Powersports Switchback

The Right Stuff!

Post author By efgmarketing
Post date February 14, 2018

Contributing Author:
Glenice Wilder
Vice President
EFG Companies

We’re well into the second month of the year and for some of you, those New Year’s resolutions have already fallen by the wayside. Exercise more? Eat healthy? More quality time with family? Make more money? How? One of the first steps is to ensure your inventory meets the needs of your customer base.

Let’s face it. There are motorcycles we are in love with, and there are motorcycles our customers want to buy. Are you running a dealership that caters to the type of customer you want to have? Or, is your inventory based on the type of customer you actually have? Take a close look at your neighborhood and the types of customers who visit your dealership. We all have those customers who come in every week to talk about the latest and greatest. But, they aren’t in the market to buy – they’re in the market to talk. Stocking inventory for those customers is a losing proposition.

Is your neighborhood transitioning from Baby Boomers to Millennials?

Is there an influx of new transplants fresh out of college and saddled with debt?

If these are your potential customers, then your inventory should have a healthy mix of starter motorcycles, affordable new brands, and some certified pre-owned motorcycles. Of course, you should have a few bright, shiny fully-loaded motorcycles. After all, those Baby Boomer customers are still around and ready to ride. However, your biggest opportunity to make money lies with a generation that is swiftly outpacing Baby Boomers in terms of spending power. According to Forbes, as of this year, Millennials have the most spending power of any generation.

Compliance

Consumer Privacy in Powersports

Post author By efgmarketing
Post date February 1, 2018

Contributing Author:
Steve Roennau
Vice President
Compliance
EFG Companies

Do you know someone who was affected by the Equifax data breach? How about the Verifone hack or, the breach within the Internal Revenue Service (IRS)? According to the Identity Theft Resource Center® (ITRC) and CyberScout®, 1,579 data breaches occurred in 2017, representing a 44.7 percent year-over-year increase.

A study of more than 10,000 consumers by Gemalto, a data security firm, stated 70 percent of consumers would stop doing business with a company if it experienced a data breach. And, 69 percent feel businesses don’t take security of consumer data very seriously.

Powersports dealers have been regulated on consumer privacy ever since the Gramm Leach Bliley Act was passed in 1999. Under Gramm-Leach Bliley, dealers are required to implement, and regularly audit, a written “Information Security Program,” to protect information about its customers. This is called the Safeguard Rule. However, in 1999, digital data breaches were not even a feasible consideration for most dealers.

To date, these “Information Security Programs” detailed how to physically secure private consumer data. It’s because of these programs that most F&I offices are locked, and dealership management pays very close attention to make sure no private consumer information can be displayed on a desk or computer screen for anyone to see.

While these procedures are important, they now need to be augmented to incorporate every possible way a consumer data breach could occur. From a physical standpoint, this includes training the sales team on how to properly manage private consumer information. For example, let’s say a salesperson made a copy of a driver’s license for a test drive and the consumer ended up leaving the dealership without purchasing. What does the salesperson do with that photocopy? Do they just put it in their desk trash bin, or do they put it in a secure shredding bin? If they just put it in their desk trash bin, that data is not secure. Anyone could come and take that photocopy out of the trash.

Tags CyberScout, EFG Companies, Gemalto, Gramm Leach Bliley Act, Identity Theft Resource Center, LexAlign, Safeguards Rule, Steve Roennau, Trevor Lain

Business Growth

A Successful 2018 Depends on You!

Post author By efgmarketing
Post date January 17, 2018

Contributing Author:
Glenice Wilder
Vice President
EFG Companies

2017 marked a lackluster year for many powersports dealers. Unit volume did not meet projections, and we’re seeing more dealers sell inventory at or below cost just to keep it moving. While it appears that 2018 will look much the same as 2017, there is one caveat. Pre-owned unit sales will most likely continue to outpace new unit sales, due to consumer demand.

Dealers would be wise to analyze today’s consumer. Changing demographics show that Millennials and are overtaking Baby Boomers in terms of spending power. These price-sensitive generations are more likely to consider pre-owned a more appealing option for their already-strained budgets. New bikes are often priced outside their comfort zone. As a result, consumers who delayed purchasing a bike in 2017 will likely shop for gently used bikes in 2018.

Because of this shifting demographic and financial constraints, powersports dealers should outfit their pre-owned inventory with late-model bikes that either have a little bit of manufacturer warranty left, or are just outside of manufacturer warranty coverage. In addition to being top sellers, these bikes offer the most opportunity to sell F&I products on the back-end, helping powersports dealerships increase their profit potential. Adding a CPO component can also help move these bikes off the floor and give the consumer an added value component, as well as help to increase repeat service drive business.