Dealers’ Domain Question:
M
ost of our customers come to us through referral, but we also have sales representatives on the street
to meet new customers and provide demonstrations of our products. We carry what we believe is the best commercial products in the industry and concentrate on these customers. We give exceptional service and have a preferred customer pro- gram. This includes a 24-hour service guar- antee on mowers they purchase from us. If we can’t repair their mower in 24 hours from the time they drop it off at one of
our stores, we will give them a loaner until it is repaired. Giving this kind of service re- quires us to stock a large amount of parts. We give preferred customers a discount on our regular labor rate. We give them pre- ferred parts availability, and we give them a discount on pickup and delivery if they need it. Our manufacturers also stand be- hind their products and give us and our customers great support. To give this kind of service, we must
keep our prices at a certain level we have established for our customer base. If
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someone asks for a discount, we can accommodate them, but they lose their preferred customer status due to the costs of providing this level of service. — Scott Muehlhauser, president Scott’s Power Equipment, Inc. St. Louis, Mo.
We attract commercial customers by
carrying a line of very serious, commercial- quality mowers. The retention of the commercial cus- tomer is a little more complex. Commercial customers get priority serv- ice; we maintain a well-stocked parts de- partment, and we support their business as if it were our own. But, I think most dealers do that. The real key to retaining our commercial
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OUTDOOR POWER EQUIPMENT www.outdoorpowerequipment.com
How does your dealership attract and retain commercial customers?
