Dealer Spike Helps Canadian Dealerships Grow

Canadian dealership group FFUN Recreation experienced a 1,561% average increase in leads across its 10 dealerships during the first year with web provider Dealer Spike.

FFUN Recreation is a division of FFUN Group, one of Canada’s leading companies. The company has steadily continued to prove successful, but the websites were not a huge factor in that success until FFUN Recreation made the move to Dealer Spike. Derek Larke, Director of Marketing, says the old websites just didn’t have the look or feel that his team wanted for the company.

“In today’s market, we’re seeing 80 percent of people go online to do initial research on a unit. The website is the first introduction of our brand,” Larke explains. FFUN Recreation wanted a web presence that was both pleasing to the eye and also distributed information well.

“Our partnership with Dealer Spike came about through Harley-Davidson – we were talking to them about best-in-class web providers. They mentioned Dealer Spike and showed us some of the work that had been done in the U.S.,” Larke says.

FFUN Recreation’s previous websites were “totally different,” according to Larke. The layouts had a white background, smaller pictures, and no banner interface. Larke cites the new black background on most sites, large images, and banner capabilities to be major improvements. He mentions the events calendar and the lead pop forms as effective tools he often uses.

Larke calls the new FFUN Recreation websites “cleaner, way more modern, with good design elements.” He appreciates backend tools that make edits and changes easy for him and his hands-on marketing team. Dealer Spike has also provided FFUN Recreation with a toolbox of effective lead generating strategies. “Our site has a lot of call-to-action buttons that get people to send us an email, plus we have the chat function which also helps customers get information,” Larke says. He credits data collection as a major reason for increased leads on the new sites.

“We are proud and honored to partner with one of the most outstanding dealership groups in Canada,” says Jay Mason, CEO of Dealer Spike. “We share a common goal with FFUN Recreation – a commitment to driving excellence for our customers. We are committed to helping FFUN Recreation, and its neighboring Canadian dealerships, achieve major results in all of the industries we serve.”

Dealerships are no longer in the process of transitioning to an online-first world – that transition has occurred. Customers are on the Internet, so dealerships need to be there too, and they need to offer a powerful first impression.

The Sturgis Motorcycle Museum and Hall of Fame recently named Marilyn Stemp and Steve Piehl to its board of directors.

Stemp is a pioneering figure in the motorcycle industry, founding IronWorks Magazine with her late husband, Dennis, and becoming the first female editor of a nationally circulated, mainstream motorcycle magazine. She also revived their trade magazine, Iron Trader News; edits the monthly Kiwi Indian News; contributes to several powersports media outlets; and is the founding editor of Sturgis Rider Daily. Stemp is a noted editor and writer of several motorcycle-focused books. Her consistent support for charitable efforts in the industry include the annual Biker Belles Celebration, Las Vegas BikeFest and as campaign chair for the Sturgis Motorcycle Museum’s development plan in 2014. She co-founded the Flying Piston charity events taking place in Daytona and Sturgis each year and is a National Ambassador for All Kids Bike. Stemp was inducted into both the Las Vegas Motorcycle Hall of Fame and the Sturgis Museum's Hall of Fame in 2018, and in 2022 she was recognized as one of the Top 100 Women in Powersports by DealerNews.