As 2008 winds down and manufacturers get ready to unveil their new products and programs at next months CES show in Las Vegas. Directed Electronics (and coutless other manufacturers) spend buckets of money renting booths, building show cars and other displays, flying in the sales force, putting them up in hotels, wine and dine key accounts all in an effort to set their marketing campaign for the new year in motion. They get in front of the people who want to purchase their products and services, cost a bundle, you bet. Gotta spend money to make money...right?
I started thinking about my accounts in the NY Metro area and how does this concept apply to them in their own businesses? The concept is sound, the idea is to keep your potential clients informed on what you're up to...what's fresh...what's innovative...what's the new "Must Have" item for your car this year. So then I started thinking who did a good job with this in 2008? Who is getting in front of potential customers and letting them know what products and services they can provide? Who is moving the mountain to Mohammed?
Store Shows
One of the methods used by a number of dealers in 2008 was to hold a show at the retail shop. A few dealers ran these shows with varying degrees of success. Proline Car Stereo in Brooklyn held one of the best shows I've ever seen in the inner city, they teamed with MADD and had Utica Avenue closed for 5 hours on a Sunday afternoon early in August and had an incredible turn out.
Uncle Steve's Car Stereo in Manhattan had their show later that month and was able to generate a ton of traffic and excitement. The investment for holding your own show can be pricey, but the focus is on almost exclusively on your shop and you can run a show sale to cash in on the excitement to offset your costs. Getting manufacturers that you do business with to sponsor your show with merchandise to give away or raffle off is another great way to subsidize part of the cost.Sponsored Shows
Another great way some dealers used to get their name out in front of potential customers was to enter their cars (and their customers cars) in several car shows around the NY Metro area generally sponsored by manufacturers or charity organizations. These are generally held in large parking lots like the one pictured above. Hot Import Nights was held at Belmont Raceway Park in Elmont, NY back in June. This is an opportunity to bring your best work to a venue where hundreds if not thousands of people interested in your services come to see who does the best work...who has the loudest stereo...who does the craziest customization. The competition is fierce and you're one of dozens of shops displaying their skills, but cost is much less than holding your own show and if you choose the right show, a big turnout is guaranteed. One great resource for a list of the shows in the area is RIX Magazine (You've no doubt noticed their tag on the photo's I've used.) Rico Baez, founder, editor (and a great guy) of RIX Magazine is a HUGE supporter of these shows and an advocate for car audio specialists in our area. Rico and his team attend 40+ shows a year, generally on weekends, almost non-stop from spring thru autumn. I highly recommend that you reach out to him if you think this method could work for you, and you might want to talk to him about advertising in his increasingly popular magazine. Check out his website here, RixMag. The 2009 schedule is not up yet, but stay tuned.Demo Vehicles
Bay Ridge Car Stereo in Brooklyn is a small shop that uses their demo vehicle as well as any dealer I know. They took a brand new stripped out 2007 Scion and put their skills to good use. See some pictures above taken during the installation phase (notice the Orion amps? Nice touch!). They have their tricked out Scion parked in front of their store every day with the gull wing doors open and the hatchback up, exposing the 15 monitors, 4000W stereo, custom graphics for all to see. They bring the car to the local Best Buy parking lot on Friday nights after business hours, where local car enthusiasts break out their muscle cars, classic cars and tricked out hot rods in the summer. They also attended several community events like the NYC Police Department sponsored "National Night Out" this past summer. The key is consistency, they consistently go out, get in front of people that want the services that they provide and hand out brochures, t-shirts, give aways and cards...lots of cards.These are a few ideas from dealers in the NYC Metro have used this past year to differentiate themselves from the pack. Each dealer invested varying amounts of money that they budgeted for marketing. Does it work? Each shop has to determine what works best for them within their budget. If you ask each owner I think that they will tell you that the results are hard to quantify, but their shops are almost always busy and the business they did with Directed Electronics was as strong in comparison to the previous year. The point is that the day of hanging a sign outside your shop, advertising in the local yellow pages and waiting for people to walk into buy from you are gone (If they ever really existed) and these guys get that.
The bottom line is that people love their cars and there will always be percentage of people that are not satisfied with the assembly line, cookie cutter accessories and upgrades that the car manufacturers and dealerships can provide. There will always be a market for the skills and craftsmanship that true auto specialists offer and with the economy in it's current state, it's not hard to imagine people hanging onto their cars a little longer. Maybe upgrade the stereo this year instead of getting a new lease, add navigation instead of buying the new model with navigation included.
The key is floor traffic, and what are you doing to get more of it in your shop? Will you be proactive and find ways to increase floor traffic in 2009 or will you be staring at the door wondering where the business went and longing for the good ole days?
