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.
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www.outdoorpowerequipment.com OUTDOOR POWER EQUIPMENT JANUARY 2017 23 Briggs Pro Series & Honda GXV Engine Options 3 Speed, Commercial Grade Transmission Heavy Duty, 14 Gauge Steel Deck Cast Aluminum Wheels Cut Heights to 4.75" Great Pricing... Best Value in the Class Masport Distributors: PowerDistributors.com (800) 554-3336 PowerSourceCanada.ca (800) 663-9700 Commercial Contractor Series Mower PD16_69_OPE Magazine_Masport Ad.indd 1 10/25/2016 10:14:42 AM occasionally with special offers. These days, most people have multiple e-mail addresses, so they can filter through certain emails easily. Texting is more personal, but I would reserve that more for service reminders (e.g. notifying customers when their equipment is ready to be picked up) than for marketing purposes. 3) Use your manufacturers' co-op advertising: Take advantage of this perk. Find a way to somehow include your manufacturer's logo in any paid advertising that you do. I know there are restrictions, but this helps both you and your manufacturer and is a great way to reduce your advertis- ing costs. 4) Be an expert: What makes someone an expert? Obviously, an expert is someone who possesses a wealth of knowledge in a specific field, but really it's someone who is thought of as an expert by others. How do you become perceived as an expert? Contribute articles or a column to local publications. Go on a radio show and talk about lawn equipment. Give a speech at a local business forum. If people see or hear you giving advice in a public forum, then you probably will be perceived by them as an expert. 5) Social media opportunities: In a recent column by Jon Acuff, a popular blogger and writer, he included some fascinating statistics about his social media efforts. "If you're an entrepreneur, ignore Facebook at your peril. Facebook might not be the coolest platform, but it is the most effective. Are there higher-tech ways to grow your business? Sure, but 36 people shared my tweet on Twitter. Around 50,000 people saw it on Instagram. And it reached 2.8 million on Facebook." If you're having a hard time doing all social media platforms, make sure that you are doing the one that gives you the most opportunities to reach your customers. There are probably hundreds of free or low-cost marketing ideas that can help you be successful in your business. Only you can evaluate how much time and effort you want to invest in them. Some of my suggestions are easy and take virtually no time to do, but others take a great deal of time and effort. If you're going to try to implement any of these marketing ideas, don't go halfway. Make a long-term commitment to trying your best to succeed and evaluate the results. I would suggest a minimum of six months. When it comes to ideas, Seth Godin has the following great quote: "There's no shortage of remarkable ideas, what's missing is the will to execute them." I hope you will take one or more of my 10 marketing ideas and use them to help you become the business you want to be. Now for my challenge! I want you to share your free or low-cost marketing ideas with me. Please go to OPE's recently launched Facebook page @OutdoorPowerEquipmentMag and post your free or low-cost marketing ideas there. And while you're visiting OPE's Facebook page, please be sure to like it. I am hoping for at least 50 people to reply, so don't wait — just do it after you read this article. Hope you have a great 2017! Jeff Sheets is the founder and owner of OPE Consulting Services. Whether a business is thriving or struggling to survive, Sheets' rich experience in both the corporate and not-for-profit sectors allows him to partner with business owners to customize unique strategies for their needs. For the past nine years, he has worked extensively with hundreds of outdoor power equipment dealers to create best practices in business structure, personnel management and financial profitability. For more information, he may be contacted at opeconsultingservices@gmail.com or (816) 260-5430. You can also follow him on Twitter @opeconsult, connect with him on LinkedIn, and visit his website at www. opeconsultingservices.com. "As with everything, you need to make sure that what you're doing makes sense for your particular business." OPE