SEMA News - April 2010

By Drew Hardin

Photo Courtesy Source Interlink Media Archives

If the company president’s desk is clean,” the old adage goes, “then someone else is doing the work.” That’s certainly not the case with Ed Iskenderian. When this photo was taken for Rod & Custom magazine in 1969, he was obviously still in the thick of developing the camshafts and other speed parts that bore the distinctive Isky name.

Like other performance pioneers, Iskenderian was a Southern California hot rodder in the years leading up to World War II, learning speed secrets in an effort to make his own T roadster go faster. Grinding camshafts came after the war, when a sudden demand for parts—fueled by returning GIs eager to get back to hot rodding—was so great that Iskenderian was faced with a long wait for a cam he wanted for his own car. Figuring he could do as well himself, he bought a surplus cylindrical grinder, converted it into a cam-grinding machine and went to work.

Isky cams made power, and Iskenderian’s business grew on the strength of that reputation. But he was also an innovator—mechanically and otherwise—and developed practices now standard in the performance aftermarket. For example, he was the first to use computers to create cam profiles and the first to develop cam kits. He recognized the power of marketing his brand early on and did so by sponsoring racers (notably a young Floridian named Don Garlits) and through a regular series of entertaining (and sometimes outrageous) ads in Hot Rod and other magazines.

In 1963, a few years before this photo was taken, Iskenderian Racing Cams was among a group of performance parts companies that formed what was then called the Speed Equipment Manufacturer’s Association. Ed was SEMA’s first president, serving in 1963 and 1964 and helping to guide the association’s early policies. His company had a booth at SEMA’s first trade show at Dodger Stadium in 1967, and Ed still attends the SEMA Show today.

If you happen to see him there and get a chance, ask him what’s on his desk these days.  

SEMA News - April 2010

Best Practices

By Steve Campbell

Proven Techniques for the Internet, Mobile Applications and Social Networking

This series of SEMA News stories is based on the idea of using reliable and repeatable methods to ensure business success. In the coming issues, we will delve into a range of topics aimed at developing Best Practices through knowledge, motivation and skills. Writing for BtoB Online, Senior Editor Christopher Hosford cited a survey that indicated a 17% average increase in online marketing spending for 2010. Another survey suggested that 64% of companies plan to increase budgets for search-engine optimization, and 51% will increase budgets for paid search. The groundswell of cell-phone applications—particularly on Blackberry and iPhone devices—has led to 56% of companies planning to increase their spending on mobile marketing. And the newest darling in the online realm, social networking, has opened a panorama of possibilities.

Most experts agree that optimizing a company’s website is the most important initial element of selling online. According to Bill Leake, CEO of Apogee Results, those elements include offering a clear message about the purpose of the website; obvious calls to action for customers, offering concrete reasons for buying from the site or for signing up to receive e-mail updates; and a top-notch analytics program that allows managers to track what’s happening on the site.

Kent Lewis, president of Anvil Media Inc. added that website optimization should include strong and detailed merchandising of new products, specials and closeouts and should be coupled with customer testimonials and order and contact information. Both Leake and Lewis downplayed the importance—and even warned of decreased usability or visibility in search engines—caused by elements such as unnecessary Flash animation or framed content. “Art is pretty,” Leake said, “but what you want are dollars.”

	Top websites include clear messages and obvious calls to action for customers along with a comprehensive analytics program that allows managers to track what’s happening on the site. Discount Tire Direct augments its web presence through eBay Motors, which reaches more than 10.2 million users a month. Discount Tire Direct uses state-of-the-art part finders to help do-it-for-me and do-it-yourself users search parts on the site.

Pretty or not, giving your website every chance to take advantage of the Internet’s viral nature is crucial, according to Caitlin McCabe, founder of White Label Marketing. “If you have a video, make sure that it is sharable,” she said. “If you have a blog, make sure that it can go to Facebook and that people can e-mail it to a friend. Your audience, your fans and your followers are willing to spread the word about you to other people if you just give them the tools to do it. You can have five bloggers who see something they like on your site and reprint it. Suddenly, you have 35,000 more people viewing it without having done any extra work.”

Website optimization also includes using links to make navigation easy and quickly understandable. Clear and accurate descriptions should include words or phrases that customers might type into a search engine, such as Google or Bing, when they’re hunting for either specific products or categories, such as “cat-back exhaust systems.” Using text for links rather than graphic elements also allows search engines to operate more effectively, and descriptive rather than “cute” titles and subtitles make searches more effective as well.

“Search-engine marketing may be the most cost-effective way to reach new customers, as you are able to target buyers looking for specific products and provide them a specific message or product page,” Lewis said. And “organic” searches—where Google, Bing or similar engines scour the web for keywords that match what the user has entered—are free. In organic searches, the websites that most closely match the user’s input go to the top of the returns list, but a company may also employ paid search to ensure that its ad shows up at or near the top of a search-engine results page.

In its basic form, paid search entails bidding on specific words or phrases to get a top ranking for a search item within a given engine. When a potential customer clicks on the resultant ad, the user is transferred to the company’s website, which is charged a relatively inexpensive “pay-per-click” fee. Bringing customers to a purchase point is the essence of most digital marketing campaigns. But getting a potential buyer onto the site is also the first step in creating an ongoing relationship.

“The higher you are in the rankings—natural or paid—the more likely you are to drive traffic to the site,” said Michael Kelly, director of business development at ClickMail Marketing. “That is a really good tactic to use in growing an e-mail list, which enables you to provide ongoing information to people who are interested in your products or services. You can reach out to them and pull them back to the site. But promise something of value, such as e-mail-only offers or special advance sale notices. You have to sell the process. There should be a little bit of real estate on every page of the website that asks for minimal information—an e-mail address only or e-mail with a first name; just the minimum you would need to convert a visitor to a prospect.”

	Many consumers use blogs as their primary research tool, depending on other enthusiasts or customers to tell them how easily a product was installed, how well it fit and what kinds of performance, convenience or appearance enhancements resulted. Jeff Smith, senior tech editor for Car Craft magazine, writes this blog for the publication’s website.

As noted on the Federal Trade Commission website, the CAN-SPAM Act sets rules for commercial e-mail, gives recipients the right to stop e-mail messaging and outlines the penalties for violations. The act covers all commercial messages, including “any electronic mail message, the primary purpose of which is the commercial advertisement or promotion of a commercial product or service.” Ensure that you understand the act and fully comply with its stipulations before entering into an e-mail campaign. Still, e-mail offers terrific sales potential and can tie in all of the other methods of digital marketing.

“One of the ways to use e-mail is to enable the recipients to share specific articles or content with their social networks,” Kelly said. “The average user on Facebook has about 150 connections. Those connections will have similar interests to the recipient of your e-mail newsletter, and they are likely to be connected and networked with more family, friends and colleagues who have similar interests. If you enable them to share your content, your can see amazing expansion of reach. People who may not have had previous exposure to your brand will sign up for their own e-mail news feed, allowing you to grow your e-mail list organically.”

McCabe suggests having past newsletters available when soliciting new e-mail recipients so that people know what to expect from you, both in content and in frequency, and Lewis points out that it is easy to embed video and other rich media into e-mails. Because you know who you’re talking to—your subscribers—tracking is also easy.

One of the most effective ways to develop an in-house mailing list is to place a sign-up area on the homepage of your website, where people can submit their addresses, said Luanne Brown, founder and president of eTool Developers LLC. Another way is to provide a “forward-to-a-friend” option when you send newsletters to customers who have already given permission. But Brown cautions that the newsletter or offer should be correctly targeted.

“If your company sells to 10 different vertical segments within the automotive aftermarket, you can’t just be a generalist and send out one massive e-mail,” she explained. “You should focus on each niche, talk directly to that customer and create a two-way conversation so that something impersonal—the web and computers—becomes extremely personal. That’s what has happened with social networking: All of these individuals have become connected, making it more personal.”

Social networks can be highly effective at generating awareness and engaging with the marketplace, Lewis said. Rather than building a pricey custom forum, parts manufacturers might want to consider creating profiles on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Flickr and others such sites to share information about their latest products, projects and performance statistics. Such networks also allow for specific targeting of demographic profiles.

“Facebook allows you to set the demographics geographically,” Brown said, “as does Google AdWords. You can determine when and where to have display ads shown, for instance. You can say, ‘I want my display ad to show up between 3:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m., because that that’s when technicians come home and hop online.’ You can pinpoint times and locations—Florida to Maine on one set of days and Washington state to Southern California on another set. You can use those tools to get your message to where you need it to be seen.”

	Website optimization should include strong and detailed merchandising of new products, specials and closeouts and should be coupled with customer testimonials and order and contact information.

Tim Ash, president and CEO of SiteTuners.com said that one of Facebook’s advertising tools lets you say exactly what you’re looking for. “You can specify that you want males only, under 30, and that you want them to have the words ‘drag racing’ somewhere in their profile on Facebook. They’ll give you free information about how many of those people there are. It’s a great tool for judging the breadth of interest in a particular area. And when your ads come up, they’ll be extremely targeted.”

A blog (which is a contraction of the words “web” and “log”) is another web phenomenon that has exploded in the past two years. Many consumers use blogs as their primary research tool, depending on other enthusiasts or customers to tell them how easily a product was installed, how well it fit and what kinds of performance, convenience or appearance enhancements resulted.

“Consumers want to understand the product experiences of fellow users,” said Famous Rhodes, director of eBay Motors. “This content is the most compelling in leading a consumer to make a final purchase decision. eBay has seen data to suggest that 9% of traffic that came directly from enthusiast forums or blogs purchased automotive parts. That is the highest concentration of purchase intent in any online vertical. An eBay survey revealed that 16% of all online parts buyers submit at least five or more blog posts per year.”

Company-produced blogs are best used to provide expertise on a subject, said Mike Moran, author of Do It Wrong Quickly, co-author of Search Engine Marketing Inc. and chief strategist of Converseon. SEMA members might use blogs to provide their expertise to potential customers.

“If you sell aftermarket exhaust systems, your website probably has all sorts of technical information about how much better your parts are than everyone else’s,” Moran said, “but your blog should explain exactly why exhaust systems boost performance, how to install them yourself or how to choose an installer to do it for you and other information that shows your expertise on the subject.”

	The connections between users on Facebook, who are likely to have similar interests, can provide an amazing expansion of reach. Such social networks can be a valuable research tool and allow a company to generate brand awareness and engage with the marketplace.

Obviously, a company blog needs to appeal to a specific audience, even though the users may have diverse reasons for reading and may be coming to the blog from different sources. Selecting the proper person to write and maintain a blog has its own list of parameters. The CEO or even the chief communications officer may not be the right choice.

