Proudly serving the industry for which it was named for more than 50 years, Outdoor Power Equipment provides dealers who sell and service outdoor power equipment with valuable information to succeed in a competitive market.
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/306984
of sincere thanks, as well as details on how the recipient can take advantage of spiffs they've earned through the referral process. Automating these emails is key. A long list of one-to-one email correspondence could easily be the first to-do to fall off your list, but by automating the process, you can quickly and easily generate these emails on a regular schedule. The first step is to create a template for your thank-you message in your email marketing software. Secondly, you'll need to add fields in your Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system that allow you to quickly and easily generate the list of customers who need to receive a thank-you email on a regular interval — weekly is good; daily is even better. Dealership website If a customer is interested in providing feedback on your customer service — good or bad — your dealership website will likely be their destination. Make it easy for site visitors to find and provide reviews of your dealership by adding "Reviews" to either your top navigation or as a secondary navigation item under your dealership's "About Us" page. This section of your website should include customer testimonials, as well as a feedback form with optional fields to allow your happy customers to include the names, phone numbers and email addresses of friends who might be interested in doing business with you. Don't limit the testimonials on this page to those you've received through the feedback form. Cull additional testimonials from online review sites like Yelp, Google+ and Angie's List. Credit the source review site and link page to the original review. Online review sites Properly managed, online review sites can perform as finely tuned referral engines for your dealership. Without oversight, Yelp, Google+, Angie's List and other online review sites could cause your online reputation great harm. While I can and will spend more time in subsequent articles talking about online reputation management in more depth, I'll give you a few quick takeaways to help you fold online reputation management into your referrals strategy. 1. Establish accounts with Yelp, Google+ and Angie's List to ensure your dealership information is accurate and up-to-date. 2. Set up Google Alerts 3 for your company name and any close variations. Google will send alerts directly to you in an email digest, so there's no ongoing legwork involved. Google Alerts, like most things Google, is free. 3. Be responsive! Respond to as many positive reviews as time allows, but it is critical that you respond to every single negative review with a note stating the dealership has followed up with the customer to ensure their satisfaction. sOcial meDia The average Facebook user has 338 friends. That's an incredible pool of friends, colleagues, old classmates and other acquaintances that your customers have the power to influence. In the March 2014 issue of Outdoor Power Equipment, my colleague Brad Smith's article on social e-commerce introduced you to two platforms that reward your customers for sharing information on your products and services with their social networks. If you haven't checked them out yet, you're missing out on an opportunity to drive referrals through your customers' extended online networks. Ownedit allows you to run campaigns across all of your digital channels designed to incentivize your customers to make online referrals. The platform is really simple to use; if you can point and click, you can create a campaign. Plus, you can test-drive the platform for free at www.ownedit.com. InviteBox is another referral program that rewards customers for sharing information on your products, services and special promotions. This site also allows you to sign up for a free trial, so you've got no excuse not to try it: www.invitebox.com. Both sites are very comparable to one another, so give them a whirl to see what works best for your business model. say thank yOu It warrants repeating that you should be incredibly thankful for every single referral you receive. This seems obvious, but so many businesses forget about it. As you have free time, having someone on your team place a call or send a handwritten note for a referral is worth it. (Yes, a handwritten note. When was the last time you got one of those?) measure yOur success Start measuring the quantity of referrals you receive on a weekly basis and set a weekly goal for each member of your team. Just like your customers, your team members may require a small incentive, but developing a pipeline of referral leads is well worth it. 1 http://bit.ly/1ipwsH0 2 http://svy.mk/1bziZ71 3 http://bit.ly/1ieGKKa O U T D O O R P O W E R E Q U I P M E N T MAY 2014 17 Heather Blessington joined ARI as Chief Marketing Officer in November 2013, in conjunction with the acquisition of Duo Web Solutions, a digital marketing start-up she owned which grew to be the leading provider of social media marketing services. Blessington has a 20-year track record of success in website design/development, search engine marketing and social media strategy. Blessington's portfolio features work for Fortune 500 clients, including Microsoft, Samsung, Bank of America, Lowe's and Whirlpool Corporation. She is also an award-winning blogger and nationally renowned speaker. ARI creates award-winning software solutions that help equipment manufacturers, distributors and dealers "Sell More Stuff!" — online and in-store. ARI removes the complexity of selling and servicing new and used inventory, parts, garments and accessories for customers in the outdoor power equipment, powersports, marine, RV, automotive tire and wheel, and white goods industries. More than 22,000 equipment dealers, 195 distributors and 140 manufacturers worldwide leverage ARI's website (www.arinet.com) and eCatalog platforms to "Sell More Stuff!" OPE