Why is it we have interest in only the customer who buy our equipment? By Ron Slee Last month I talked about market coverage and how important it was that we look after the customers who purchase machines and attachments from you. How we must do a better job of retaining the downstream business for the machines that we have sold. Now how about those customers who do not buy equipment from us but do buy machines?

It has almost been an unspoken rule that we stay away from machines that were sold by other people. I am not sure that the rule ever was followed but it feels better to say that we have enough work looking after out own machines than worry about other peoples equipment. Well this is another aspect of the changing world that the machines that are purchased in your territory are not all purchased through someone IN your territory. With all of the purchase options available to our customers through the internet and the lower barriers to entry into the distribution channel we need to pay more attention to all machines sold into the trading area.

There are many sources from which you can obtain the information of who bought what machine in your territory. Typically this is a tool used by the equipment sales groups to track market coverage and the number of deals that went down on which we did not have any contact. Well what about the product support world.

Someone bought a machine. Someone is proud of their new or used purchase. And we don't pay any attention to it at all. That doesn't seem like particularly good customer service. It sure doesn't show that we care.

Well let's do something about it. Each time a customer buys a machine, any machine, whether from us or someone else let's acknowledge it. I like to send a congratulations card to each customer that bought some piece of equipment in the previous month. It is something significant for most people when they have purchased something and it is wrong headed of us to ignore it. More importantly to me is the message that it sends to the customer. So why not! Send a short comment to the customer. Congratulations on your recent purchase... If there is anything we can do to help please don't hesitate. Not anything very fancy. You are offering to help if they ever want or need it in the future. But let's go a step further. Next year send a happy birthday card. Not to the buyer but to the machine. Yes I know at times it appears that I am crazy but this is something that I really believe is beneficial for you to do.

Based on the statistics of the first year purchases of parts and service from equipment buyers to the selling dealership it might be that you are the first contact that the customer has received from anyone since they purchased the machine. So send something cute to the customer about happy first birthday and we hope you have had a productive and profitable year. It might be that you would offer to perform a machine inspection. Or even an "equipment performance check." Or some other special program your dealership offers to determine the condition of the machine. And offer a coupon of some nature.

Yes I know this sounds too cute. And yes it takes a lot of work and organization to get it done. But "just do it!" Try it for a year and see how the marketplace responds to you. After all the statistics are in your favor as 40% of the time the equipment buyer doesn't but anything from the dealership he buys the machine from in the first place.

Oh and by the way. Why not do this for customers who buy machines from you as well? Don't they deserve some consideration as well? This is a business we are in and our equipment generates good parts and service income for us if we can only get the customers to do business with us. They won't do it only because we want them to. There are to be good and compelling reasons given to and provided to them. Perhaps this is a start down that road.

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