“For some companies, it may be that the blog writer has a charismatic, humorous, controversial or just unique personality, and that comes across in their writing,” said Shelley Ellis of Shelley Ellis Consulting. “Adding controversy or a fresh approach to a boring topic can draw people in, and you can also use pictures, graphics and embedded video to add appeal to your blog. But don’t just talk about the company. Discuss topics in the industry, conferences and add user-generated content, such as pictures or stories that have been sent in.”

Blogs should be frequently updated, but the content should have a reason for being. Blogging just for the sake of adding words does no one any good and will eventually cause attrition in the audience. Effective blogs not only generate loyal readership but also help with those all-important search-engine rankings.

“We blog every two or three days,” said Kelly, “and the search engines love it. You can further tailor that by mentioning relevant keywords and search terms in the blog that catch people’s attention. That results in a greater weighting and how your brand shows up in natural search rankings.”

A blog can also be repurposed for social networks, so you should make it easy to share the blog posting. “With a social media ‘share’ button, you can send the blog posting as your Facebook status or Tweet about it or publish it on LinkedIn,” said Ash. “If you make it really easy to distribute, you don’t know who’s going to stumble onto it. It’s a diffuse activity, but it does work.”

Short message service (SMS) is a mobile phone technology that has come into its own over the past couple of years, but its use as a marketing tool is somewhat controversial. Like instant messaging, SMS (or texting) allows only a limited number of characters per transmission and, like commercial e-mail use, is highly restricted. It may also be seen as spamishly invasive by the receiver. Still, there are times when SMS can be a valuable tool.

	Paid search (shown in the “Sponsored Link” sections on this page) entails bidding on specific words or phrases to get a top ranking for a search item within a given engine. In organic searches, the websites that most closely match the user’s input go to the top of the returns list (shown in the center left of this page).

Both Lewis and Kelly suggested inviting participation through e-mail, flyers, billboards or other advertising media with the promise of a reward—a free product, for instance, or entry into a VIP-only event. Encourage users to SMS text a keyword to a specific number with their e-mail address. Once a few hundred or thousand people have responded, their addresses can be moved over to an e-mail campaign for further follow-up.

Tracking the effectiveness of digital marketing campaigns is made easier by the plethora of tools available. The ultimate goal is to tie every click all the way through to a resulting sale, online or offline, said Moran.

“That way, you see exactly how each marketing tactic turns into a sale, enabling you to place a value on everything you do” he said. “Then you can use testing to vary your message and your experience to see whether a change improves your sales results. Through constant experimentation, you’ll optimize your marketing spending to produce the highest return on investment.”

Google Analytics is a free application and was the most mentioned tracking software among the experts we spoke with.

“It’s easy to configure, and it can be installed by a company’s web manager with just a few lines of code on each page of your site,” said Lewis, “and it allows you to track where visitors originated and where they left. You can even set it up for custom tracking of various marketing efforts and social platforms, such as banner X drove Y sales and Twitter generated Z contest entries.”

The main selection of Google Analytics tracking includes page views (how many times the pages on your site have been viewed), pages per visit (how many pages on your site users visited on average), average time on site (how long each user spent on your site), bounce rate (what percentage of users left after visiting only one page) and percentage of new visits (how many visitors had never been to your site before). Brown said that bounce rate is a primary indicator of website effectiveness. If the rate is high, users aren’t finding what they’re looking for and are not venturing beyond the homepage; if it’s low, they want what you’re selling. Anything under 50% is considered reasonable, she said.

The key to successful digital marketing—just as with traditional marketing—is providing a worthwhile and relevant experience for the customer. Beyond providing quality products at reasonable prices, presentation and ease of use are crucial.

“Content is king,” said Brown. “Valuable content will bring users back.”  

SEMA News - April 2010

Best Practices

By Steve Campbell

Proven Techniques for the Internet, Mobile Applications and Social Networking

This series of SEMA News stories is based on the idea of using reliable and repeatable methods to ensure business success. In the coming issues, we will delve into a range of topics aimed at developing Best Practices through knowledge, motivation and skills. Writing for BtoB Online, Senior Editor Christopher Hosford cited a survey that indicated a 17% average increase in online marketing spending for 2010. Another survey suggested that 64% of companies plan to increase budgets for search-engine optimization, and 51% will increase budgets for paid search. The groundswell of cell-phone applications—particularly on Blackberry and iPhone devices—has led to 56% of companies planning to increase their spending on mobile marketing. And the newest darling in the online realm, social networking, has opened a panorama of possibilities.

Most experts agree that optimizing a company’s website is the most important initial element of selling online. According to Bill Leake, CEO of Apogee Results, those elements include offering a clear message about the purpose of the website; obvious calls to action for customers, offering concrete reasons for buying from the site or for signing up to receive e-mail updates; and a top-notch analytics program that allows managers to track what’s happening on the site.

Kent Lewis, president of Anvil Media Inc. added that website optimization should include strong and detailed merchandising of new products, specials and closeouts and should be coupled with customer testimonials and order and contact information. Both Leake and Lewis downplayed the importance—and even warned of decreased usability or visibility in search engines—caused by elements such as unnecessary Flash animation or framed content. “Art is pretty,” Leake said, “but what you want are dollars.”

	Top websites include clear messages and obvious calls to action for customers along with a comprehensive analytics program that allows managers to track what’s happening on the site. Discount Tire Direct augments its web presence through eBay Motors, which reaches more than 10.2 million users a month. Discount Tire Direct uses state-of-the-art part finders to help do-it-for-me and do-it-yourself users search parts on the site.

Pretty or not, giving your website every chance to take advantage of the Internet’s viral nature is crucial, according to Caitlin McCabe, founder of White Label Marketing. “If you have a video, make sure that it is sharable,” she said. “If you have a blog, make sure that it can go to Facebook and that people can e-mail it to a friend. Your audience, your fans and your followers are willing to spread the word about you to other people if you just give them the tools to do it. You can have five bloggers who see something they like on your site and reprint it. Suddenly, you have 35,000 more people viewing it without having done any extra work.”

Website optimization also includes using links to make navigation easy and quickly understandable. Clear and accurate descriptions should include words or phrases that customers might type into a search engine, such as Google or Bing, when they’re hunting for either specific products or categories, such as “cat-back exhaust systems.” Using text for links rather than graphic elements also allows search engines to operate more effectively, and descriptive rather than “cute” titles and subtitles make searches more effective as well.

“Search-engine marketing may be the most cost-effective way to reach new customers, as you are able to target buyers looking for specific products and provide them a specific message or product page,” Lewis said. And “organic” searches—where Google, Bing or similar engines scour the web for keywords that match what the user has entered—are free. In organic searches, the websites that most closely match the user’s input go to the top of the returns list, but a company may also employ paid search to ensure that its ad shows up at or near the top of a search-engine results page.

In its basic form, paid search entails bidding on specific words or phrases to get a top ranking for a search item within a given engine. When a potential customer clicks on the resultant ad, the user is transferred to the company’s website, which is charged a relatively inexpensive “pay-per-click” fee. Bringing customers to a purchase point is the essence of most digital marketing campaigns. But getting a potential buyer onto the site is also the first step in creating an ongoing relationship.

“The higher you are in the rankings—natural or paid—the more likely you are to drive traffic to the site,” said Michael Kelly, director of business development at ClickMail Marketing. “That is a really good tactic to use in growing an e-mail list, which enables you to provide ongoing information to people who are interested in your products or services. You can reach out to them and pull them back to the site. But promise something of value, such as e-mail-only offers or special advance sale notices. You have to sell the process. There should be a little bit of real estate on every page of the website that asks for minimal information—an e-mail address only or e-mail with a first name; just the minimum you would need to convert a visitor to a prospect.”

	Many consumers use blogs as their primary research tool, depending on other enthusiasts or customers to tell them how easily a product was installed, how well it fit and what kinds of performance, convenience or appearance enhancements resulted. Jeff Smith, senior tech editor for Car Craft magazine, writes this blog for the publication’s website.

As noted on the Federal Trade Commission website, the CAN-SPAM Act sets rules for commercial e-mail, gives recipients the right to stop e-mail messaging and outlines the penalties for violations. The act covers all commercial messages, including “any electronic mail message, the primary purpose of which is the commercial advertisement or promotion of a commercial product or service.” Ensure that you understand the act and fully comply with its stipulations before entering into an e-mail campaign. Still, e-mail offers terrific sales potential and can tie in all of the other methods of digital marketing.

“One of the ways to use e-mail is to enable the recipients to share specific articles or content with their social networks,” Kelly said. “The average user on Facebook has about 150 connections. Those connections will have similar interests to the recipient of your e-mail newsletter, and they are likely to be connected and networked with more family, friends and colleagues who have similar interests. If you enable them to share your content, your can see amazing expansion of reach. People who may not have had previous exposure to your brand will sign up for their own e-mail news feed, allowing you to grow your e-mail list organically.”

McCabe suggests having past newsletters available when soliciting new e-mail recipients so that people know what to expect from you, both in content and in frequency, and Lewis points out that it is easy to embed video and other rich media into e-mails. Because you know who you’re talking to—your subscribers—tracking is also easy.

One of the most effective ways to develop an in-house mailing list is to place a sign-up area on the homepage of your website, where people can submit their addresses, said Luanne Brown, founder and president of eTool Developers LLC. Another way is to provide a “forward-to-a-friend” option when you send newsletters to customers who have already given permission. But Brown cautions that the newsletter or offer should be correctly targeted.

“If your company sells to 10 different vertical segments within the automotive aftermarket, you can’t just be a generalist and send out one massive e-mail,” she explained. “You should focus on each niche, talk directly to that customer and create a two-way conversation so that something impersonal—the web and computers—becomes extremely personal. That’s what has happened with social networking: All of these individuals have become connected, making it more personal.”

Social networks can be highly effective at generating awareness and engaging with the marketplace, Lewis said. Rather than building a pricey custom forum, parts manufacturers might want to consider creating profiles on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Flickr and others such sites to share information about their latest products, projects and performance statistics. Such networks also allow for specific targeting of demographic profiles.

“Facebook allows you to set the demographics geographically,” Brown said, “as does Google AdWords. You can determine when and where to have display ads shown, for instance. You can say, ‘I want my display ad to show up between 3:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m., because that that’s when technicians come home and hop online.’ You can pinpoint times and locations—Florida to Maine on one set of days and Washington state to Southern California on another set. You can use those tools to get your message to where you need it to be seen.”

	Website optimization should include strong and detailed merchandising of new products, specials and closeouts and should be coupled with customer testimonials and order and contact information.

