3 Things Construction Equipment Dealerships Should Know

As a construction equipment dealership, you offer much more than just equipment. In fact, sometimes those intangibles which you offer may mean the difference between winning or losing that hard fought deal against your competitors. It makes sense that you remain true in your product and service offerings by making sure that they are complementary and of added value for your customers. This post will outline some of the key areas which you can focus on and in turn, generate added value in the eyes of your customers and add to your dealership’s bottom line.

Extended Service Contracts

Providing your customers with peace of mind is a BIG winner when asking them to invest thousands of dollars in a brand new or used piece of equipment. Everyone knows that time is money and more importantly, downtime is a profit killer for customers. Not only will they lose out on time while the equipment is being repaired, they also know they are going to have to face a hefty service bill (let’s face it, its not cheap to fix heavy equipment). By offering customers the option to purchase a construction equipment extended warranty through your own dealership they are able to sleep at night knowing that they won’t have to face that dreaded service bill to keep their equipment in good working condition to complete their jobs.

If you are a dealership that is customer focused, and you all are, this serves as a great opportunity to promote high customer satisfaction. When units need service work, and most will at some point, wouldn’t it be nice to know that your customers will be bringing that piece of equipment to your shop for the service work? No longer will you have to do the dance of fighting over whose responsibility it is to pay for it and your dealership will get reimbursed for parts and labor by the extended service contract.

TIP: Check out this provider for options on programs: www.protectmyiron.com

Construction Equipment Insurance | Physical Damage

This powerful program is something worth looking at having right in your own dealership! When a piece of equipment is financed, and over 85% of sales are, the lenders require that insurance be provided in order to allow the equipment to be taken off your lot. All too often, you hear of the horror stories of waiting too long for an insurance certificate to be generated so that your customer can take his piece of newly financed equipment. What if you were able to provide the coverage at the point-of-sale? An in-house physical damage program at your fingertips would increase the speed from which you will be able to deliver equipment to your customers as well as the speed of funds to be sent to your dealership’s bank account from the lender. There are several program providers which will allow you to brand the program for your dealerships marketing purposes. This can help turn your dealership into a valuable resource center for your customers and the go-to shop for all their equipment needs!

TIP: Check out this provider for program options: www.adiagency.com

Customer Loyalty Programs

The old saying goes that 80% of your business is generated from 20% of your customers. You want to keep those customers coming back to your dealership right? Why not give them a reason to continue to do business with you by rewarding their loyalty to choose to work with you? Loyalty programs are not new and the wheel is not being reinvented in this scenario. In fact, Mr. Dealer Principal, think about your Black American Express credit card. It affords you the ability to travel in first class, go to the Sky Club when you travel, book hard reservations at a NYC restaurant or even snag those hard to get tickets to the Superbowl. You continue to charge on your Black American Express card because it provides you with something of what you value in the back-end. Why not do the same for your customers within your dealership? A customer loyalty program will help you achieve just that. In fact, you may even find that there are some new customers who move in and out of your top 20%!