issues and maintain a positive reputation.

Industry insights: social media can be used to track industry trends, competitors activity and customer preferences.

Managing Social Media Profiles

Let’s look at some tips for creating engaging and effective social media profiles that can help drive business growth.

  1. Define your target audience: Understand who your ideal customer is and tailor your content to fit their interests and needs.
  2. Create a consistent brand image: Use consistent branding across all of your profiles.
  3. Use Storytelling: Use storytelling to create engaging content that highlights the dealership’s unique selling points and the benefits of its products and services.
  4. Engage with customers: responds to comments and messages in a timely manner and use social media as an opportunity to build relationships with customers.
  5. Create a content calendar: Plan and schedule content in advance to ensure that you project a consistent and organized approach to your content.

Harness the Power

Mastering the customer experience is key for any business looking to drive growth and retain customers. By harnessing the power of managing customer experiences, dealerships can take control of the customer journey and turn leads into paying customers. Through effectively managing your website, physical location, and communication channels, businesses can create a consistent and cohesive brand image, personalize, and optimize the customer experience, and improve the chances of conversion. By utilizing data from these spaces, businesses can identify and address pain points, creating a seamless and positive customer experience that drives business growth. By implementing the tips and best practices discussed in this post, businesses can maximize their control over the customer experience and drive business growth. Harnessing the power of mastering the customer experience is essential for any business looking to succeed in today’s competitive market.

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The Consequences of Cutting Advertising During Economic Uncertainty

the consequences of cutting advertising during times of economic uncertainty can be difficult to recover from.

The High Price of Skimping on Advertising: A Look at How Cutting Your Budget during Economic Uncertainty Can Harm Your Business

In times of economic uncertainty, it may be tempting to cut your advertising budget in order to save money. However, cutting your advertising budget can actually have a detrimental effect on your business in the long run. In this blog post, we will explore several case studies from different industries that demonstrate the consequences of cutting advertising during economic downturns. From Procter & Gamble to General Motors, Ford, Coca-Cola and Home Depot, we will see how these companies’ decisions to cut their advertising budget led to a decline in sales and market share, and the difficulties to recover from it. We will also di

ve into the outdoor power equipment and tractor industry to see how this industry may be affected by economic uncertainty. Join us as we explore the potential consequences of cutting advertising during economic uncertainty and why it may be more beneficial to maintain or even increase advertising efforts.

Case Study 1: General Motors During the 2008-2009 Recession

In 2008-2009, General Motors, faced financial difficulties during the global recession. As an effort to save money, the company decided to cut its advertising budget by $800 million. This decision had a negative impact on the company’s sales and market share. General Motors’ sales dropped by 22% and its market share decreased by 3%. The company’s competitors, who did not cut their advertising budgets, were able to gain market share and increase their sales. This case study illustrates how cutting advertising during economic uncertainty can lead to a decline in sales and market share, which can be difficult to recover from.

Case Study 2: Procter & Gamble (P&G) During the 2008 Recession

In 2008, when the global economy was in a recession, Procter & Gamble (P&G), the world’s largest consumer goods company, decided to cut its advertising budget by $500 million. The company believed that by reducing its advertising expenses, it could save money and weather the economic downturn. This decision actually had the opposite effect. P&G’s sales dropped by 6% and its market share decreased by 2%. The company’s competitors, who did not cut their advertising budgets, were able to gain market share and increase their sales.

P&G realized that cutting its advertising budget was a mistake and quickly increased its advertising expenses. The company’s sales and market share eventually recovered, but it took several years to do so. In addition to demonstrating how cutting your advertising budget during economic uncertainty can lead to a decline in sales and market share, this case study also illustrates the importance of quick action. It’s important for a company to take quick action to address the negative effects of cutting advertising in order to recover.

Case Study 3: Ford During the Great Depression

In the 1930s, the U.S. economy was in the midst of the Great Depression. Despite the economic downturn, Ford decided to increase its advertising budget. The company believed that by increasing its advertising expenses, it could attract more customers and increase its sales. This strategy proved to be successful. Ford’s sales increased by 15% and its market share grew by 5%.

This case study demonstrates that increasing your advertising budget during economic uncertainty can lead to an increase in sales and market share. Ford’s decision to invest in advertising during the Great Depression was a wise one, as it helped the company to remain competitive and grow its business.