Tim Ash, president and CEO of SiteTuners.com said that one of Facebook’s advertising tools lets you say exactly what you’re looking for. “You can specify that you want males only, under 30, and that you want them to have the words ‘drag racing’ somewhere in their profile on Facebook. They’ll give you free information about how many of those people there are. It’s a great tool for judging the breadth of interest in a particular area. And when your ads come up, they’ll be extremely targeted.”

A blog (which is a contraction of the words “web” and “log”) is another web phenomenon that has exploded in the past two years. Many consumers use blogs as their primary research tool, depending on other enthusiasts or customers to tell them how easily a product was installed, how well it fit and what kinds of performance, convenience or appearance enhancements resulted.

“Consumers want to understand the product experiences of fellow users,” said Famous Rhodes, director of eBay Motors. “This content is the most compelling in leading a consumer to make a final purchase decision. eBay has seen data to suggest that 9% of traffic that came directly from enthusiast forums or blogs purchased automotive parts. That is the highest concentration of purchase intent in any online vertical. An eBay survey revealed that 16% of all online parts buyers submit at least five or more blog posts per year.”

Company-produced blogs are best used to provide expertise on a subject, said Mike Moran, author of Do It Wrong Quickly, co-author of Search Engine Marketing Inc. and chief strategist of Converseon. SEMA members might use blogs to provide their expertise to potential customers.

“If you sell aftermarket exhaust systems, your website probably has all sorts of technical information about how much better your parts are than everyone else’s,” Moran said, “but your blog should explain exactly why exhaust systems boost performance, how to install them yourself or how to choose an installer to do it for you and other information that shows your expertise on the subject.”

	The connections between users on Facebook, who are likely to have similar interests, can provide an amazing expansion of reach. Such social networks can be a valuable research tool and allow a company to generate brand awareness and engage with the marketplace.

Obviously, a company blog needs to appeal to a specific audience, even though the users may have diverse reasons for reading and may be coming to the blog from different sources. Selecting the proper person to write and maintain a blog has its own list of parameters. The CEO or even the chief communications officer may not be the right choice.

“For some companies, it may be that the blog writer has a charismatic, humorous, controversial or just unique personality, and that comes across in their writing,” said Shelley Ellis of Shelley Ellis Consulting. “Adding controversy or a fresh approach to a boring topic can draw people in, and you can also use pictures, graphics and embedded video to add appeal to your blog. But don’t just talk about the company. Discuss topics in the industry, conferences and add user-generated content, such as pictures or stories that have been sent in.”

Blogs should be frequently updated, but the content should have a reason for being. Blogging just for the sake of adding words does no one any good and will eventually cause attrition in the audience. Effective blogs not only generate loyal readership but also help with those all-important search-engine rankings.

“We blog every two or three days,” said Kelly, “and the search engines love it. You can further tailor that by mentioning relevant keywords and search terms in the blog that catch people’s attention. That results in a greater weighting and how your brand shows up in natural search rankings.”

A blog can also be repurposed for social networks, so you should make it easy to share the blog posting. “With a social media ‘share’ button, you can send the blog posting as your Facebook status or Tweet about it or publish it on LinkedIn,” said Ash. “If you make it really easy to distribute, you don’t know who’s going to stumble onto it. It’s a diffuse activity, but it does work.”

Short message service (SMS) is a mobile phone technology that has come into its own over the past couple of years, but its use as a marketing tool is somewhat controversial. Like instant messaging, SMS (or texting) allows only a limited number of characters per transmission and, like commercial e-mail use, is highly restricted. It may also be seen as spamishly invasive by the receiver. Still, there are times when SMS can be a valuable tool.

	Paid search (shown in the “Sponsored Link” sections on this page) entails bidding on specific words or phrases to get a top ranking for a search item within a given engine. In organic searches, the websites that most closely match the user’s input go to the top of the returns list (shown in the center left of this page).

Both Lewis and Kelly suggested inviting participation through e-mail, flyers, billboards or other advertising media with the promise of a reward—a free product, for instance, or entry into a VIP-only event. Encourage users to SMS text a keyword to a specific number with their e-mail address. Once a few hundred or thousand people have responded, their addresses can be moved over to an e-mail campaign for further follow-up.

Tracking the effectiveness of digital marketing campaigns is made easier by the plethora of tools available. The ultimate goal is to tie every click all the way through to a resulting sale, online or offline, said Moran.

“That way, you see exactly how each marketing tactic turns into a sale, enabling you to place a value on everything you do” he said. “Then you can use testing to vary your message and your experience to see whether a change improves your sales results. Through constant experimentation, you’ll optimize your marketing spending to produce the highest return on investment.”

Google Analytics is a free application and was the most mentioned tracking software among the experts we spoke with.

“It’s easy to configure, and it can be installed by a company’s web manager with just a few lines of code on each page of your site,” said Lewis, “and it allows you to track where visitors originated and where they left. You can even set it up for custom tracking of various marketing efforts and social platforms, such as banner X drove Y sales and Twitter generated Z contest entries.”

The main selection of Google Analytics tracking includes page views (how many times the pages on your site have been viewed), pages per visit (how many pages on your site users visited on average), average time on site (how long each user spent on your site), bounce rate (what percentage of users left after visiting only one page) and percentage of new visits (how many visitors had never been to your site before). Brown said that bounce rate is a primary indicator of website effectiveness. If the rate is high, users aren’t finding what they’re looking for and are not venturing beyond the homepage; if it’s low, they want what you’re selling. Anything under 50% is considered reasonable, she said.

The key to successful digital marketing—just as with traditional marketing—is providing a worthwhile and relevant experience for the customer. Beyond providing quality products at reasonable prices, presentation and ease of use are crucial.

“Content is king,” said Brown. “Valuable content will bring users back.”  

SEMA News - April 2010

Best Practices

By Steve Campbell

Proven Techniques for the Internet, Mobile Applications and Social Networking

This series of SEMA News stories is based on the idea of using reliable and repeatable methods to ensure business success. In the coming issues, we will delve into a range of topics aimed at developing Best Practices through knowledge, motivation and skills. Writing for BtoB Online, Senior Editor Christopher Hosford cited a survey that indicated a 17% average increase in online marketing spending for 2010. Another survey suggested that 64% of companies plan to increase budgets for search-engine optimization, and 51% will increase budgets for paid search. The groundswell of cell-phone applications—particularly on Blackberry and iPhone devices—has led to 56% of companies planning to increase their spending on mobile marketing. And the newest darling in the online realm, social networking, has opened a panorama of possibilities.

Most experts agree that optimizing a company’s website is the most important initial element of selling online. According to Bill Leake, CEO of Apogee Results, those elements include offering a clear message about the purpose of the website; obvious calls to action for customers, offering concrete reasons for buying from the site or for signing up to receive e-mail updates; and a top-notch analytics program that allows managers to track what’s happening on the site.

Kent Lewis, president of Anvil Media Inc. added that website optimization should include strong and detailed merchandising of new products, specials and closeouts and should be coupled with customer testimonials and order and contact information. Both Leake and Lewis downplayed the importance—and even warned of decreased usability or visibility in search engines—caused by elements such as unnecessary Flash animation or framed content. “Art is pretty,” Leake said, “but what you want are dollars.”

	Top websites include clear messages and obvious calls to action for customers along with a comprehensive analytics program that allows managers to track what’s happening on the site. Discount Tire Direct augments its web presence through eBay Motors, which reaches more than 10.2 million users a month. Discount Tire Direct uses state-of-the-art part finders to help do-it-for-me and do-it-yourself users search parts on the site.

Pretty or not, giving your website every chance to take advantage of the Internet’s viral nature is crucial, according to Caitlin McCabe, founder of White Label Marketing. “If you have a video, make sure that it is sharable,” she said. “If you have a blog, make sure that it can go to Facebook and that people can e-mail it to a friend. Your audience, your fans and your followers are willing to spread the word about you to other people if you just give them the tools to do it. You can have five bloggers who see something they like on your site and reprint it. Suddenly, you have 35,000 more people viewing it without having done any extra work.”

Website optimization also includes using links to make navigation easy and quickly understandable. Clear and accurate descriptions should include words or phrases that customers might type into a search engine, such as Google or Bing, when they’re hunting for either specific products or categories, such as “cat-back exhaust systems.” Using text for links rather than graphic elements also allows search engines to operate more effectively, and descriptive rather than “cute” titles and subtitles make searches more effective as well.

“Search-engine marketing may be the most cost-effective way to reach new customers, as you are able to target buyers looking for specific products and provide them a specific message or product page,” Lewis said. And “organic” searches—where Google, Bing or similar engines scour the web for keywords that match what the user has entered—are free. In organic searches, the websites that most closely match the user’s input go to the top of the returns list, but a company may also employ paid search to ensure that its ad shows up at or near the top of a search-engine results page.

In its basic form, paid search entails bidding on specific words or phrases to get a top ranking for a search item within a given engine. When a potential customer clicks on the resultant ad, the user is transferred to the company’s website, which is charged a relatively inexpensive “pay-per-click” fee. Bringing customers to a purchase point is the essence of most digital marketing campaigns. But getting a potential buyer onto the site is also the first step in creating an ongoing relationship.

“The higher you are in the rankings—natural or paid—the more likely you are to drive traffic to the site,” said Michael Kelly, director of business development at ClickMail Marketing. “That is a really good tactic to use in growing an e-mail list, which enables you to provide ongoing information to people who are interested in your products or services. You can reach out to them and pull them back to the site. But promise something of value, such as e-mail-only offers or special advance sale notices. You have to sell the process. There should be a little bit of real estate on every page of the website that asks for minimal information—an e-mail address only or e-mail with a first name; just the minimum you would need to convert a visitor to a prospect.”

	Many consumers use blogs as their primary research tool, depending on other enthusiasts or customers to tell them how easily a product was installed, how well it fit and what kinds of performance, convenience or appearance enhancements resulted. Jeff Smith, senior tech editor for Car Craft magazine, writes this blog for the publication’s website.

As noted on the Federal Trade Commission website, the CAN-SPAM Act sets rules for commercial e-mail, gives recipients the right to stop e-mail messaging and outlines the penalties for violations. The act covers all commercial messages, including “any electronic mail message, the primary purpose of which is the commercial advertisement or promotion of a commercial product or service.” Ensure that you understand the act and fully comply with its stipulations before entering into an e-mail campaign. Still, e-mail offers terrific sales potential and can tie in all of the other methods of digital marketing.

