CED

April 2014

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30 | www.cedmag.com | Construction Equipment Distribution | April 2014 A Closer Look What works? What doesn't? When it comes to marketing that's what dealers want to know. But even with the growth of digital marketing, these are questions that dealers struggle with. In a newly released marketing survey from AED and Equipment Data Associates (EDA) 134 construction equipment dealers shared their insights. "One of the reasons we conducted this study is the lack of information to help dealers make good marketing deci- sions," said Ross Conroy, EDA's director of digital market- ing. EDA provides dealers and manufacturers with market intelligence based on UCC-filings. "This information can help our prospects and customers excel." Lacking time and sometimes data, dealers can find themselves in a quandary about where to spend their marketing dollars. Nowhere is this more evident than in Yellow Pages/Directory Advertising usage. Seventy-two percent of the dealers surveyed still use it, yet more than half of those who do find it "ineffective." No one surveyed found it "very effective." It's an indication of just how difficult it can be for dealers to let go of traditional marketing methods. Fifty percent of the dealers surveyed reported their biggest marketing challenge is measuring return on investment. "It takes diligence to track where sales leads come from," said Conroy. "But the key is always measuring everything you do. The world is changing very quickly, and things have a way of becoming antiquated quickly." "The problem with marketing is that it's generally difficult to pinpoint whether something is working," said Deborah Frakes, managing director of Winsby Inc., a marketing agency with several dealer clients. "Everyone Marketing Maze A new AED/EDA Marketing Study reveals the most effective tactics among CE dealers. By Joanne Costin and the Search for the Right Mix 30_Marketing_feature_KP.indd 30 3/27/14 4:30 PM

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