Does the battle against these giants remind you of David and Goliath?
Over the past number of years, parts and service managers who have attended our Dealer Institute courses have told me they have seen an increase in competition from the internet. Many see it as the giant they can’t compete against.
Many articles have been written on the so-called “Amazon effect” and the disruption online purchasing has had on traditional retail sales. I recently read an article by Jack Zemlicka in Precision Farming Dealer, where he quoted Devin Dubois, former vice president of integrated solutions at Western Sales and current vice president of Blue Sky Hemp Ventures in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. “Are we being better than Google?” asked Dubois.
In the article, Dubois commented on how dealership precision services need to be the trusted source for precision farming information rather than having customers “Google it.” The same question should be asked of your dealership’s parts and service departments. Is your parts department a trusted source and better than Amazon? Is your service department a trusted source and better than Google or YouTube?
It’s tough to compete with these mega-companies that are open 24/7/365. They offer one-click shopping, ordering, competitive information, and how-to videos for do-it-yourself service or repairs on almost everything imaginable. However, dealerships need to focus on the areas they can be better or provide something these competitors cannot.
Western Equipment Dealer Magazine Fall 2019 Issue
By Kelly Mathison