“One of the ways to use e-mail is to enable the recipients to share specific articles or content with their social networks,” Kelly said. “The average user on Facebook has about 150 connections. Those connections will have similar interests to the recipient of your e-mail newsletter, and they are likely to be connected and networked with more family, friends and colleagues who have similar interests. If you enable them to share your content, your can see amazing expansion of reach. People who may not have had previous exposure to your brand will sign up for their own e-mail news feed, allowing you to grow your e-mail list organically.”

McCabe suggests having past newsletters available when soliciting new e-mail recipients so that people know what to expect from you, both in content and in frequency, and Lewis points out that it is easy to embed video and other rich media into e-mails. Because you know who you’re talking to—your subscribers—tracking is also easy.

One of the most effective ways to develop an in-house mailing list is to place a sign-up area on the homepage of your website, where people can submit their addresses, said Luanne Brown, founder and president of eTool Developers LLC. Another way is to provide a “forward-to-a-friend” option when you send newsletters to customers who have already given permission. But Brown cautions that the newsletter or offer should be correctly targeted.

“If your company sells to 10 different vertical segments within the automotive aftermarket, you can’t just be a generalist and send out one massive e-mail,” she explained. “You should focus on each niche, talk directly to that customer and create a two-way conversation so that something impersonal—the web and computers—becomes extremely personal. That’s what has happened with social networking: All of these individuals have become connected, making it more personal.”

Social networks can be highly effective at generating awareness and engaging with the marketplace, Lewis said. Rather than building a pricey custom forum, parts manufacturers might want to consider creating profiles on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Flickr and others such sites to share information about their latest products, projects and performance statistics. Such networks also allow for specific targeting of demographic profiles.

“Facebook allows you to set the demographics geographically,” Brown said, “as does Google AdWords. You can determine when and where to have display ads shown, for instance. You can say, ‘I want my display ad to show up between 3:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m., because that that’s when technicians come home and hop online.’ You can pinpoint times and locations—Florida to Maine on one set of days and Washington state to Southern California on another set. You can use those tools to get your message to where you need it to be seen.”

	Website optimization should include strong and detailed merchandising of new products, specials and closeouts and should be coupled with customer testimonials and order and contact information.

Tim Ash, president and CEO of SiteTuners.com said that one of Facebook’s advertising tools lets you say exactly what you’re looking for. “You can specify that you want males only, under 30, and that you want them to have the words ‘drag racing’ somewhere in their profile on Facebook. They’ll give you free information about how many of those people there are. It’s a great tool for judging the breadth of interest in a particular area. And when your ads come up, they’ll be extremely targeted.”

A blog (which is a contraction of the words “web” and “log”) is another web phenomenon that has exploded in the past two years. Many consumers use blogs as their primary research tool, depending on other enthusiasts or customers to tell them how easily a product was installed, how well it fit and what kinds of performance, convenience or appearance enhancements resulted.

“Consumers want to understand the product experiences of fellow users,” said Famous Rhodes, director of eBay Motors. “This content is the most compelling in leading a consumer to make a final purchase decision. eBay has seen data to suggest that 9% of traffic that came directly from enthusiast forums or blogs purchased automotive parts. That is the highest concentration of purchase intent in any online vertical. An eBay survey revealed that 16% of all online parts buyers submit at least five or more blog posts per year.”

Company-produced blogs are best used to provide expertise on a subject, said Mike Moran, author of Do It Wrong Quickly, co-author of Search Engine Marketing Inc. and chief strategist of Converseon. SEMA members might use blogs to provide their expertise to potential customers.

“If you sell aftermarket exhaust systems, your website probably has all sorts of technical information about how much better your parts are than everyone else’s,” Moran said, “but your blog should explain exactly why exhaust systems boost performance, how to install them yourself or how to choose an installer to do it for you and other information that shows your expertise on the subject.”

	The connections between users on Facebook, who are likely to have similar interests, can provide an amazing expansion of reach. Such social networks can be a valuable research tool and allow a company to generate brand awareness and engage with the marketplace.

Obviously, a company blog needs to appeal to a specific audience, even though the users may have diverse reasons for reading and may be coming to the blog from different sources. Selecting the proper person to write and maintain a blog has its own list of parameters. The CEO or even the chief communications officer may not be the right choice.

“For some companies, it may be that the blog writer has a charismatic, humorous, controversial or just unique personality, and that comes across in their writing,” said Shelley Ellis of Shelley Ellis Consulting. “Adding controversy or a fresh approach to a boring topic can draw people in, and you can also use pictures, graphics and embedded video to add appeal to your blog. But don’t just talk about the company. Discuss topics in the industry, conferences and add user-generated content, such as pictures or stories that have been sent in.”

Blogs should be frequently updated, but the content should have a reason for being. Blogging just for the sake of adding words does no one any good and will eventually cause attrition in the audience. Effective blogs not only generate loyal readership but also help with those all-important search-engine rankings.

“We blog every two or three days,” said Kelly, “and the search engines love it. You can further tailor that by mentioning relevant keywords and search terms in the blog that catch people’s attention. That results in a greater weighting and how your brand shows up in natural search rankings.”

A blog can also be repurposed for social networks, so you should make it easy to share the blog posting. “With a social media ‘share’ button, you can send the blog posting as your Facebook status or Tweet about it or publish it on LinkedIn,” said Ash. “If you make it really easy to distribute, you don’t know who’s going to stumble onto it. It’s a diffuse activity, but it does work.”

Short message service (SMS) is a mobile phone technology that has come into its own over the past couple of years, but its use as a marketing tool is somewhat controversial. Like instant messaging, SMS (or texting) allows only a limited number of characters per transmission and, like commercial e-mail use, is highly restricted. It may also be seen as spamishly invasive by the receiver. Still, there are times when SMS can be a valuable tool.

	Paid search (shown in the “Sponsored Link” sections on this page) entails bidding on specific words or phrases to get a top ranking for a search item within a given engine. In organic searches, the websites that most closely match the user’s input go to the top of the returns list (shown in the center left of this page).

Both Lewis and Kelly suggested inviting participation through e-mail, flyers, billboards or other advertising media with the promise of a reward—a free product, for instance, or entry into a VIP-only event. Encourage users to SMS text a keyword to a specific number with their e-mail address. Once a few hundred or thousand people have responded, their addresses can be moved over to an e-mail campaign for further follow-up.

Tracking the effectiveness of digital marketing campaigns is made easier by the plethora of tools available. The ultimate goal is to tie every click all the way through to a resulting sale, online or offline, said Moran.

“That way, you see exactly how each marketing tactic turns into a sale, enabling you to place a value on everything you do” he said. “Then you can use testing to vary your message and your experience to see whether a change improves your sales results. Through constant experimentation, you’ll optimize your marketing spending to produce the highest return on investment.”

Google Analytics is a free application and was the most mentioned tracking software among the experts we spoke with.

“It’s easy to configure, and it can be installed by a company’s web manager with just a few lines of code on each page of your site,” said Lewis, “and it allows you to track where visitors originated and where they left. You can even set it up for custom tracking of various marketing efforts and social platforms, such as banner X drove Y sales and Twitter generated Z contest entries.”

The main selection of Google Analytics tracking includes page views (how many times the pages on your site have been viewed), pages per visit (how many pages on your site users visited on average), average time on site (how long each user spent on your site), bounce rate (what percentage of users left after visiting only one page) and percentage of new visits (how many visitors had never been to your site before). Brown said that bounce rate is a primary indicator of website effectiveness. If the rate is high, users aren’t finding what they’re looking for and are not venturing beyond the homepage; if it’s low, they want what you’re selling. Anything under 50% is considered reasonable, she said.

The key to successful digital marketing—just as with traditional marketing—is providing a worthwhile and relevant experience for the customer. Beyond providing quality products at reasonable prices, presentation and ease of use are crucial.

“Content is king,” said Brown. “Valuable content will bring users back.”  

SEMA News - April 2010

Powersports & Utility Vehicles Section Debuted at the 2009 SEMA Show

	More than 5,100 attendees comprised of powersports dealers, accessory retailers and buyers interested in powersports products participated in the 2009 SEMA Show.

In any given year, the SEMA Show has more than 130 exhibitors that manufacture, distribute or retail powersports products. At the 2009 SEMA Show, a dedicated Powersports & Utility Vehicles section debuted in the upper South Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center, adjacent to the Trucks, SUVs & Off-Road section. Sixty exhibitors chose to display in the new section, while approximately 70 more elected to exhibit within other sections of the Show.

Industry trade publisher and marketing partner Powersports Business was among those with a booth in the section, as was exhibitor Rick Haffner of Interparts Industries. “Our recent experience at SEMA’s powersports section was outstanding,” said Haffner. “We experienced a large volume of traffic, gained a number of new accounts and took orders at the Show that more than offset the ‘price of admission.’ We will definitely be participating in the 2010 SEMA Show.”

More than 5,100 attendees comprised of powersports dealers, accessory retailers and buyers interested in powersports products participated in the 2009 SEMA Show, including executives from powersports mega distributors such as Tucker Rocky. The newly relocated attendee registration and New Products Showcase drew increased attendee traffic from the more than 106,000 SEMA Show attendees to the upper South Hall where the Powersports & Utility Vehicles section and the Making Green Cool Zone were located.

Inaugural Powersports Dealer 20-Group Meeting Held at the 2009 SEMA Show

In conjunction with the SEMA Show, Gart Sutton & Associates conducted a powersports dealer 20-Group meeting at the Renaissance Hotel adjacent to the South Hall. The dealers toured the SEMA Show on Wednesday and settled in for their meeting on Thursday and Friday, when they shared financials and discussed successful operating strategies in order to help each other’s dealerships improve sales and profitability as well as discuss how SEMA’s resources could be leveraged to help grow the powersports industry.

SEMA Senior Marketing Director Dan Hobgood took the opportunity to solicit critical feedback from Gart’s group in an effort to make improvements and add value to powersports attendees’ experience at to the 2010 SEMA Show.

“We found that the powersports dealers were very interested in the SEMA Show due to the lifestyle crossover with powersports,” Hobgood said. “Many hot-rod owners also have custom V-twins in their garages, just as sport-compact vehicle owners have Japanese road bikes in theirs. Many truck owners have dirt bikes, and a lot of exotic car owners have Italian road bikes. It was also interesting to see that the educational needs of powersports dealers were very similar to those of car dealers. Of particular interest to the powersports dealers was how to sell to younger generations, customer satisfaction, online marketing and social media—all of which were among the topics of the more than 60 free seminars at the 2009 SEMA Show.”

Gart Sutton & Associates will return to the SEMA Show for 2010 with a Dealer Update program, which will include two days of powersports dealer-specific education in eight supersessions covering essential information about parts and accessories, financing and insurance, and service and dealership management—all taught by top powersports industry experts. Registration for the sessions includes two industry keynote speaker lunches and a special state-of-the-industry powersports panel. According to Gart Sutton, “This is truly a groundbreaking opportunity, since it will be the very first time we offer Dealer Update training to non-20-Group dealers. Dealer Update at the SEMA Show will be open to all powersports dealers.”

