How to Increase Door Swings to Your Dealership

Every brick and mortar dealership has the goal to generate more foot traffic in their stores. In the digital age, it has become crucial for dealers in all industries – particularly in Powersports, RV, and Marine – to be very active with their internet marketing. The greater your online presence, the greater your storefront foot traffic will be. Everything from having a great website that sells and a robust CRM that empowers your sales team, to posting on social media is important to the success of a Powersports, Marine, and RV dealer. It is important that dealership owners consider the various dealer marketing services available and how they can help boost sales, and grow a brand. Here are some critical factors that can help generate more foot traffic to storefronts by taking advantage of digital strategies.

Improve Your SEO

SEO is a hot term in the digital marketing world. It stands for search engine optimization. The goal of improving SEO is to make a dealer’s website and content more visible when potential customers make internet searches. There are several things you can do to improve your dealer SEO.

First, it is important that your dealer website is updated frequently. This helps with search engine visibility and ranking. Posting units from your used inventory on a regular basis is a great way to stay current. Just be wary of some popular CMS (content management system) software serving the Powersports Industry as their software displays duplicate keywords when you publish any new inventory to your site.

Second, identify keywords that are relevant to the brands your dealership carries and that align with your sales strategies. These keywords should be used throughout the website. An easy way to frequently update and use a lot of keywords is to include a blog on your website. The idea of SEO is for your store to show up when people do an online search. If your store is top-ranked on a search engine like Google, people are much more likely to visit your dealer than if you are buried down within millions of other search results.

Create a Presence on Social Media

Social media is one of the most important platforms for dealers to market themselves on. Whether advertising a new product or an upcoming sale through organic and sponsored content, social media will spread your information out fast to a large pool of different people. Social media will draw customers to the storefront. It is an easy way for them to learn more about your dealership, the brands you represent, your promotions, your business hours, your team, and everything else you offer. Being active on social media will also improve your SEO ranking. For tips on increasing customer loyalty using social media, check out this blog post.

Managing Reviews and Listings

The majority of consumers who do a local search end up visiting a store within five miles. This is where online listings become very important. When a future customer does an online search, you want to make sure that your dealer shows up on their local map. In order for this to happen, a dealer’s listings and citations need to be consistent. Create profile citations on directories such as Google, Foursquare, Yelp, and Yellow Pages. Remember, the goal is for your dealer to show up when a customer is doing a local search.

Whether you are the owner, General Manager, or Marketing Director of a Marine, RV, or Powersports dealer – competition can be tough in the digital era. Get ahead of the game and beat the competition by using the internet to your advantage. Start by improving your SEO, creating a presence on social media, and managing reviews and listings. If you are consistent and frequent with updates, your SEO ranking will grow and your dealership will start to see more foot traffic. Don’t feel like you need to conquer the world of digital marketing alone. Dealer marketing services can be extremely helpful to businesses that need help managing their online presence. If you feel you need help, contact Beyond Creative today to learn how we get your Powersport business to gain more foot traffic by leveraging digital resources and the marketing efforts you already have in place.

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What Is SEO and How Can It Help Your Dealer?

SEO stands for search engine optimization. SEO is important to powersports marketing dealers because it helps their websites rank higher on search engines. Thus, if someone is searching for a product, the dealership is more likely to pop up as one of the top sites on the search engine. SEO can seem overwhelming, and it can be difficult to know where to start. Here are a few ways to start optimizing your website.

Keywords

Keywords are crucial to a successful SEO strategy. Pick a handful of keywords that represent your business. For example, it could be “RV dealer” or “motorcycle accessories.” Use these terms over and over again on the website. Include them on the main page, in the blog, and in alternative image text. Keywords do not have to be the same forever. They should change as the keywords of the powersport industry change. Consistent updating of keywords will help the webpage stay relevant and become highly ranked.

Links

Links are very important to include on your website. These could be external links or internal links. External links would lead outside of your website. For example, an RV dealer might put external links on their website to nearby RV service centers. When using external links, make sure the site that is being linked is trustworthy. Internal links are also important. These are links that take viewers to another part of your website. For example, on a page about a specific motorcycle model, there could be a link to a blog entry about accessories needed to go along with the particular motorcycle. These internal links will increase traffic to different pages on the website, helping to optimize SEO.

