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Case Study - Harley-Davidson® of Macon

Eric Pedretti | 02/22/2016

 

 

 

 

Increase market share from competitors and generate more quantifiable leads from the dollars being spent in marketing. 

 

 

 

 

 

Traditional marketing had always been a challenge for H-D of Macon. In the past, the dealership had depended on radio, billboards and some print advertising to reach new riders. Like many dealers, Brett Sassaman, Marketing Manager and son of owners Greg & Lisa Sassaman, struggled with quantifying the effectiveness of this style of advertising and wasn’t convinced it was working. 

 

 

 

 

To help Brett begin carving off new market share, we identified all the Harley owners who lived within 30 miles of his dealership, but haven’t bought from him. We combined that list with past customers from their Talon who spent money with the dealership in the past four years and also lived within 30 miles of their store. 

 

Once we identified their ‘Right Audience’, we went after them with the ‘Right Media’. We utilized 12 direct-marketing strategies including direct mail, a recorded call blast, email blasts, social media updates, in-store fliers, in-store signage, a web banner, lead magnet and even more to guarantee the target audience was reached multiple times leading up to the event. We’ve proven through executing thousands of campaigns with over 700 dealerships that this drastically increases response rates. To generate leads, each piece of communication incentivized folks to go online and complete a survey to tell the dealership two pieces of information: 1) First and Last Name, email address and phone number & 2) What they want to buy from the dealership. This typically generates hundreds of leads for not only unit sales, but also parts & accessories, MotorClothes and service as well. Combine this formula with consistency and we are systematically carving off new market share and generating more leads for Brett and the team at H-D of Macon. 

 

 


 

 

H-D of Macon has executed three events in three straight months; Black Friday & Chrome Saturday in November, a Naughty List Party in December and a Resolve to Ride More in January. The results have been immediate. Their Black Friday Event was one of the best days at the counter in memory and a record for the dealership! During their Naughty List Party they broke another record with 7 bike deals in one day. As this article goes to print, the Resolve to Ride Campaign has already generated 122 sales opportunities for their individual departments. Below are their last two Campaign Wrap Ups which generated over 450 combined leads including 74 new & used unit leads, 133 parts & accessories leads, 47 service leads and 109 MotorClothes leads. 

 

Black Friday Campaign:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Naughty List Party:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Out of just 2,500 records, their Sharp Shooter Campaigns are averaging close to a 10% response rate, or 10 times the national average for direct mail marketing. 
 

 

 

 

 

What’s next? By the time you read this, January is in the books and we’ve moved on to February. February is the unofficial kick off to spring. That may sound ridiculous depending on what part of the country you’re in, but it’s true. Come February, your customer base is so sick and tired of months of cold and snow and cabin fever, they want nothing more than to get invited to your dealership for a party. Come February, you’re just a few short weeks away from riding season. The events you did in December and January planted seeds that have been watered and fertilized and are about to explode into a flood of bike sales. Don’t miss out on February. Don’t wait until March, April and May because if you do, you will miss out on sales to your competition.

February brings Mardi Gras, one of the biggest parties of the year, Valentine’s Day, which our clients have proven isn’t just for women and the jewelry industry, Spring Kickoff Parties and so many more reasons to keep your buying base engaged with your dealership. Check out the in

 

sert for samples of some proven winners in February. I guarantee you won’t be disappointed in the results.

For more information on how the Sharp Shooter Program can help kickoff your spring season with a bang, give me a ring on my direct line at 877-242-4472 ext: 112 or request information at www.PowersportsMarketing.com. Happy selling.