SEMA Creates a Powersports Advisory Group

Founding SEMA Powersports Advisory Group (PAG) members gathered at the home of powersports consultant Gart Sutton in Corona del Mar, California, on January 8, 2010, for the first official SEMA PAG meeting. Attendees included Sel Narayana, KTM North America Inc. director of logistics and operations; Ken Laivins, Hardstreet owner; Glen Laivins, Cycra Racing principal; Troy Lee, Troy Lee Designs president; Steve Johnson, Tucker Rocky president and COO; Sean Finley, Source Interlink Media motorcycle group publisher; Wilfried Eibach, Eibach AG CEO; Gart Sutton, Gart Sutton & Associates Inc. president; John Waraniak, SEMA vice president of vehicle technology; Tom Myroniak, SEMA vice president of marketing and member services; and Hobgood. Several other members, including Bart Hayes, owner of PowesportGrafx and a founding member of the SEMA PAG, were not able to attend the first West Coast meeting but will be attending the second meeting to be held in Daytona, Florida.

“The PAG’s mission is to help the powersports industry survive the current economy and be poised to thrive when it recovers by aligning SEMA’s resources with the needs of the powersports industry,” said Hobgood. “There’s a lot the powersports industry can learn from the auto industry and vice versa. SEMA’s lobbying efforts in Washington, D.C., have successfully defeated anti-hobby legislation that banned land use for off-road vehicles and ‘noise’ caused by aftermarket exhaust systems in several states. SEMA offers live webinars and seminars as well as online courses that include product training, online marketing, customer satisfaction, sales basics and so much more. And with the crossover lifestyles, it’s a natural to get the powersports and automotive industries together.”

SEMA News - April 2010

Powersports & Utility Vehicles Section Debuted at the 2009 SEMA Show

	More than 5,100 attendees comprised of powersports dealers, accessory retailers and buyers interested in powersports products participated in the 2009 SEMA Show.

In any given year, the SEMA Show has more than 130 exhibitors that manufacture, distribute or retail powersports products. At the 2009 SEMA Show, a dedicated Powersports & Utility Vehicles section debuted in the upper South Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center, adjacent to the Trucks, SUVs & Off-Road section. Sixty exhibitors chose to display in the new section, while approximately 70 more elected to exhibit within other sections of the Show.

Industry trade publisher and marketing partner Powersports Business was among those with a booth in the section, as was exhibitor Rick Haffner of Interparts Industries. “Our recent experience at SEMA’s powersports section was outstanding,” said Haffner. “We experienced a large volume of traffic, gained a number of new accounts and took orders at the Show that more than offset the ‘price of admission.’ We will definitely be participating in the 2010 SEMA Show.”

More than 5,100 attendees comprised of powersports dealers, accessory retailers and buyers interested in powersports products participated in the 2009 SEMA Show, including executives from powersports mega distributors such as Tucker Rocky. The newly relocated attendee registration and New Products Showcase drew increased attendee traffic from the more than 106,000 SEMA Show attendees to the upper South Hall where the Powersports & Utility Vehicles section and the Making Green Cool Zone were located.

Inaugural Powersports Dealer 20-Group Meeting Held at the 2009 SEMA Show

In conjunction with the SEMA Show, Gart Sutton & Associates conducted a powersports dealer 20-Group meeting at the Renaissance Hotel adjacent to the South Hall. The dealers toured the SEMA Show on Wednesday and settled in for their meeting on Thursday and Friday, when they shared financials and discussed successful operating strategies in order to help each other’s dealerships improve sales and profitability as well as discuss how SEMA’s resources could be leveraged to help grow the powersports industry.

SEMA Senior Marketing Director Dan Hobgood took the opportunity to solicit critical feedback from Gart’s group in an effort to make improvements and add value to powersports attendees’ experience at to the 2010 SEMA Show.

“We found that the powersports dealers were very interested in the SEMA Show due to the lifestyle crossover with powersports,” Hobgood said. “Many hot-rod owners also have custom V-twins in their garages, just as sport-compact vehicle owners have Japanese road bikes in theirs. Many truck owners have dirt bikes, and a lot of exotic car owners have Italian road bikes. It was also interesting to see that the educational needs of powersports dealers were very similar to those of car dealers. Of particular interest to the powersports dealers was how to sell to younger generations, customer satisfaction, online marketing and social media—all of which were among the topics of the more than 60 free seminars at the 2009 SEMA Show.”

Gart Sutton & Associates will return to the SEMA Show for 2010 with a Dealer Update program, which will include two days of powersports dealer-specific education in eight supersessions covering essential information about parts and accessories, financing and insurance, and service and dealership management—all taught by top powersports industry experts. Registration for the sessions includes two industry keynote speaker lunches and a special state-of-the-industry powersports panel. According to Gart Sutton, “This is truly a groundbreaking opportunity, since it will be the very first time we offer Dealer Update training to non-20-Group dealers. Dealer Update at the SEMA Show will be open to all powersports dealers.”

SEMA Creates a Powersports Advisory Group

Founding SEMA Powersports Advisory Group (PAG) members gathered at the home of powersports consultant Gart Sutton in Corona del Mar, California, on January 8, 2010, for the first official SEMA PAG meeting. Attendees included Sel Narayana, KTM North America Inc. director of logistics and operations; Ken Laivins, Hardstreet owner; Glen Laivins, Cycra Racing principal; Troy Lee, Troy Lee Designs president; Steve Johnson, Tucker Rocky president and COO; Sean Finley, Source Interlink Media motorcycle group publisher; Wilfried Eibach, Eibach AG CEO; Gart Sutton, Gart Sutton & Associates Inc. president; John Waraniak, SEMA vice president of vehicle technology; Tom Myroniak, SEMA vice president of marketing and member services; and Hobgood. Several other members, including Bart Hayes, owner of PowesportGrafx and a founding member of the SEMA PAG, were not able to attend the first West Coast meeting but will be attending the second meeting to be held in Daytona, Florida.

“The PAG’s mission is to help the powersports industry survive the current economy and be poised to thrive when it recovers by aligning SEMA’s resources with the needs of the powersports industry,” said Hobgood. “There’s a lot the powersports industry can learn from the auto industry and vice versa. SEMA’s lobbying efforts in Washington, D.C., have successfully defeated anti-hobby legislation that banned land use for off-road vehicles and ‘noise’ caused by aftermarket exhaust systems in several states. SEMA offers live webinars and seminars as well as online courses that include product training, online marketing, customer satisfaction, sales basics and so much more. And with the crossover lifestyles, it’s a natural to get the powersports and automotive industries together.”

SEMA News - April 2010

Powersports & Utility Vehicles Section Debuted at the 2009 SEMA Show

	More than 5,100 attendees comprised of powersports dealers, accessory retailers and buyers interested in powersports products participated in the 2009 SEMA Show.

In any given year, the SEMA Show has more than 130 exhibitors that manufacture, distribute or retail powersports products. At the 2009 SEMA Show, a dedicated Powersports & Utility Vehicles section debuted in the upper South Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center, adjacent to the Trucks, SUVs & Off-Road section. Sixty exhibitors chose to display in the new section, while approximately 70 more elected to exhibit within other sections of the Show.

Industry trade publisher and marketing partner Powersports Business was among those with a booth in the section, as was exhibitor Rick Haffner of Interparts Industries. “Our recent experience at SEMA’s powersports section was outstanding,” said Haffner. “We experienced a large volume of traffic, gained a number of new accounts and took orders at the Show that more than offset the ‘price of admission.’ We will definitely be participating in the 2010 SEMA Show.”

More than 5,100 attendees comprised of powersports dealers, accessory retailers and buyers interested in powersports products participated in the 2009 SEMA Show, including executives from powersports mega distributors such as Tucker Rocky. The newly relocated attendee registration and New Products Showcase drew increased attendee traffic from the more than 106,000 SEMA Show attendees to the upper South Hall where the Powersports & Utility Vehicles section and the Making Green Cool Zone were located.

Inaugural Powersports Dealer 20-Group Meeting Held at the 2009 SEMA Show

In conjunction with the SEMA Show, Gart Sutton & Associates conducted a powersports dealer 20-Group meeting at the Renaissance Hotel adjacent to the South Hall. The dealers toured the SEMA Show on Wednesday and settled in for their meeting on Thursday and Friday, when they shared financials and discussed successful operating strategies in order to help each other’s dealerships improve sales and profitability as well as discuss how SEMA’s resources could be leveraged to help grow the powersports industry.

SEMA Senior Marketing Director Dan Hobgood took the opportunity to solicit critical feedback from Gart’s group in an effort to make improvements and add value to powersports attendees’ experience at to the 2010 SEMA Show.

“We found that the powersports dealers were very interested in the SEMA Show due to the lifestyle crossover with powersports,” Hobgood said. “Many hot-rod owners also have custom V-twins in their garages, just as sport-compact vehicle owners have Japanese road bikes in theirs. Many truck owners have dirt bikes, and a lot of exotic car owners have Italian road bikes. It was also interesting to see that the educational needs of powersports dealers were very similar to those of car dealers. Of particular interest to the powersports dealers was how to sell to younger generations, customer satisfaction, online marketing and social media—all of which were among the topics of the more than 60 free seminars at the 2009 SEMA Show.”

Gart Sutton & Associates will return to the SEMA Show for 2010 with a Dealer Update program, which will include two days of powersports dealer-specific education in eight supersessions covering essential information about parts and accessories, financing and insurance, and service and dealership management—all taught by top powersports industry experts. Registration for the sessions includes two industry keynote speaker lunches and a special state-of-the-industry powersports panel. According to Gart Sutton, “This is truly a groundbreaking opportunity, since it will be the very first time we offer Dealer Update training to non-20-Group dealers. Dealer Update at the SEMA Show will be open to all powersports dealers.”

SEMA Creates a Powersports Advisory Group

Founding SEMA Powersports Advisory Group (PAG) members gathered at the home of powersports consultant Gart Sutton in Corona del Mar, California, on January 8, 2010, for the first official SEMA PAG meeting. Attendees included Sel Narayana, KTM North America Inc. director of logistics and operations; Ken Laivins, Hardstreet owner; Glen Laivins, Cycra Racing principal; Troy Lee, Troy Lee Designs president; Steve Johnson, Tucker Rocky president and COO; Sean Finley, Source Interlink Media motorcycle group publisher; Wilfried Eibach, Eibach AG CEO; Gart Sutton, Gart Sutton & Associates Inc. president; John Waraniak, SEMA vice president of vehicle technology; Tom Myroniak, SEMA vice president of marketing and member services; and Hobgood. Several other members, including Bart Hayes, owner of PowesportGrafx and a founding member of the SEMA PAG, were not able to attend the first West Coast meeting but will be attending the second meeting to be held in Daytona, Florida.

