Cross-Media Marketing Solutions for the Dealer Channel
Manufacturers who distribute their products through a dealer network face numerous marketing challenges that can be addressed with an online marketing resource center powered by digital print. These challenges include:
- Customizing collateral for local dealer needs.
- Maintaining brand control and ensuring professional quality.
- Reducing time to market for new collateral.
- Growing sales by increasing touchpoints between dealers and customers.
- Reducing costs.
- Ensuring information is up-to-date and accurate.
PODi recently completed an analysis of how online marketing resource centers can drive results for manufacturers. The study—“Marketing Solutions for the Dealer Channel”—illustrates the benefits of these solutions with examples from its extensive case study database.
One such example comes from Polaris, a leading maker of snowmobiles, all-terrain vehicles and motorcycles. In order to drive traffic to stores and increase sales Polaris developed a three-touch customer loyalty program that dealers in the U.S. and Canada could access via the Internet. Each new customer receives three mailings at key points in the first year of the relationship—shortly after the initial sale, on the anniversary of the sale, and during the December holiday season.
Dealers participate by logging in to a website with the materials for the 12-month program. At the site, they can access the templates and select offers from dropdown menus. Each card is customized to reflect the product purchased. For example, a snowmobiler’s card would have an image of a Polaris mountain, sport, or performance snowmobile depending on which type they purchased. Each card is also personalized with the customer’s name, dealer information and signature of the dealer. Dealers can elect to add a coupon created by Polaris or design their own coupons.
The program helped drive sales for Polaris:
- During one evaluation of the program, on average, customers spent $61.27 when they returned to the store with a coupon.
- A few dealers have reported an overall response rate of 15.5 percent.
- Response rates as high as 40 percent have been achieved for some promotions.
The full report is available exclusively to PODi members. For more information on PODi membership and benefits including case studies, sales and marketing tools, and training resources visit www.podi.org/membership.