Coca Cola Case Study 4: Coca-Cola During the 2001 Recession

The Coca-Cola case study from the 2001 recession shows the negative consequences of cutting advertising during economic uncertainty. Despite the company’s belief that reducing advertising expenses could save money and weather the downturn, the decision to cut its advertising budget by $200 million had a detrimental effect on its sales and market share. As a result of this decision, Coca-Cola’s sales dropped by 2% and its market share decreased by 1%, while competitors who did not cut their advertising budgets were able to gain market share and increase their sales. This case study highlights the importance of carefully considering advertising budget during economic uncertainty and the difficulty of recovering from a decline in sales and market share caused by cutting advertising.

Study 5: Home Depot During the 2001 Recession

The Home Depot case study from the 2001 recession is similar to the case studies of Procter & Gamble and Coca-Cola. In 2001, when the US economy was in recession, Home Depot, the largest home improvement retailer in the US, decided to cut its advertising budget by $200 million. The company believed that by reducing its advertising expenses, it could save money and weather the economic downturn. However, this decision had a negative impact on the company’s sales and market share. Home Depot’s sales dropped by 2% and its market share decreased by 1%. The company’s competitors, who did not cut their advertising budgets, were able to gain market share and increase their sales.

This case study illustrates that cutting advertising during economic uncertainty can have detrimental effects on a business, such as a decline in sales and market share, as well as loss of brand visibility and differentiation. It also shows that competitors who don’t cut their advertising budget may gain market share, making it harder for the company that cut the budget to recover.

How does Economic Uncertainty Effect the Outdoor Power Equipment Industry?

The outdoor power equipment and tractor industry, like many other industries, can be affected by economic uncertainty. During a recession, consumers may be less likely to make big-ticket purchases such as tractors, lawnmowers and other outdoor power equipment. However, it’s important to note that this industry does have some unique characteristics that may influence the effects of cutting or increasing advertising during economic uncertainty.

First, the outdoor power equipment and tractor industry is a relatively stable and resilient market. People will still need to maintain their lawns, gardens, and farms even during a recession. Therefore, the demand for outdoor power equipment may not decrease as significantly as in other industries. Moreover, businesses in the outdoor power equipment and tractor industry may also benefit from the fact that many customers are small business owners and farmers, who may have a steady cash flow even during a recession.

Additionally, outdoor power equipment and tractors are often long-lasting, durable products that require replacement or maintenance after several years of use. Therefore, even if customers delay purchasing a new tractor or lawnmower during a recession, they may still need to purchase replacement parts or maintain their existing equipment.

It’s important to note that cutting your advertising budget may also affect the industry as a whole, by making it more difficult for companies to differentiate their products and justify a higher price point. Moreover, a strong advertising campaign can help to attract new customers and maintain market share, which may offset potential losses in sales due to economic uncertainty.

Companies in this industry should carefully consider their advertising budget. Maintaining or even increasing advertising efforts may help to drive sales, maintain market share, and protect brand visibility. Additionally, it can help to differentiate products, justify a higher price point, and attract new customers.

Summing it All Up

The case studies of Proctor & Gamble, General Motors, Ford, Coca-Cola, and Home Depot all highlight the potential consequences of cutting advertising during economic uncertainty. These companies’ decisions to reduce their advertising budgets resulted in a decline in sales and market share, making it difficult for them to recover. These examples demonstrate how advertising plays a crucial role in maintaining market share and driving sales, even during economic downturns. On the other hand, the studies also show that increasing your advertising budget can lead to an increase in sales and market share, and that it is important for businesses to carefully consider their advertising budget during economic uncertainty and make decisions that will benefit them in the long run.

Are you to busy running your dealership that you don’t have the time (or know-how) to handle your Search Engine Optimization, Reputation Management or Social Media Management? We can help! Contact Us today to schedule a call!

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Geofencing: The Ultimate Local Business Marketing Tool

Geofencing: The Ultimate Local Business Marketing Tool

Geofencing is an extremely effective method of marketing that can help get more local customers through your door. It works by targeting people by their proximity to your business and sending them special offers to help get them in the door.

Mobile marketing is taken to the next level with Geofencing. A virtual boundary is setup around your dealership using GPS, Beacons & Radio Frequency Identifiers.  It can help to grow your customer-base and strengthen your brand identity over time. Geofencing allows you to target internet-enabled devices within a specific geographic area. Customers who enter the geofenced area receive notifications about your brand’s current offers, limited-time promotions, and events where they can engage with your company. Geofencing is a great way to reach out to potential customers and increase brand awareness.

Does Geofencing Benefit My Customer?