“The PAG’s mission is to help the powersports industry survive the current economy and be poised to thrive when it recovers by aligning SEMA’s resources with the needs of the powersports industry,” said Hobgood. “There’s a lot the powersports industry can learn from the auto industry and vice versa. SEMA’s lobbying efforts in Washington, D.C., have successfully defeated anti-hobby legislation that banned land use for off-road vehicles and ‘noise’ caused by aftermarket exhaust systems in several states. SEMA offers live webinars and seminars as well as online courses that include product training, online marketing, customer satisfaction, sales basics and so much more. And with the crossover lifestyles, it’s a natural to get the powersports and automotive industries together.”

SEMA News - April 2010

Powersports & Utility Vehicles Section Debuted at the 2009 SEMA Show

	More than 5,100 attendees comprised of powersports dealers, accessory retailers and buyers interested in powersports products participated in the 2009 SEMA Show.

In any given year, the SEMA Show has more than 130 exhibitors that manufacture, distribute or retail powersports products. At the 2009 SEMA Show, a dedicated Powersports & Utility Vehicles section debuted in the upper South Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center, adjacent to the Trucks, SUVs & Off-Road section. Sixty exhibitors chose to display in the new section, while approximately 70 more elected to exhibit within other sections of the Show.

Industry trade publisher and marketing partner Powersports Business was among those with a booth in the section, as was exhibitor Rick Haffner of Interparts Industries. “Our recent experience at SEMA’s powersports section was outstanding,” said Haffner. “We experienced a large volume of traffic, gained a number of new accounts and took orders at the Show that more than offset the ‘price of admission.’ We will definitely be participating in the 2010 SEMA Show.”

More than 5,100 attendees comprised of powersports dealers, accessory retailers and buyers interested in powersports products participated in the 2009 SEMA Show, including executives from powersports mega distributors such as Tucker Rocky. The newly relocated attendee registration and New Products Showcase drew increased attendee traffic from the more than 106,000 SEMA Show attendees to the upper South Hall where the Powersports & Utility Vehicles section and the Making Green Cool Zone were located.

Inaugural Powersports Dealer 20-Group Meeting Held at the 2009 SEMA Show

In conjunction with the SEMA Show, Gart Sutton & Associates conducted a powersports dealer 20-Group meeting at the Renaissance Hotel adjacent to the South Hall. The dealers toured the SEMA Show on Wednesday and settled in for their meeting on Thursday and Friday, when they shared financials and discussed successful operating strategies in order to help each other’s dealerships improve sales and profitability as well as discuss how SEMA’s resources could be leveraged to help grow the powersports industry.

SEMA Senior Marketing Director Dan Hobgood took the opportunity to solicit critical feedback from Gart’s group in an effort to make improvements and add value to powersports attendees’ experience at to the 2010 SEMA Show.

“We found that the powersports dealers were very interested in the SEMA Show due to the lifestyle crossover with powersports,” Hobgood said. “Many hot-rod owners also have custom V-twins in their garages, just as sport-compact vehicle owners have Japanese road bikes in theirs. Many truck owners have dirt bikes, and a lot of exotic car owners have Italian road bikes. It was also interesting to see that the educational needs of powersports dealers were very similar to those of car dealers. Of particular interest to the powersports dealers was how to sell to younger generations, customer satisfaction, online marketing and social media—all of which were among the topics of the more than 60 free seminars at the 2009 SEMA Show.”

Gart Sutton & Associates will return to the SEMA Show for 2010 with a Dealer Update program, which will include two days of powersports dealer-specific education in eight supersessions covering essential information about parts and accessories, financing and insurance, and service and dealership management—all taught by top powersports industry experts. Registration for the sessions includes two industry keynote speaker lunches and a special state-of-the-industry powersports panel. According to Gart Sutton, “This is truly a groundbreaking opportunity, since it will be the very first time we offer Dealer Update training to non-20-Group dealers. Dealer Update at the SEMA Show will be open to all powersports dealers.”

SEMA Creates a Powersports Advisory Group

Founding SEMA Powersports Advisory Group (PAG) members gathered at the home of powersports consultant Gart Sutton in Corona del Mar, California, on January 8, 2010, for the first official SEMA PAG meeting. Attendees included Sel Narayana, KTM North America Inc. director of logistics and operations; Ken Laivins, Hardstreet owner; Glen Laivins, Cycra Racing principal; Troy Lee, Troy Lee Designs president; Steve Johnson, Tucker Rocky president and COO; Sean Finley, Source Interlink Media motorcycle group publisher; Wilfried Eibach, Eibach AG CEO; Gart Sutton, Gart Sutton & Associates Inc. president; John Waraniak, SEMA vice president of vehicle technology; Tom Myroniak, SEMA vice president of marketing and member services; and Hobgood. Several other members, including Bart Hayes, owner of PowesportGrafx and a founding member of the SEMA PAG, were not able to attend the first West Coast meeting but will be attending the second meeting to be held in Daytona, Florida.

“The PAG’s mission is to help the powersports industry survive the current economy and be poised to thrive when it recovers by aligning SEMA’s resources with the needs of the powersports industry,” said Hobgood. “There’s a lot the powersports industry can learn from the auto industry and vice versa. SEMA’s lobbying efforts in Washington, D.C., have successfully defeated anti-hobby legislation that banned land use for off-road vehicles and ‘noise’ caused by aftermarket exhaust systems in several states. SEMA offers live webinars and seminars as well as online courses that include product training, online marketing, customer satisfaction, sales basics and so much more. And with the crossover lifestyles, it’s a natural to get the powersports and automotive industries together.”

SEMA NEWS - April 2010

The ProPledge Program—Why You Need to Be Involved

	From left: Nathan Ward, Tops & Trends; David Sheffler, Katzkin Leather; Kirk Scott, Katzkin Leather; Bill North, Webasto; Joe Sebergandio Motor Media Inc.; Marvin Metzler, Mito Corp.; Josh Rohm, MITO Corp. Doug Perez, Automotive Essentials; and Joey Johnston, Tops & Trends.

SEMA News recently had an opportunity to catch up with ProPledge Director of Operations Joe Sebergandio. Having just returned from the annual National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) conference, where he and the rest of the ProPledge staff met with potential participants, Sebergandio took time out to discuss the fundamentals of ProPledge as well as provide insight into the program’s future.

SEMA News: What exactly is the SEMA ProPledge program?

Joe Sebergandio: ProPledge is a unified way to assure dealers that they can stand behind the specialty products they sell, much like they can with OEM-branded products, under a single quality assurance brand. Under ProPledge, participating companies offer a minimum of 36-month/36,000-mile warranty coverage that is industry-backed; provide liability coverage of a minimum of $5 million (listing dealer as additional insured); and meet quality process and time-in-business criteria.

SN: Why was ProPledge created?

JS: To stimulate more sales of specialty products at the dealership level. Specialty auto products and accessories generate more than $30 billion in annual retail sales, fueled largely by consumer interest in vehicle personalization and new accessory-friendly vehicle designs from the OEMs. Historically, many dealers have not aggressively merchandised SEMA-member accessories due to concerns about warranties and liability protection. ProPledge is designed to make the vehicle accessorization process simple and provide peace of mind so both the dealer and consumer can “Customize With Confidence!” Our program offers the products to select/install and eases their concerns about warranty, liability and customer satisfaction. ProPledge was targeted to overcome these traditional barriers associated with specialty aftermarket products sold during the new- (and select used-) vehicle sales process—namely warranty and customer satisfaction scores (CSI). ProPledge provides at zero cost to both consumer and dealer, the quality, assurance and confidence they demand, thus, allowing the customer to drive off the lot in the car of their dreams!

SN: How does the program work?

JS: ProPledge is a cooperative initiative comprised of SEMA-member manufacturers and installers committed to delivering quality products and services.

Should a claim arise, the consumer can visit their dealer or contact our ProPledge Customer Support Center where a repair or replacement of the product or installation will be arranged. The process provides complete satisfaction so the customer can get back on the road.

SN: Who actually oversees the program?

JS: Specialty Equipment Warranty Alliance (SEWA), a subsidiary of SEMA, backs the limited warranty program. Back in July of 2009, my firm, Motor Media Inc. became involved handling vital member recruitment, sales and marketing. Beverly Rosen of SEMA handles the day-to-day operations. We also have a marketing relationship and partner with Insignia, (an industry leader in accessories sales tools and processes for new-vehicle dealerships across numerous brands) and Alliant Insurance services; both play a major role in the program’s success.

SN: What is covered by the guarantee?

JS: Any ProPledge member product or service for a period of 36 months or 36,000 miles from the purchase date of any new or used (vehicles three years older than the current model).

SN: What are some of the benefits of ProPledge for vehicle dealers?

	From left: Randy Young of Classic Soft Trim of Tampa Bay, Florida; Webasto’s Bill North; and Tops and Trends David Sheffler check out the ProPledge-backed Ford Flex at the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) convention.

JS: Peace of mind knowing that there is liability protection and warranty coverage similar to that offered by the vehicle
manufacturers. ProPledge also makes it easier for dealers to select and identify what products they can sell with confidence. When dealers see the ProPledge logo/mark, they can be assured that the product and the installer have met our SEMA quality standards. Finally, dealers can certainly benefit from the revenue streams that the ProPledge program provides, particularly now when vehicle sales are more challenging.

SN: What are the benefits to installers and accessory manufacturers?

JS: ProPledge is a powerful tool to gain the confidence of dealers and encourage increased sales at the car dealership level.

To the installers, I feel that ProPledge provides them with an extra measure of credibility they enjoy while working and visiting with dealers, knowing that they are being backed by SEWA. It certainly distinguishes their business from the competition, which in turn, boosts sales at the dealership level for their business. ProPledge enhances our member’s company image.

To the manufacturers, it provides them with the opportunity to sell more product, plain and simple, through the dealerships.

In both cases, ProPledge provides a substantial branding and marketing program for our members that carries their message and products through an assortment of mediums, reaching the dealer, consumer and trade alike. For example, ProPledge ad campaigns are placed in all of our appropriate SEMA trade outlets, including SEMA News and our increasingly popular weekly SEMA eNews. Our partners at Source Interlink Media promote our program to the consumer in quarterly ads in both Motor Trend and Automobile magazines, reaching more than 11.2 million total consumers monthly. In both cases, we are promoting our ProPledge member and program marketing message: “Customize With Confidence.” During the SEMA Show, our Dealer Day program helps us get intimate face time with hundreds of dealers, again, offering our members branding exposures and product showcasing. The recent ProPledge booth at the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) event was another example of how our members benefit via product exposure and feature-vehicle placements viewed by attending dealers.

