Honda rototillers and walk-behind lawn mowers are new products that help Heritage sell to customers with smaller properties to maintain.
tomers to locate equipment online. (See the sidebar “Reduce ‘Clicks’ to Make Online Shopping Easier” on page 42.) “It’s about evolving into how the customer does business today.”
Push New Equipment Lines
Heritage is promoting product lines added last year to capture as many new segments as possible.
“The expanded lines give us new reasons to go back to our customers,” says Fraser. The new John Deere QuikTrak
commercial stand-on mower is one product they think will make a big dif- ference in the commercial segment. This is the fi rst year John Deere deal- ers will offer this mower, which is manufactured through a partnership with Wright Manufacturing.
“John Deere’s totally revamped commercial lawn mower offering is
starting to appear. It’s a new direction for John Deere to go after this com- mercial business,” says Fraser. “This one piece of equipment will bring a sig- nifi cant advantage for our dealership going forward.”
The dealership will also have anoth- er chance to promote Honda walk- behind mowers and tillers, which were added last year. This equipment helps them reach customers with smaller areas to maintain. For rural lifestylers with larger acreages, they’ll present customers with equipment to help repair drought damage, such as seed- ers, sprayers and chain saws. Heritage’s partnership with John Deere Landscapes is another drought- repair selling strategy. McGhee says these add-on products of seed and fertilizer won’t be at the forefront of promotions, but they do offer selling opportunities.
“Our goal is by stocking and sup-
porting the customer in this way it will drive sales of turf restoration equip- ment and our other products that we carry. There is not really a hidden agenda, just the customer experience is greater by engaging them in this way,” says McGhee. This will be the fi rst spring season that the dealership will be selling the new recreational version of the John Deere Gator, the RSX. Also, new for the quarter is the four-seater XUV util- ity vehicle. Not everything on Heritage’s lot will be new, however. Fraser says that ordering last year was based on a typical year. And, the year was any- thing but typical.
“Our sales decreased dramatically last year. We did offer incentives for the older models, but there was still
DEALER TAKEAWAYS continued on pg 42
• Every new product offering gives you a new reason to reach out to customers. Sell in terms of solutions, not specifi cations.
• Develop a year-round marketing plan. Build in various advertis- ing methods, but don’t forget straightforward methods, like calling customers to let them know about specials.
• Recruit and retain employees by offering career opportunities. Look for ways to promote from within the dealership.
Visit
RuralLifestyleDealer.com/RS and indicate No. 129 38 RURAL LIFESTYLE DEALER SPRING 2013
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