Social Media? We don’t need no Social Media!

So you think your dealership or shop doesn’t need to participate in the social media craze and your current customer base is spreading enough word of mouth to keep you going.  For some that may be true, but for most you are missing out on a large part of your market.  There are over one million users on Facebook and over half a million registered on Twitter, all of which are potential customers for your business.

“Well my shop is in California, how can you say someone in Maine is a potential customer?”

I’ve had customers drive 10 hours in order to purchase a machine from us, simply because of how we market ourselves.  Not only do we do our best to provide the best customer service we can to everyone who calls in, we also ensure that we answer any and all questions to the best of our ability.  Sometimes this means spending a little more time with a customer who has a technical question, and other times it means having the customer come in so we can go over things in person.  The same goes for our social media pages; we are constantly answering questions and responding to direct messages via social media about our parts, services, or sales departments.

That’s great, but I still don’t get why I need social Media.

Easy, you need social media because that is how most people are interacting these days.  The  power sports market covers different generations, not only do you have the 20 year old buying his first sport bike, you also have the 50 year old farmer who needs another side by side for his farm.  No matter the age, approximately three quarters of consumers do their research on a business and/or product online before making a purchase.  Your social media is your meet and greet outfit, you always want to put your best foot forward and social media is the way to make it happen.  If the only information you have out there is your business website and whatever reviews customers have left on various websites, potential customers are not going to find out who you really are as a business.

So I opened my social media accounts, how do they impact me?

As I already mentioned, more and more people are researching businesses and products online before they buy, this means if you as a business are putting out quality content, potential customers will see that and the chances that you will gain a new customer increases.  Quality social media marketing can also lead to the increase in brand awareness, brand loyalty, decreases in marketing costs, and increases in website traffic.

So I have all of these followers through social media, now what?

Now is the time you start building relationships with the customers through engaging content.  This means answering questions in the public sector for customers, allowing others to see your customer service level for themselves.  Using that engaging content is also giving you an opportunity to find out what your customers really like and want.  Maybe someone has seen an aftermarket accessory that you don’t carry but they’re interested in, there could be others interested in this same accessory and social media can help you find this out.

Ultimately social media marketing is about your customer’s experience.  Not only can it help you gain brand awareness and loyalty, it can give you insight into what makes your customers tick.  The expanded reach that social media provides will allow you access to customers all over the country, gaining potential sales of both parts and units.  Your quality posts and blogs will give customers insight to who you are as a dealership and let them know that not only do you care about their business, but you care about their interests, wants, and opinions as well.