SN: What product categories does ProPledge include?

ProPledge includes products, such as leather interiors; sunroofs; mobile electronics; tonneau covers; truck-bed-related products; grilles; grille guards; cat-back exhaust systems and tips; suspension, both lowered and lifted; wheels; ground-effect kits; and roof treatments, just to name a few.

SN: Who is currently participating in ProPledge?

JS: I would have to begin with our installer lineup, as they played such a huge role in the program’s pilot launch and candidly are key to the program’s future success:

Doug Perez of Automotive Essentials in Rockville, Maryland, is one of our programs biggest supporters. His business has seen notable advantages of being a founding member of ProPledge and sites the many instances where our program has enhanced his relationships and profits working with local dealers and dealer groups. Tops & Trends in Kernersville, North Carolina; Auto Trim & Restyling of Manchester, Missouri; Auto Trim of Denver, Colorado; and Classic Soft Trims of Commerce California, have been with us since the pilot and are back for 2010. We are making substantial progress of late and hope to shortly confirm installers joining the program from Texas, Wisconsin, Florida, California and Ohio. Our long-term goal includes representation of at least one ProPledge certified installer in each state.

			NADA ProPledge Ford Flex
			Sponsors
			Leather Seat Covers Katzkin Leather Inc. www.katzkin.com Sunroof Webasto Product America www.webasto.us Body Kit 3dCarbon www.3dCarbon.com Wheels WTW Corp. www.wtwcorp.com Tires Continental Tire www.conti-online.com Restyler/Installer Classic Designs www.classicdesigns.cc

On the manufacturer side, we are proud to see the return of such notable companies, including Katzkin Leather, Webasto, MITO Corp., Check Corporation, Roadwire and Inalfa Sunroofs to name a few. 3dCarbon is our newest addition to the ProPledge manufacturer roster, and we are working closely with WTW Corp., Innovative Creations, Rosen Entertainment, Pioneer Electronics and others on a daily basis, encouraging and assisting them with their membership participation. We are seeking partners for the program on a daily basis and need the industry’s support. As more manufacturers support and join ProPledge, we can collectively realize the increased sales when dealerships increase their offerings of specialty parts and accessories.

SN: How can interested companies sign up to participate?

JS: Visit www.ProPledge.com today or call me, Joe Sebergandio 24/7/365. We are poised to make this program a success and can already see the impact and momentum that has started to develop.

A phone call to 818/248-4449 gets you to our ProPledge staff comprised of myself, Brian Paik and Steve Warner.
“Customize With Confidence” and tell ’em, ProPledge has your back!

ProPledge Participants Speak Out

“Maximizing car-dealer confidence in restyling products remains a key objective for Webasto. ProPledge strives to arm our restylers with tangible value in the form of unified coverage—even when the consumer is far from home. We look forward to the day when car dealers will specify that they only contract installations through ProPledge installers using ProPledge components.”
—Bill North, Webasto

“As a participating ProPledge manufacturer and restyler, SEMA’s ProPledge Program has provided increased market visibility, shown measurable market-sales increases and has enabled new business opportunities with automotive OEM and dealership customers. ProPledge can differentiate restylers and manufacturers in highly competitive markets and industry manufacturing segments by pointing out vital factors that should be expected, if not demanded, by today’s consumers, automotive dealerships and automotive manufacturers. If you consider your company to be of an elite status in our industry, SEMA’s ProPledge can give you the recognition you deserve; join us in ProPledge.”
—Dave Edmondson, Roadwire

“ProPledge is a winner for all parties involved in the sale of aftermarket accessories at the dealership level. Being a supplier, we get exposure to both dealers and installers that service car dealers. The installers get 3-year/36,000-mile warranties on the products they use, and the car dealer gets peace of mind that both the parts and the installation are of a caliber that they are accustomed to, with the added reassurance that both the installation and the product are covered by a warranty. The successful new-car dealers of tomorrow are embracing accessory sales today; ProPledge makes it easy for them to do it.”
—Josh Rohm, MITO Corp.

“ProPledge sets a new standard in our industry. It provides dealers and consumers with a level of assurance that was previously unavailable. If you truly meet the highest standards, ProPledge is an important measure, and we at Katzkin proudly display our ProPledge accreditation.”
—Ron Leslie, Katzkin Leather Inc.

“ProPledge has given us a competitive advantage, enabling us to provide our customers with a level of assurance that has not been available up until now. As a dealership, we now have complete confidence in our restyling products, no longer worried about vehicle-modification liability concerns. Not only are we providing the highest-quality products, but the 36-month nationwide guarantee, backed by SEMA, makes all the difference.”
—Tom Facsetti, Dean Team Hyundai

“ProPledge provides our new-car dealer clients with added assurance that our work is performed by certified technicians, offers a 36-month/36,000-mile backed warranty by SEWA and provides their customers with a no-cost, limited warranty reflective of the OEMs!”
—Tony Hinton, Auto Trim Restyling

“When choosing an aftermarket company, our main focus was to find one that would guarantee their work. Through Doug Perez and his Automotive Essentials, where customer satisfaction is number one, our dealership sales and service staff can now sell aftermarket products backed by the ProPledge guarantee. The ProPledge guarantee has provided our dealership with better profits and peace of mind.
It can’t get any better than that.”
—David Lantz, Ourisman Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge

“We have had a long-term successful relationship with Tops and Trends based on the excellent service and products they provide. Our customers love the quality, professional installation and nationwide warranty through ProPledge. We rest assured that wherever our customers may move, they will be taken care of through the network. Tops and Trends always exceeds our expectations when it comes to delivering a quality product, quickly and at an affordable price.”
—John Parker, Skyland Automotive Inc.


“As a pilot member in the SEMA ProPledge program, Tops and Trends has seen firsthand the confidence that dealers and customers exhibit when their vehicles are accessorized by professionally trained ASE-certified technicians utilizing quality parts and accessories. The ProPledge guarantee provides customers peace of mind through its national network of certified facilities should a warranty issue arise.”
—Joey Johnston, Tops and Trends

“Our relationship with Tops and Trends has always given us the experience of workmanship and quality of services that they provide. Our customers have always had 100% satisfaction with the services they have provided and the timeliness and how quickly they receive their vehicle back. We have no dispute that wherever our customers might move to, that they will be taken care of 100% of the time through ProPledge.
Tops and Trends have always stopped on a dime to help us whenever we need them, and we treasure our relationship with them. Their pricing is very affordable, and customers always leave with a smile on their face. Thanks to the whole crew at Tops and Trends for all of their diligent workmanship and continuing support of our dealership.”
—Brandt Howard, Jim Barkley Toyota

“ProPledge gives dealers and their customers a 3-year/36,000-mile nationwide warranty. With ProPledge you can truly ‘Customize with Confidence.’”
—Doug Perez, Owner,Automotive Essentials

“ProPledge is ‘where the rubber meets the road’ in the accessory business. We don’t only talk about quality, we guarantee it. ProPledge takes the guess work out of accessories for dealers with a 3-year/36,000-mile nationwide warranty program. It’s been the difference for us in signing several dealer accounts this year.”
—Jon Titman, Automotive Essentials Inc.

“ProPledge is the perfect tool for manufacturers and installers in the accessory market; finally, a program that addresses dealer and consumer concerns regarding quality of aftermarket accessories and the warranty they provide. Check Corporation stands behind the members of ProPledge because it holds us accountable for the products and services we provide to dealers and consumers with a nationwide warranty program. If you’re an installer or manufacturer that wants to set yourself apart from the competition, then ProPledge is the program for you!”
—Brian Champa, Check Corporation

“ProPledge provides new-/used-car dealers the comfort of knowing we are selling a quality product backed with a nationwide warranty. It takes the guess work out of the salespersons’ and service department’s hands when/if a problem arises with the aftermarket product. Now all departments involved can knowingly sell a product competitively that is fully protected by the ProPledge guarantee.”
—Larry Branche, Fitzgerald Auto Malls

SEMA NEWS - April 2010

The ProPledge Program—Why You Need to Be Involved

	From left: Nathan Ward, Tops & Trends; David Sheffler, Katzkin Leather; Kirk Scott, Katzkin Leather; Bill North, Webasto; Joe Sebergandio Motor Media Inc.; Marvin Metzler, Mito Corp.; Josh Rohm, MITO Corp. Doug Perez, Automotive Essentials; and Joey Johnston, Tops & Trends.

SEMA News recently had an opportunity to catch up with ProPledge Director of Operations Joe Sebergandio. Having just returned from the annual National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) conference, where he and the rest of the ProPledge staff met with potential participants, Sebergandio took time out to discuss the fundamentals of ProPledge as well as provide insight into the program’s future.

SEMA News: What exactly is the SEMA ProPledge program?

Joe Sebergandio: ProPledge is a unified way to assure dealers that they can stand behind the specialty products they sell, much like they can with OEM-branded products, under a single quality assurance brand. Under ProPledge, participating companies offer a minimum of 36-month/36,000-mile warranty coverage that is industry-backed; provide liability coverage of a minimum of $5 million (listing dealer as additional insured); and meet quality process and time-in-business criteria.

SN: Why was ProPledge created?

JS: To stimulate more sales of specialty products at the dealership level. Specialty auto products and accessories generate more than $30 billion in annual retail sales, fueled largely by consumer interest in vehicle personalization and new accessory-friendly vehicle designs from the OEMs. Historically, many dealers have not aggressively merchandised SEMA-member accessories due to concerns about warranties and liability protection. ProPledge is designed to make the vehicle accessorization process simple and provide peace of mind so both the dealer and consumer can “Customize With Confidence!” Our program offers the products to select/install and eases their concerns about warranty, liability and customer satisfaction. ProPledge was targeted to overcome these traditional barriers associated with specialty aftermarket products sold during the new- (and select used-) vehicle sales process—namely warranty and customer satisfaction scores (CSI). ProPledge provides at zero cost to both consumer and dealer, the quality, assurance and confidence they demand, thus, allowing the customer to drive off the lot in the car of their dreams!

SN: How does the program work?

JS: ProPledge is a cooperative initiative comprised of SEMA-member manufacturers and installers committed to delivering quality products and services.

Should a claim arise, the consumer can visit their dealer or contact our ProPledge Customer Support Center where a repair or replacement of the product or installation will be arranged. The process provides complete satisfaction so the customer can get back on the road.

