Uncover easy ways to keep your online presence fresh and engaging

Word of mouth is one of the most effective advertising methods for a rural lifestyle dealer. When Rural Lifestyle Dealer interviewed 2008 Dealership of the Year winner Little Tractor & Equipment, James Little talked about a referral program the dealership developed to encourage happy customers to tell their friends.

Social media is changing how we talk to our customers and how our customers talk to --Sara Steever and about us. The tools offer tremendous opportunities for your dealership, are fairly easy to use, and many are even free. In fact, you could begin posting updates on Facebook, sending tweets on Twitter and writing blogs today.

The Kenn-Feld Group, LLC and Liechty Farm Equipment, Inc. announced the combination of their organizations effective November 1, 2011.

Special events can help increase customer traffic to your dealership. These days, getting the word out about your event has never been easier. In addition to advertising in local media, your dealership's web site and social media pages can provide a valuable opportunity to promote a new event at your dealership.

Industry reports show that many production farms are getting larger and the major equipment manufacturers are keeping pace with bigger, more muscular equipment. But another farm segment also is on the rise, the rural lifestyle market, and in particular Community Supported Agriculture (CSA).

If you can't change what you sell, you absolutely need to change how you sell it.

Communication from your dealership is just static if you're not sharing information your customers need. Knowing what they need starts with knowing who they are. The tool to get you there: A current, comprehensive customer database.

Vice President of Sales Todd Rank discusses recent research provided by the American Business Media's Agri Council and the role that dealers and ag publications like Farm Equipment and Rural Lifestyle Dealer play in the ag market.

Kansas City was the setting for a recent extensive training program for 67 distributor sales personnel of Emak USA and Blount International .