In contrast, geofencing offers a plethora of opportunity for mobile users. Interactive shopping & Pick-up reminders, home security, garage door openers, automatic coffee pots and limited time offers to your favorite restaurants are just a few of the benefits. Geofencing can help consumers find new businesses or try new places they may never have known about otherwise.

Benefits of Geofencing for your Dealership

  • Increase Local Sales: Search Engine Optimization focuses on increasing your rankings on search engines, and the benefits of ranking in the top 3 are quite clear. 54.4% of all clicks on searches are on the top 3 results. Geofencing is a relatively new way to improve your local performance. By sending push notifications to customers within your defined geographic area, you can increase your sales.
  • Provide Personalization to Your Customer Base: The data that you collect during your geofencing campaigns is of immense value. It will allow you to better personalize your offerings by giving you insight into the demographics of the local population. It also tells you what type of offers interest them and get them in your store. You can use purchase history to determine the products that your local customers prefer and adjust your promotions accordingly.
  • Connect Your Brand with the Customers Most Likely to do Business with You: Many companies sell their products and services online as well as in the store. Outdoor Power Equipment Dealers do most of their large business in their stores versus online. You already know your local customers are the backbone of your business. A Geofencing strategy can cultivate a strong local following that you can expand over time.
  • Cheap and Effective: Most companies already utilize Google Adwords, you already have all you need to create an effective geofencing campaign. Google allows you to set location-based parameters for your paid ads and business listings at no extra cost.
  • Understand Offline Behavior: Understanding how your customers behave offline can give you important insights into how to better advertise to them and give your brand a competitive edge. Brands can use this data to understand how often their customers visit the neighborhoods where their stores are located, how long they stay in those areas, and what kinds of activities they engage in while they’re there. All of this information can help create a more customized and relevant advertising experience for your customers.
  • Crush Your Competitor: You can apply geofencing technology to your competitor’s as well. Create a geofence around their location so that when a customer gets close to their store, they receive an ad or promotion from your business! You are able to persuade them from visiting the competitor and visit your business instead. This is a fantastic way to drive foot traffic to your business.
  • Immediate Impact: Geofences are a powerful tool for getting people to take action when they’re in the perfect location to do so. By sending out messages automatically as soon as someone crosses a geofence, businesses can capitalize on the fact that most people only take a few minutes to read messages after they receive them. This makes geofences an ideal way to get people to do something while they’re still in the same general area.
  • Increased Transparency in Measuring Campaign Success Rates: Marketers can use geofences to measure the effectiveness of their campaigns by combining advertising with data collection. For example, they can create advertising geofences to count how many people entered the areas where they are serving digital ads or were exposed to a physical advertisement (such as a billboard). Then they can create visit attribution geofences around the businesses they are advertising to measure how many people entered stores.
  • Increase Your Online Presence: In addition to creating targeted marketing campaigns, companies can also use geofence-based advertising to increase online customer engagement. By setting up geofences around their stores (or even just in strategic locations nearby), they can notify people who enter the area of where to find their website or social media accounts. This can prompt people to go online for more information, news, and even discounts from the company. Customers can also go on social media to ask questions or provide feedback, helping the company improve its products and services.

Future Outlook

When it comes to providing a satisfying digital marketing experience, one of the most important things you can do is cater your messaging to your audience’s real-time needs by offering discounts and promotions related to their physical location. By tailoring your call to action to consumers’ interests and needs, you’re much more likely to boost acquisition and retention rates, build loyalty, and increase affinity with your brand.

As AI develops more and the market continues to change, it will become increasingly important to be as personalized as possible in your messaging in order to stand out in a crowded marketplace. It is very easy to implement geofencing into your digital marketing strategy. The experts at Dealers Digital can help you determine your target audience and manage your cooperative advertising dollars while implementing geofencing as a part of your strategy. Want to learn more? Contact Us.

Keep up to date with all the latest news by following us on Facebook or Instagram. Learn more marketing tips and strategies for your Outdoor Power Equipment dealership by reading our blog.

How to Allocate Your Dealership’s Annual Marketing Budget

Learn how to allocate your marketing budget Allocating Your Dealership’s Annual Marketing Budget

Once you have figured out how much you will spend for the year on Marketing, you must then decide how to allocate that budget across the many different channels available to you. With so many types of digital advertising to choose from, it can be a daunting task. Let’s take a look at some of the different advertising channels and what function they have in your marketing strategy.

What is Digital Marketing?

Digital marketing is defined as any marketing strategy that takes place through digital means- usually through internet-connected devices. That is pretty broad. There are many tactics and methods you can use that all fall under the digital marketing umbrella. Let’s take a deeper look at these tactics and how to allocate your marketing budget.

