Unleash Your Experts: How to Be a Long-Tail Resource for Powersports Enthusiasts

Whether shopping for a vehicle or an accessory, powersports purchases are an emotionally driven experience, and selecting the right items can be daunting. This is especially true for new riders eager to begin this adventure who may be unsure of where to start. That’s why customers look to product experts.

These experts can deliver a flawless customer experience that guides them to the right items while taking the sting out of purchases by offering each buyer financing options to help meet their unique needs. Successful dealers know this and dedicate themselves to providing the best support and guidance possible.

The best dealers know the value of providing service once a sale is closed and recognize that their teams can deliver value far beyond the transaction. These professionals are seasoned, passionate powersports riders themselves, with countless insights and tips they can bestow on customers post-purchase to ensure a great powersports experience while helping increase loyalty to the store. They are the perfect long-tail customer resource, adept at helping bring shoppers back again and again. Moreover, dealerships themselves can serve as venues where riders gather to learn and celebrate the sport.

Unleashing Your Experts

Most people who work in a dealership have extensive knowledge about the local powersports riding trails and events. Once a sale is complete, dealers can encourage the sales team to share their guidance before the customer leaves the store:

Hit the trails: Which trails are best for beginners? What about expert riders who are new to the area? Experts can share links and/or hard copy handouts of local trails (along with maps) that align with each person’s experience level, interests and the vehicle he or she purchased. The sales team can even take on a “travel agent” role by not just recommending destinations but also calling out local restaurants, hotels, inns and more. For those riders who prefer to ride with groups, offer a list of local riding groups they can join to better integrate themselves into the local riding community.
Create a weekend riding club: Another great idea is to create a dealer-affiliated riding club led by your sales service teams. Encourage customers to sign up, and make the store the kickoff location for weekend rides, where new locations are introduced monthly. The dealership team can offer coffee and donuts and some riding tips for that day’s trail. Events can even be broken down based on levels of expertise.

In-Store Education

Like owning a car, keeping your powersport vehicle on the trail requires ongoing maintenance, and with the right guidance, riders can learn precisely when to bring into the dealership:

Encourage proactive vehicle service: Host regular how-to technical sessions to teach riders how to recognize when their vehicles need servicing. Led by service experts who do this for a living, these sessions will make it easy for riders to spot wear and tear so they can proactively bring their vehicles in for maintenance. When done right, these steps will ultimately help them avoid what could escalate into more costly repairs while also extending the life of the vehicle.
Offer vehicle trade-ins and upgrades: In addition to maintenance, dealers can provide riders with a place to unload items they no longer use. This includes trade-in options or coupons that can be used to upgrade to new items.
Explaining financing options: Dealers can also demonstrate that they are invested in that consumer’s purchase journey — from initial research to maintenance and purchase — by offering and explaining the different promotional financing options available to help pay for the products and services enthusiasts want or need.

New Vehicle and Accessory Showcase

Dealers can transform their physical dealership into a mini trade show, highlighting the latest and greatest items. Here are a few examples of what I’ve seen firsthand:

Launching a new product showcase: Consumers are always interested in the latest products, from vehicles to accessories, and who better share these new items than the businesses producing them? Dealers can invite representatives from vehicle and accessory manufacturers to the dealership to share the latest gear and provide a glimpse of what’s to come in the months and weeks ahead. In parallel, manufacturers and dealers can also offer one-on-one demonstrations of these new items and open things up for questions from attendees.
Celebrating your VIP customers: What better way to reward your top customers than to host them for a VIP event? Hold an in-store event each quarter, providing individuals with special coupons for the latest gear.

We all know that closing deals and providing service are a dealer’s bread and butter, but your dealership has far more to offer customers beyond what transpires on the showroom floor. Those dealers that provide guidance spanning products, financing, upkeep and getting out on the trails can generate new levels of customer loyalty that can last a lifetime.