Making sales come a little easier in a perceived commodity-based industry can be a struggle. Yet, I am a firm believer that anyone can be sold on any given day with the right person delivering the right message. What this mantra doesn’t outline is the higher fundamental construct of any sale. That is the perceived presence of a specific need and the awareness of the value that your product/service can produce. At its core, if you have a defined target market that helps to solve a specific problem using a simple to understand solution and can show those results – your business’s growth will follow. If you aren’t swimming in sales and success just yet, this short mind map may be useful for you.

The corporate brand powersport products, do a great job spending millions a month enticing a portion of the population that they could use the product you happen to sell. Your local marketing efforts built the confidence necessary for a complete stranger to come in and visit your dealership specifically – congratulations on successful prospecting. Your guest has decided to take time out of their day and spend it with your brand. So, that’s it right? Send your sales staff home, because your work here is done. Eh, not quite. You are still looking to solve the original formula we outlined earlier. That is, what pain points does YOUR brand help to solve?

I can purchase a side-by-side or motorcycle anywhere. Why should I buy from you? What unique values should you be letting me know about as I visit for statistically 48 minutes before making a decision to do business with you or leave and take my business elsewhere? If you think your signs, balloons and sales staff is got that part locked down, then I have already missed you. If this, after contemplating a little deeper, sounds tremendously hard to accomplish, then I have sparked the right nerve ending in your brain.

I recommend by starting to really know your customers better. Sit down and talk with them before and after the sale. Become the very best at empathizing. Listen to what they are saying. Know their specific needs as if they were your own. Understand the buying process through their eyes. You will begin to see certain pain points and preferences that arise. It may require changes to your current business approach, culture or even offering. This will spark a growth period as a brand and carve out specific marketing communications to those individuals you now know very well.

I know this sounds a little over the top, time consuming and could seemingly narrow your total available market. But in the long run you will be making a more visible bridge of value between your brand and your target customers. Trust me, it’s worth prioritizing your time for.

If you have subscribed to this up until now, you would agree that relevant and timely communication is part of the sales equation. That is to say the right message at the wrong time works almost as bad as the wrong message at the right time.  So, what is your plans to deliver this during that 48-minute window of opportunity?

Let’s start by educating your guests about all of the programs and offerings that your brand has to offer the moment they walk in. No, I am not talking about bombarding them. I am talking about creating an environment in which they are being informed and entertained in the way they want to be communicated with. Share your brands history and tell your story. What makes you unique in your marketplace. This doesn’t mean talking about specific sales promotions or product details that are identical to anyone selling that same exact product. Challenge yourself to step out of that comfort zone and mature your message.

Remember in early grade school when they would make education and memory-based games fun? We all pay more attention and learn more, when we are being entertained at the same time. Nothing’s changed. Creating a fun upbeat ambiance, while providing informative communications toward your guests as they visit will increase your engagement of new guests and retention of current customers.

Investing in a custom music and branded messaging system to play throughout your showroom and on hold is a great way to start. You can get really creative with those audio messages and let your brand show through. Make it sound as if you were tuning in from your own radio network. With some solutions, you will be able to blend multiple genres together only playing family-friendly content and schedule messages to play at the frequency you believe is most affective. You could even target different areas of your store with different content seeing that your dealership may parts of it with unique needs.  

There was a study done on all of general retail pertaining to branded audio messages. The messages were coupled with great music that was preferred by that demographic and the audio messages were carefully crafted with recognizable branding and a jingle. The end result was staggering. Up to 41% of the “smart shopper” segment made an additional unplanned purchase after being prompted by a branded audio message they heard.  

This paradigm shift in how you conduct business, is only just the beginning. Investing in a quality audio advertising solution is a great low-cost start to dipping your toe in the water while checking all the boxes. Providing timely relevant communications about your brands specific value adds in a fun upbeat atmosphere.

This article was written by Ryan Powers, vice president of marketing and business solutions at SoundFox.

Link: SoundFox