Alternative Image Text

When adding images to a website, it is important to use alternative image text. Initially, this feature was made to help visually impaired people know what a picture showed without having to actually see it. Today, alternative image text also helps optimize SEO. Search engines consider the alternative text from website pictures when determining your website rank. Make sure to include a keyword in the alternative image text as well as a good amount of detail. For example, imagine your keyword is “motorized RV.” When creating alternative image text for a picture of an RV, write a statement such as, “A motorized RV is affordable and comfortable. It includes a bathroom, bedroom, and kitchen.” This statement is detailed and uses a keyword. Both of these factors will improve SEO.

SEO can initially seem very complicated. As you become more comfortable with SEO practices, you will find that it can greatly help your dealership. The powersports marketing world heavily depends on Google searches. Through optimizing SEO, your dealer can increase its rank and begin to show up as a top site on the search engine. Contact Go Beyond Creative today to learn about how we can help you optimize SEO.

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Why Your Dealership Needs a Full-Service Marketing Consultant

In the powersports industry, a profitable dealership boils down to marketing initiatives. A successful powersports marketing strategy can lead to increased traffic, customers, and sales. As an owner, you may not have the time or full knowledge base to properly market your dealership. Enter Go Beyond Creative. We are here to meet your full-service marketing needs. Here are a few reasons why your dealership should invest in a full-service marketing consultant.

Advertising

One of the most important parts of a powersports marketing strategy is to get the dealership name seen by as many people as possible. A full-service marketing consultant can help advertise brands via Google Ads and social media. Having a strong visual marketing advertisement campaign posted online will help to draw in both new and returning customers to your dealership.

Social Media Management

Social media is such a powerful marketing platform. Between Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and more, many people follow their favorite businesses online. By hiring a full-service marketing consultant, it takes the pressure off of having to come up with daily creative social media posts. Your consultant can make posts that advertise existing products, upcoming sales, or new inventory. The consultant will work to increase the number of followers, thus driving in business.

ROI Reporting

Return on Investment (ROI) is an important metric that should be tracked by all powersports dealerships. This helps owners understand if their investments are profitable. A full-service marketing consultant can easily help your dealership calculate and track this number on a weekly or monthly basis.

Blogging

Most successful businesses have a blog on their website. Blog entries can be written on a variety of topics based on the customer base. For example, a motorcycle dealer might write a blog entry titled “5 Places to Drive Your Motorcycle This Summer.” An RV dealer could publish a blog titled “How to Outfit Your RV for Family Travel.” Blogs are designed to draw customers in with an interesting topic. Contained in the blog will be keywords and links that help drive Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Working at a dealership can be very busy, so having a full-service marketing consultant to take care of the blog is helpful.

Creating a successful marketing strategy can be difficult and time-consuming. You can avoid feeling overwhelmed by hiring a powersports marketing consultant to help. This consultant can create and maintain your brand image and will lead to a larger customer base with increased sales. Contact Go Beyond Creative today for more information about investing in full-service marketing.

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Gain the Loyalty of Current Customers to Increase Repeat Sales

Broadly speaking, motorcycle, boat, and RV dealer owners have two main goals: bring in new customers and gain the loyalty of the customers they already have. By nurturing current customers through various digital strategies, you can gain their loyalty. As a result, this will lead to an increase in repeat sales. This is especially important in the world of Powersports dealer marketing. It can be relatively simple to advertise and get new customers, but it’s sometimes a little trickier to get those previous customers to come back for additional purchases. Here are a few ways to gain current customer loyalty and increase repeat sales.

1. Email Marketing Campaigns

Email campaigns are a great way to get current customers back in the door. Send out emails to customers on your list anytime there is a sale or promotion. This will encourage them to come back and shop if they know they can get a good deal. With email marketing campaigns, you can contact current and previous customers. You can also try offering a special deal to only current customers and not first-time buyers. This will make them feel special and more encouraged to buy products, thus increasing repeat sales.