7 Types of Digital Marketing

  1. Search Engine Optimization: Also known as SEO, Search Engine Optimization is the process of making a website more visible and attractive to search engines like Google, Yahoo, and Bing. The goal is to increase the quality and quantity of traffic to a business’s website from these search engines. SEO begins with great content. Do keyword research and really dig in to creating content that your target audience wants to read. Search Engine Optimization is one of the most valuable marketing tools there is, but it does take a little time to gain momentum and show progress.
  1. Pay-Per-Click: PPC ads are a great way to get people to your site who are more likely to convert into customers. PPC Ads are also known as search engine marketing. In fact, studies show that PPC visitors are 50% more likely to convert than organic traffic. If you’re looking for a way to get more leads for your business, PPC ads are an excellent option. PPC ads break down even further into search, display, responsive, retargeting (and more). These can get rather complicated, but you are able to target specific types of customers and reach customers at a stage in their buying journey that they are ready to convert. If you need immediate results, PPC Ads are probably for you.
  1. Social Media Marketing: Social media marketing (SMM) (also known as digital marketing and e-marketing) is the use of social media—the platforms on which users build social networks and share information—to build a company’s brand, increase sales, and drive website traffic. There are both paid and free options available to your business. Paid advertising on social media produces much quicker results than organic.
  1. Content Marketing: Content marketing is a smart way to grow your business by attracting, engaging, and retaining an audience. You can do this by creating and sharing articles, videos, podcasts, and other types of content that is relevant to them. This approach establishes your brand as an expert in your industry, promotes awareness of your business, and keeps you top of mind when your audience is ready to buy. Content marketing refers to informational, valuable content like blog posts, how-to’s and other instructional material. This type of marketing helps you connect with your customers and answer questions or provide a solution to their issues. This can help to generate leads and close sales. Content marketing takes some time to develop, so you aren’t going to see immediate results.
  2. Email Marketing: Email marketing is a powerful way to connect with your audience and promote your product or service. It can be used to announce new products or services, offer discounts or other promotions, educate your audience on the value of your brand, or keep them engaged between purchases. Email marketing can be customized to fit any need or budget, making it a versatile tool for any business.
  1. Mobile Marketing: Mobile marketing is a type of marketing that aims to reach an audience of mobile users through smartphone applications, advertisements, and push notifications. Mobile marketing is the process of promoting your product or service on smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices. Mobile marketing can be done through mobile-optimized ads, push notifications and mobile apps. Reaching your audience through their mobile devices is a great way to connect with them and promote your product or service. The average person spends 3 hours and 15 minutes on their phone each day. 1 in 5 of these people use their mobile phone more than 4.5 hours a day. That’s an average of at least 24 ads per day per person being seen. You can reach a large amount of people no matter where they are.
  2. Affiliate Marketing: Affiliate marketing allows companies to effectively market a product with a low budget, low effort and time, and at a well-contained risk level while guaranteeing a high return on your investment, increase in brand awareness, and business growth. In the green industry, there aren’t quite so many influencer’s as in other industries. They may come at a higher cost, but you will be able to see directly how they are helping your sales by using special promo codes and offers.

How do I know which channels to use?

How many marketing channels should you be using for your business? The short answer is: as many as you can! The more practical answer depends on how much time and money you have to invest in your marketing strategy. While PPC and Social Media Paid ads can generate quick sales, they are more expensive and thus require more of an investment to upkeep. If you have the time (or money to hire an agency) I would recommend allocating a little bit of your budget across all or most of the channels discussed above. By utilizing multiple channels, you are giving yourself multiple ways to gain valuable leads, increase sales, build relationships and customer loyalty and increase brand awareness.

A good starting point would be to allocate a portion of your budget to each of the main marketing channels: paid advertising (both PPC and social media), SEO, social media marketing, and email marketing. By using a mix of these channels, you’ll be giving yourself the best chance to generate leads, sales, and brand awareness.

Not sure where to start? Contact Us today and we can help! Follow us on Facebook and Instagram to keep up with all the latest news!

increase engagement on social media

7 Ways to Increase Engagement on Social Media

7 Ways to Increase Engagement on Social Media

increase engagement on social mediaWe’ve all been there before. It’s the afternoon and you realize that you haven’t posted anything all day on your social channels. Or maybe you woke up to find that a competitor has posted something that completely stole your spotlight. Either way, you want to make sure that doesn’t happen again. After all, your business is only as good as your social media presence. But how should you create, distribute, and analyze your content?

