Amazon this and internet that. We can’t compete with online retailers. Common complaints that are frequently heard from the brick and mortar stores when it comes to holiday shopping. But a recent Entrepreneur.com article appears to tell a different story. The article (New Data Shows Surprising Ways This Holiday Season Will Be Different) appeared online on October 26 and revealed some interesting data.
In a recent study of 1500 U.S. consumers by Euclid Analytics not only showed a slight increase in spending but some unusual habits that benefit the retail storefront.
#1. 91% of those that replied visit physical stores once a week, but only 49% shop online once a week.
#2 53% would rather shop in the store if the store’s digital platform was mobile friendly and showed the best deals.
#3 Social Media is important. 47% discover new products via word of mouth and 37% turn to Facebook for this advice.
Great, thanks for the info, but how do I use this practically in my dealership. It’s pretty simple and only requires a small bit of effort on you and your staff to implement.
As to #1. Make sure you are stocking the latest and greatest products from your suppliers. Make sure they are merchandised correctly and be 100% sure that your staff is trained on the features and benefits. Education of your staff is key to winning the consumer.
#2 is your website mobile friendly. We are quickly approaching a mobile first and then mobile-only approach to digital assets. If your site isn’t mobile-friendly, time to budget some money for a redesign. Look around at your customers and realize how many people have smartphones. That is quickly becoming their new PC, and if you aren’t designing for it, you are being left behind. If you are mobile friendly, what content is coming up first? Are you touting the same low % financing as the rest of your competition? Differentiate yourself and get the sale.
#3. Are you answering all of the questions that are posed to you on social media? Are you even participating in the conversation? A social media plan is now more important than ever in powersports business. Gone are the days of having someone “take care” of social media on their lunch hour or after hours. This is a professional full-time job. Make sure you are talking about your products and dealership. Original content is key to setting you apart from your competitors. Unboxing videos are very popular, what if you did this as you got new items in your dealership. (Side note on videos. Post to YouTube and Facebook using their native upload capabilities. You will often get better reach than cross-posting a YouTube video on Facebook and vice versa.)
So time to stop complaining how online sales are making it too hard to sell. Take these couple of small steps and reap the rewards.
As always the ideas expressed above are my own, and I make no claims to the success or failure of implementing them. They are suggestions to make you think. Please vet all ideas against your business plan before implementing them.
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