SN: Who actually oversees the program?

JS: Specialty Equipment Warranty Alliance (SEWA), a subsidiary of SEMA, backs the limited warranty program. Back in July of 2009, my firm, Motor Media Inc. became involved handling vital member recruitment, sales and marketing. Beverly Rosen of SEMA handles the day-to-day operations. We also have a marketing relationship and partner with Insignia, (an industry leader in accessories sales tools and processes for new-vehicle dealerships across numerous brands) and Alliant Insurance services; both play a major role in the program’s success.

SN: What is covered by the guarantee?

JS: Any ProPledge member product or service for a period of 36 months or 36,000 miles from the purchase date of any new or used (vehicles three years older than the current model).

SN: What are some of the benefits of ProPledge for vehicle dealers?

	From left: Randy Young of Classic Soft Trim of Tampa Bay, Florida; Webasto’s Bill North; and Tops and Trends David Sheffler check out the ProPledge-backed Ford Flex at the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) convention.

JS: Peace of mind knowing that there is liability protection and warranty coverage similar to that offered by the vehicle
manufacturers. ProPledge also makes it easier for dealers to select and identify what products they can sell with confidence. When dealers see the ProPledge logo/mark, they can be assured that the product and the installer have met our SEMA quality standards. Finally, dealers can certainly benefit from the revenue streams that the ProPledge program provides, particularly now when vehicle sales are more challenging.

SN: What are the benefits to installers and accessory manufacturers?

JS: ProPledge is a powerful tool to gain the confidence of dealers and encourage increased sales at the car dealership level.

To the installers, I feel that ProPledge provides them with an extra measure of credibility they enjoy while working and visiting with dealers, knowing that they are being backed by SEWA. It certainly distinguishes their business from the competition, which in turn, boosts sales at the dealership level for their business. ProPledge enhances our member’s company image.

To the manufacturers, it provides them with the opportunity to sell more product, plain and simple, through the dealerships.

In both cases, ProPledge provides a substantial branding and marketing program for our members that carries their message and products through an assortment of mediums, reaching the dealer, consumer and trade alike. For example, ProPledge ad campaigns are placed in all of our appropriate SEMA trade outlets, including SEMA News and our increasingly popular weekly SEMA eNews. Our partners at Source Interlink Media promote our program to the consumer in quarterly ads in both Motor Trend and Automobile magazines, reaching more than 11.2 million total consumers monthly. In both cases, we are promoting our ProPledge member and program marketing message: “Customize With Confidence.” During the SEMA Show, our Dealer Day program helps us get intimate face time with hundreds of dealers, again, offering our members branding exposures and product showcasing. The recent ProPledge booth at the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) event was another example of how our members benefit via product exposure and feature-vehicle placements viewed by attending dealers.

SN: What product categories does ProPledge include?

ProPledge includes products, such as leather interiors; sunroofs; mobile electronics; tonneau covers; truck-bed-related products; grilles; grille guards; cat-back exhaust systems and tips; suspension, both lowered and lifted; wheels; ground-effect kits; and roof treatments, just to name a few.

SN: Who is currently participating in ProPledge?

JS: I would have to begin with our installer lineup, as they played such a huge role in the program’s pilot launch and candidly are key to the program’s future success:

Doug Perez of Automotive Essentials in Rockville, Maryland, is one of our programs biggest supporters. His business has seen notable advantages of being a founding member of ProPledge and sites the many instances where our program has enhanced his relationships and profits working with local dealers and dealer groups. Tops & Trends in Kernersville, North Carolina; Auto Trim & Restyling of Manchester, Missouri; Auto Trim of Denver, Colorado; and Classic Soft Trims of Commerce California, have been with us since the pilot and are back for 2010. We are making substantial progress of late and hope to shortly confirm installers joining the program from Texas, Wisconsin, Florida, California and Ohio. Our long-term goal includes representation of at least one ProPledge certified installer in each state.

			NADA ProPledge Ford Flex
			Sponsors
			Leather Seat Covers Katzkin Leather Inc. www.katzkin.com Sunroof Webasto Product America www.webasto.us Body Kit 3dCarbon www.3dCarbon.com Wheels WTW Corp. www.wtwcorp.com Tires Continental Tire www.conti-online.com Restyler/Installer Classic Designs www.classicdesigns.cc

On the manufacturer side, we are proud to see the return of such notable companies, including Katzkin Leather, Webasto, MITO Corp., Check Corporation, Roadwire and Inalfa Sunroofs to name a few. 3dCarbon is our newest addition to the ProPledge manufacturer roster, and we are working closely with WTW Corp., Innovative Creations, Rosen Entertainment, Pioneer Electronics and others on a daily basis, encouraging and assisting them with their membership participation. We are seeking partners for the program on a daily basis and need the industry’s support. As more manufacturers support and join ProPledge, we can collectively realize the increased sales when dealerships increase their offerings of specialty parts and accessories.

SN: How can interested companies sign up to participate?

JS: Visit www.ProPledge.com today or call me, Joe Sebergandio 24/7/365. We are poised to make this program a success and can already see the impact and momentum that has started to develop.

A phone call to 818/248-4449 gets you to our ProPledge staff comprised of myself, Brian Paik and Steve Warner.
“Customize With Confidence” and tell ’em, ProPledge has your back!

ProPledge Participants Speak Out

“Maximizing car-dealer confidence in restyling products remains a key objective for Webasto. ProPledge strives to arm our restylers with tangible value in the form of unified coverage—even when the consumer is far from home. We look forward to the day when car dealers will specify that they only contract installations through ProPledge installers using ProPledge components.”
—Bill North, Webasto

“As a participating ProPledge manufacturer and restyler, SEMA’s ProPledge Program has provided increased market visibility, shown measurable market-sales increases and has enabled new business opportunities with automotive OEM and dealership customers. ProPledge can differentiate restylers and manufacturers in highly competitive markets and industry manufacturing segments by pointing out vital factors that should be expected, if not demanded, by today’s consumers, automotive dealerships and automotive manufacturers. If you consider your company to be of an elite status in our industry, SEMA’s ProPledge can give you the recognition you deserve; join us in ProPledge.”
—Dave Edmondson, Roadwire

“ProPledge is a winner for all parties involved in the sale of aftermarket accessories at the dealership level. Being a supplier, we get exposure to both dealers and installers that service car dealers. The installers get 3-year/36,000-mile warranties on the products they use, and the car dealer gets peace of mind that both the parts and the installation are of a caliber that they are accustomed to, with the added reassurance that both the installation and the product are covered by a warranty. The successful new-car dealers of tomorrow are embracing accessory sales today; ProPledge makes it easy for them to do it.”
—Josh Rohm, MITO Corp.

“ProPledge sets a new standard in our industry. It provides dealers and consumers with a level of assurance that was previously unavailable. If you truly meet the highest standards, ProPledge is an important measure, and we at Katzkin proudly display our ProPledge accreditation.”
—Ron Leslie, Katzkin Leather Inc.

“ProPledge has given us a competitive advantage, enabling us to provide our customers with a level of assurance that has not been available up until now. As a dealership, we now have complete confidence in our restyling products, no longer worried about vehicle-modification liability concerns. Not only are we providing the highest-quality products, but the 36-month nationwide guarantee, backed by SEMA, makes all the difference.”
—Tom Facsetti, Dean Team Hyundai

“ProPledge provides our new-car dealer clients with added assurance that our work is performed by certified technicians, offers a 36-month/36,000-mile backed warranty by SEWA and provides their customers with a no-cost, limited warranty reflective of the OEMs!”
—Tony Hinton, Auto Trim Restyling

“When choosing an aftermarket company, our main focus was to find one that would guarantee their work. Through Doug Perez and his Automotive Essentials, where customer satisfaction is number one, our dealership sales and service staff can now sell aftermarket products backed by the ProPledge guarantee. The ProPledge guarantee has provided our dealership with better profits and peace of mind.
It can’t get any better than that.”
—David Lantz, Ourisman Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge

“We have had a long-term successful relationship with Tops and Trends based on the excellent service and products they provide. Our customers love the quality, professional installation and nationwide warranty through ProPledge. We rest assured that wherever our customers may move, they will be taken care of through the network. Tops and Trends always exceeds our expectations when it comes to delivering a quality product, quickly and at an affordable price.”
—John Parker, Skyland Automotive Inc.


“As a pilot member in the SEMA ProPledge program, Tops and Trends has seen firsthand the confidence that dealers and customers exhibit when their vehicles are accessorized by professionally trained ASE-certified technicians utilizing quality parts and accessories. The ProPledge guarantee provides customers peace of mind through its national network of certified facilities should a warranty issue arise.”
—Joey Johnston, Tops and Trends

“Our relationship with Tops and Trends has always given us the experience of workmanship and quality of services that they provide. Our customers have always had 100% satisfaction with the services they have provided and the timeliness and how quickly they receive their vehicle back. We have no dispute that wherever our customers might move to, that they will be taken care of 100% of the time through ProPledge.
Tops and Trends have always stopped on a dime to help us whenever we need them, and we treasure our relationship with them. Their pricing is very affordable, and customers always leave with a smile on their face. Thanks to the whole crew at Tops and Trends for all of their diligent workmanship and continuing support of our dealership.”
—Brandt Howard, Jim Barkley Toyota

“ProPledge gives dealers and their customers a 3-year/36,000-mile nationwide warranty. With ProPledge you can truly ‘Customize with Confidence.’”
—Doug Perez, Owner,Automotive Essentials

“ProPledge is ‘where the rubber meets the road’ in the accessory business. We don’t only talk about quality, we guarantee it. ProPledge takes the guess work out of accessories for dealers with a 3-year/36,000-mile nationwide warranty program. It’s been the difference for us in signing several dealer accounts this year.”
—Jon Titman, Automotive Essentials Inc.

“ProPledge is the perfect tool for manufacturers and installers in the accessory market; finally, a program that addresses dealer and consumer concerns regarding quality of aftermarket accessories and the warranty they provide. Check Corporation stands behind the members of ProPledge because it holds us accountable for the products and services we provide to dealers and consumers with a nationwide warranty program. If you’re an installer or manufacturer that wants to set yourself apart from the competition, then ProPledge is the program for you!”
—Brian Champa, Check Corporation

“ProPledge provides new-/used-car dealers the comfort of knowing we are selling a quality product backed with a nationwide warranty. It takes the guess work out of the salespersons’ and service department’s hands when/if a problem arises with the aftermarket product. Now all departments involved can knowingly sell a product competitively that is fully protected by the ProPledge guarantee.”
—Larry Branche, Fitzgerald Auto Malls