2. Run Promotions on Social Media

Another great way to gain the loyalty of current customers is to post sales and promotions on social media profiles. The social media following of your dealership will usually include current and previous customers. Advertising via frequent posts will help draw those customers back into the store.

Dealerships can also hold contests over social media. For example, you may post a picture of an item from your Parts & Accessories catalog and say: Comment below if you are interested in getting 10% off of this product. At the end of the day, randomly select one commenting customer to be the winner. This will get customers interested in current inventory, and it will also encourage them to interact with your company on social media. This practice is also great for gauging interests on particular SKUs, which may help you decide if to stock larger quantities of an item or if to stock any at all. These are all great ways your dealership can increase repeat sales using social media.

3. SMS/Text Campaigns

It is imperative to keep customer profiles saved on your dealer management system (Light Speed EVO or others). After a customer makes a purchase, be sure to have your sales, parts, and service department staff ask their permission to collect their email address and phone number. Also, ask if they don’t mind being added to text campaigns. Advertising via text messages is a great way to gain repeat business. If there is a sale or promotion going on, send out a text to all current customers. Text messaging campaigns have a very high open ratio. People are much more likely to open and read their text messages than emails, making text campaigns a highly successful marketing strategy.

4. Create a Blog

Blogs are interesting to read and keep customers familiar with your dealer’s brand. Something on the blog may pique their interest and cause them to return to the store for additional purchases. Just make sure to update the blog frequently so that there is always new information for customers to see. Great topics to write about on your blog may include:

1. Safely riding your motorcycle in the rain
2. How to properly secure your ATV or UTV on your trailer
3. Why it’s imperative to change spark plugs in your PWC
4. The most popular local riding destinations
5. Myths about jet boat tracking and handling
6. Benefits of buying used vs. new motorcycles
7. And many, many more…

Gaining the loyalty of existing customers is extremely important for Motorsports dealers, particularly multiline dealers. It is also a key element in the Powersports marketing formula. While it is always good to bring in new customers, a big part of the success of your dealer is retaining customers and getting repeat sales. By focusing on digital marketing strategies, dealerships can easily attract current customers and continue to gain their loyalty.

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Instagram as a Platform for B2B and B2C Businesses

Social media has now become an essential part of business marketing. Gone are the days when social media was merely used for reuniting and catching up. Today it proves to be a successful communication platform for both B2B and B2C businesses.

One of the most popular amongst all social media platforms is Instagram, which deals in sharing photos and videos along with info graphics. According to a recent survey by Hub Spot, when we talk about content, visual images leave a stronger imprint in the mind than any other kind of content. Not only it is easy to comprehend but it is also much more appealing to the eyes. Thus, Instagram made use of this concept and came up with the idea of a social media platform which deals with visual content.

Huge businesses regularly use Instagram to promote sales campaigns, advertise conferences and even make official announcements. It’s an impressive platform for showcasing their efforts and also for inviting feedback. Instagram has a comment section which can invite honest comments and reviews about a particular video or a picture posted. This lets B2B and B2C businesses get an unbiased view of what the actual consumer feels and thinks about their product.

In addition to connecting with consumers, Instagram also drives an enormous amount of traffic directly to the business’s website, by making use of back links and hashtags. This helps with converting prospects into actual, paying customers.

The following are just a few of the ways by which Instagram helps in B2B and B2C business.

It’s a Splendid Platform to Showcase Corporate Culture

Instagram is a superb platform to showcase the best business practices. It is one of those tools which does not require you to be too formal and still manages to stay casual at the same time.

It Makes Use of the Content in a Unique Way

As mentioned above, it has its own unique way of communicating with the target audience without going too far, which helps you earn brownie points.

It Helps Build Relationships with the Audience

People naturally like to feel connected with others. Instagram gives customers a glimpse into the heart and soul of a business, which helps create trust in the minds of potential customers.

Utilize Instagram Ads

Instagram ads work wonders if used correctly. Ads have proved to attract target audiences and generate revenue for businesses across many industries alike.

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