I
call it simple math because the premise is simple.
Here’s the math formula:
47W = 30% vs. 5W=70%.
Where 47W is the number of
weeks per year and the 30% equals the total percentage
of discretionary dollars spent at retail stores during
those 47 weeks.
The more powerful portion
of the formula shows that during a specific five week
period of the year consumers spend 70% of all their
discretionary dollars.
OK, so you figured it
out. Yes, I’m talking about the five weeks between
Thanksgiving and Christmas. Now for the big question:
Do you participate in sharing that awesome 70% of the
dollars spent in those weeks? I’ll bet you don’t, but
you should.
The arguments I’ve heard
from powersports dealers is that they are in a seasonal
business and motorcycle sales are at their lowest point
during that five-week period. My response? Nonsense!
Just about every retail business is seasonal. If you
run a lawnmower shop, you know your big selling season
is right before the grass is 12” high. If you sell snow
blowers, you know the day after a big snowfall your
business spikes.
The clothing business is
seasonal. Heavy coats, boots and gloves sell on the day
after the low temperature is recorded as less than
32-degrees. Except for groceries and pharmacies, almost
all other business is seasonal. What makes so many of
them different is their marketing, understanding and
skills, which are superior to ours.
As I write this Halloween
is just days away. The tellers at my bank are wearing
Mickey Mouse hats and stuck-on whiskers. The department
stores have Thanksgiving displays ready to be put out
the day after Halloween. They, like most other
retailers, know that those five weeks can make the
difference between a profitable year, or an unprofitable
one.
Wall Street is waiting.
Everyone is hoping that the weather doesn’t keep people
from getting out to do their holiday shopping. There
are four holidays within this time frame. Halloween,
Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day. There are two
main activities we all indulge in during the holidays;
eating and shopping.
I’ve joked that it’s a
conspiracy. When you eat the Thanksgiving turkey you
unknowingly ingest a drug that causes you to go shopping
the very next day. Keep in mind that the day after
Thanksgiving is the biggest shopping day of the year.
The drug remains effective until you eat your Christmas
bird. There’s a different drug in that Christmas bird
that turns off the shopping addiction. My rationale?
Shopping Mall and Butter Ball – it’s obvious they rhyme,
and that’s no coincidence, which means there’s a
conspiracy by the major suppliers to create demand for
all manner of consumer products before year’s end.
Ok, now let’s get
serious. The holiday season should be celebrated
internally and externally. The difference being that
the dealership personnel must understand they are more
like Santa’s helpers; ever smiling, ever energetic,
always helpful. They decorate for Halloween,
Thanksgiving and Christmas. The store should look
virtually glitzy. There should be displays focusing on
each of those holidays. As soon as the pumpkins and
straw bales come down, the tinsel, lights, and Christmas
music go up.
Your staff starts wearing
Christmas stocking caps and brightly colored clothes.
Your store must be in a perpetual state of “party.”
Now, for the other side of the coin; staff members must
be told that they won’t have any days off. They will
have to accept that they will come in early and leave
late. No matter how they feel they’ll know that they
MUST put on a happy face.
What this is called is
leveraging the fact that you’re not just in the
motorcycle or powersports business, you’re in the RETAIL
business. Staff members who favor a 9 to 5 job should
consider changing occupations. Factory and office
workers have 9 to 5 jobs that aren’t nearly as rewarding
or exciting, rather they are consistent while being
boring.
So, here’s what’s real.
In the past only a few of the more progressive dealers
have leveraged the critical five-week period. They have
trained their staff to offer suggestions and gift
certificates. They alert all front-line people that the
customers will come in stressed for ideas and time.
The reality is that the
holidays are the most stressful time of the year for
most people. Statistics indicate that those same
five-weeks show the highest incidents of domestic
violence, suicides, robberies and burglaries.
I wrote this article for
the benefit of the owners and managers of powersport
dealerships. In order to prosper and grow you must
focus on these critical five-weeks. Remember: if it
were easy, everyone would be doing it. It isn’t, and
they ain’t.