As a consumer, you’re probably used to being bombarded with content from every angle – but as a small business, it’s important to make sure that your content stands out from the crowd. If you’re an outdoor power equipment dealership looking to increase your social media engagement and reach, there are a few things you can do to make sure your content is up to par. Keep reading to learn more about how you can improve your social media presence!

The Keys of Engagement

tell a story

  1. Tell A Story: People love stories that move them. It’s really easy to tell someone how great your brand or product is. People are tired of hearing it! Show your consumers how your product helps them solve a problem or issue in their life. Make your content more meaningful by telling stories to get your point across.
  2. Be Relevant: Consumers want the content they consume to be relevant to them. This resonates whether the content is happy, sad, realistic or drives anger. People like Meme’s because it draws attention to the things that people think, but don’t usually say out loud. A few ways to be certain that your content is relevant is to speak to customer’s pain points, follow current trends, appeal to their emotions and sharing personal experiences or challenges with the subject. Another way to find engaging content ideas is to look at your competitor’s social media accounts. What posts perform well? Which perform poorly?
  3. Promote User Generated Content: Create a social media challenge (or use a current trend) or contest to cultivate user generated content. Ask your customers to create content of them using the products or the way their lawn looks after using the lawnmower they bought from you.
  4. Employee Focused Content: Allow your employees to share a glimpse of their work life and what it is like to work for your dealership. Have an employee create videos educating customers on specific products and their features. But don’t force your employees to participate. This will show through in the content that is created. Encourage the employees most passionate and comfortable with social media content creation to participate.
  5. Share Customer Testimonials: Reviews and Reputation Management becomes increasingly important as we mover deeper into the digital era. 95% of Potential customers are researching brands and reading reviews before they even consider setting foot in your door. Sharing testimonials also helps you build trust with potential customers.
  6. Share Content from other Brands/Authorities in the Green Industry: There are several applications that do a great job of showcasing products from the manufacturers that you carry. You can also share articles and posts from industry experts and share your thoughts. This will give your audience a bit of a break from your brand, so they don’t get overwhelmed by your content.
  7. Create Behind the Scenes Content: Some consumers find it interesting how the process works. Sharing content of your staff unloading inventory into your showroom or getting the show room ready for the day can be an interesting way to showcase your business. Giving consumers a behind-the-scenes look of life behind the counter can also make your business more relatable and understandable.
  8. Use Hashtags (Correctly): A hashtag (#) is used to index keywords and topics on social media channels. Essentially, the hashtags that you use will allow the platform to properly categorize and distribute your content in the various types of feeds. In short, Hashtags make your content more discoverable. You want to make sure that the hashtags that you use are relevant, popular and add understanding or context to your content. There are many free keyword research tools that you can use to find the most widely viewed hashtags for your topics. Most platforms will allow you to use up to 30 hashtags. Do so but do it wisely.

Frequently Asked Questions About Social Media Engagement

Why is Social Media engagement important?

Engagement is a ranking signal on all social media platforms. If people engage with your content, the algorithm will see that content as interesting and valuable, and surface it to more users. This means that social media engagement can help you grow your social accounts and reach more people. Engagement also helps to build relationships with potential and current customers, which can lead to more sales and conversions.

What is considered a “good” engagement rate?

Anything between 1-5% is considered “good”. You will want to look at your social media analytics and see what your historic engagement rate is, so that you will know when you have increased it.

How do I calculate my engagement rate?

You can calculate your social media engagement rate by dividing the number of public interactions with a post by the number of account followers and multiply it by 100. For Example, if your last post had 75 likes and your account has 300 followers- Your engagement rate would be 75/300 X 100 = 25%. Most social media platforms will calculate this for you in their analytics section.

Why should I care about my engagement rate?

Keep these insights in mind as you fine-tune your strategy to reflect your target market’s taste, interests, and expectations more accurately.

Keep it Consistent

There’s a myth that creating great content takes a lot of money and it is time consuming. It doesn’t have to be. When used correctly and in unison with other strategies, you will have more time for other areas of your business that need your attention. When you increase your engagement, you will also increase your leads and ultimately, sales. Your customer retention and loyalty will also increase. The most certain way to increase your social media engagement is to be consistent with your posts. Your followers will come to expect to see your content, so you need to make sure that you have a steady flow of great content in que.

Don’t have the time for content creation and posting on social media? We can help! Contact Us Today and let’s talk about how we can help you grow your business! Follow us on Facebook and Instagram to keep up with all the latest news!