Technological innovation was easy to find at the 2013 Dealer Expo in Indianapolis, Ind. Here is a rundown of the latest and greatest products showcased for powersports dealers:
AccessorySmart
Imagine, no more flipping through paper catalogs searching endlessly for SKUs, or ordering the wrong item because the SKU was handwritten incorrectly.
AccessorySmart by ARI Network Services makes this dream a reality. This PG&A lookup solution provides your parts counter personnel with a one-stop resource to search for products, costs and availability from aftermarket suppliers including Tucker Rocky, Parts Unlimited and Western Powersports. The
online system provides access to more than 500,000 SKUs from 1,400 aftermarket manufacturers. Hands down, the most impressive aspect of this product is the speed in which it takes to find a particular SKU, which ARI states is 80 percent more efficient, translating into an annual savings of $20,000 for the average dealership. The way I see it, you can’t afford not to research this product. For more information, visit www.tryaccessorysmart.com.
DX1
Powersports Network unveiled its new dealer management system called DX1. Right off the bat, the user interface dazzled the eye. The design is nothing like anything I have seen in the powersports industry, and it could best be compared to the clean and simple look and feel of the Microsoft Surface branding. DX1 is a true cloud-based system that handles everything dealers need to run a successful business including management of inventory, sales, website, marketing, customer relationships and accounting within one database. The only bummer is we need to wait for it; DX1 launches in beta April 2013. To request participation in the Early Adopter program, visit this link: http://bit.ly/ContactEarlyAdopter.
Powersports Connect
NADAguides introduced Powersports CONNECT, a digital solution that dealers can use to help determine vehicle values accurately and efficiently. Updates are made six times annually, rather than the standard updates of the paper Guidebooks, which are published three times per year. The tool provides a complete spectrum of data and services, including suggested retail cost, dealer cost, used wholesale values and used retail values. Powersports CONNECT also allows dealers the ability to create custom hang tags with dealer add-ons and a dealer logo, as well as inventory management features that allow printing of itemized value reports. Go here for more information: http://bit.ly/NADAConnect.
MOTOTV
The concept behind MOTOTV is a great one – most dealerships have TVs mounted throughout the store, so put them to good use! MOTOTV pipes in fresh content from The Speed Channel (AMA Race Updates!), RacerX Films and Red Bull plus they are constantly updating them to keep the programming fresh. “Being PowerSports enthusiasts ourselves, we are stoked to add excitement and knowledge to the dealership atmosphere, which we believe inherently increases sales,” said director of business development, Mark Gradowski.
In between the MOTOTV content, there is space for you to add your own promotional messages to educate and inform your customers while they shop. MOTOTV is not a DVD loop; instead, it’s completely customizable to what you sell in your dealership and editable in a flash. It uses your existing broadband Internet connection, which allows MOTOTV to run evening downloads of new content to the media player installed at your location. Monthly rates start at $99/month. Read more here: http://www.mototvnetwork.com/
Loyalty Rewards
Lightspeed Loyalty Rewards is a points-based loyalty program designed to help increase customer visits to your dealership. Rather than giving individual discounts, Loyalty Rewards give points to customers for purchases they make. The system is completely cardless, fully integrated with Lightspeed, and it allows customers to redeem points with a gift certificate or mobile device. The dealer user interface allows a view of customer points, top customers and top categories, and the back end dealer portal allows management of customers, scheduling of events and point balance adjustments. The data also can be exported to allow you to monitor the program’s effectiveness. Visit http://bit.ly/ADPLightspeed or call (800) 521-0309.
Award-winning blogger and CEO of Duo Web Solutions, Heather Blessington is a nationally-renowned speaker on social media marketing and a digital marketing veteran. Her company provides MPN monthly columns focused on best practices in web marketing for powersports dealers.
