Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/208245
Helmet & Apparel PSB FOCUS m www.PowersportsBusiness.com Powersports Business • November 4, 2013• 23 e Use website to promote full stock of colors, sizes - ARI/50 Below's Doran Nurmi provides online tips BY DAVE McMAHON EDITOR IN CHIEF Boxes of helmets, jackets, pants and other apparel just arrived at your dealership. You've heard customers asking about their arrival for days. What's the best way to let customers know you have all sizes and colors in stock? For starters, shout it loud, front-and-center, on your dealership's website, according to Doran Nurmi, director of product management for ARI. Nurmi provided some other tips for promoting sales of helmets and apparel via digital segments. PSB: How are you seeing dealers capitalize on the fact that they have sizes and colors available and in stock, ready for purchase? DN: The first method is via their website. They're putting merchandising banners on their home page that announce the arrival of the helmet or apparel. Most of the banners we're doing now for dealers is not the "Christmas blowout! All helmets half off!" That's not what most of the dealers we're working with are doing, and that's a healthy sign. It's more like announcing a top jacket brand has arrived, and letting the customer or potential customer know that it's in stock with a full run of sizes and colors available. We're not seeing as many of the "Last year's clearance helmets blowout" banners. PSB: That seems like a step in the right direction, especially from a margins standpoint. DN: We want to make it a point to get the fresh, new product as top of mind for the customer. Dealers always want to know how they can notify people of what they have in their store, and that they can come in and leave with it. Websites are great for leading people into the store for that. PSB: What are some other tactics that dealers are using to attract customers? DN: If they're using Facebook, they will put up a post when they get a new shipment of helmets or apparel in. Something simple like "Just wanted to let everyone know that we've got new Castle jackets, ladies sizes too. Just arrived this morning." And include a photo. It's all about awareness and availability. PSB: Dealers have all sorts of competition for products like helmets and apparel. How important is it for them to "steal" folks who might be looking at online-only e-tailers for their purchase? DN: The first thing they need to do is look at their website visitors. It's often that they'll get more customers going to their website, more visitors, than they do to their physical location in a given day. It's sort of the "outta sight, outta mind" thinking. We relay those numbers to our dealers to show them that they're getting 75 people a day going to their site. Unless you're getting 75 people a day going to your physical location, this is where you need to be letting know that the new shipment of helmets just arrived. Whether that number is 50 or 250 or 10, it's all about letting the dealer know that there are customers, and they are local customers that are going to your website. So make them aware of what you have in your store. It's a great way to notify people and get them to go into your store, or at least plant top-of-mind awareness so that when they're ready to buy, they'll come to you. PSB TOP 20 MOST SEARCHED HELMETS RANK 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 PRODUCT NAME ARAI CORSAIR V HELMET FORMULA MX HELMET FX-90 HELMET TENACITY HELMET CYBER US-39 HELMET SKID LID ORIGINAL HELMET GP-TECH ELEMENTS HELMET DEMON HELMET MEN'S STEALTH FLAME MODULAR HELMET ALLIANCE RUBATONE HELMET 9MM HELMET X-TWELVE FULL-FACE HELMET VARIANT HELMET PRO CROSS XP-R CARBON LIGHT HELMET GM46X-1 ADULT HELMET FLY F2 CARBON HELMET VFX-W GRANT HELMET XC-1 HELMET EXO-100 SOLID HELMET NOLAN N43 TRILOGY HELMET BRAND NAME Arai Helmets Fly Racing AFX Pure Polaris Cyber Skid Lid AGV Pure Polaris KBC Icon Fly Racing Shoei Safety Helmet Corporation Icon Ski-Doo GMAX Fly Racing Shoei Safety Helmet Corporation Ski-Doo ScorpionEXO Nolan TOP 20 MOST SEARCHED JACKETS RANK 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 PRODUCT NAME BLACK OPS CONVERTIBLE JACKET YAMAHA SOFT SHELL JACKET KILIMANJARO JACKET GP PRO JACKET WOMEN'S SUNDANCE JACKET URBAN SPORTS SYMPATEX PANTHA JACKET YAMAHA RACING SOFT SHELL PIT DAY JACKET RACE LIGHT PRO JACKET 13 PHASE JACKET GP-R PERFORATED LEATHER JACKET BOLT JACKET DUSTER JACKET OVERLORD SPORTBIKE SB1 JACKETS LADIES ATOMIC 4.0 JACKET CLUB 2 JACKET FLY TACTILE JACKET LADIES SNO ICE JACKET 12-IN-1 REVERSIBLE JACKET ROADSTER JACKET FLY SNX JACKET BRAND NAME Fly Racing Yamaha Firstgear Alpinestars Klim Triumph Yamaha KTM Thor Alpinestars Castle X Fox Racing Icon Joe Rocket BMW Fly Racing Coldwave Harley-Davidson River Road Fly Racing Source: ARI Dealer Website searches from Oct. 2012 - Oct. 2013 . h P15x23-PSB14-Focus.indd 23 10/30/13 12:21 PM