From the Desk of Lynn Woolf: September 24, 2013

The debate for extended dealership business hours goes something like this: Stay open late to capture every sale possible. Or, serving those few stragglers at the end of the day doesn’t justify the overhead expense.

It gets a little more complicated for the rural lifestyle customer, who may be at work from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. and not able to get to your dealership. Do you stay open late for them only during the spring rush? And, is it even worth it?

More than half of rural lifestyle dealers who offer extended business hours do so in the spring and many do so in several seasons. However, more than 35% don’t offer extended hours at all. Click the chart to enlarge it.

Last week, we polled our dealer-readers to see what they offer for extended business hours and whether the strategy has led to increased sales. Some of the results were expected — and others were a little bit of a surprise.

For instance, more than half (55.6%) stayed open late in the spring. However, nearly a third or more offered those hours in the summer and/or fall. And yet, more than 35% don’t offer extended hours at all. There could be many factors that play into that decision to not offer extended hours, but it seems risky considering the customer base.

Consider this statistic for those dealers who do offer extended hours: More than 75% say it has increased sales, with nearly 20% saying that increase has been significant. On the flipside, more than 25% of the responding dealers say extended hours had no effect on sales.

Nearly 20% of dealers say extending business hours significantly increases sales. Click the chart to enlarge it.

Here’s another statistic that could influence your customer service strategies for 2014. The most recent survey from Ag Equipment Intelligence, a sister publication to Rural Lifestyle Dealer, shows that more than 48% of dealers are expecting unit sales to increase 2% to more than 8%, and say lawn and garden products are among the best prospects for increasing sales in 2014, second only to GPS/precision farming equipment.

Compact tractor sales are also expected to be strong in 2014 with more than 30% of dealers expecting sales increases from 2% to more than 8% for tractors under 40 horsepower. Nearly one-third of dealers are expecting growth from the sales of tractors in the 40-100 horsepower range. Both tractor classes were among the top 10 categories for unit sales growth in 2014.

These numbers and forecasts can be boiled down to this:  The rural lifestyle market continues to be very strong and some dealers have found a way to increase sales by 20%. Do your arguments against extended hours outweigh those factors?

We’ve included some survey comments from dealers. Let’s keep the discussion going. Add your thoughts in the comment section below.

Comments from Rural Lifestyle Dealer
Poll on Extended Dealership Business Hours

“Extended hours failed for us. People only want Sunday hours, which we are not in favor of. We will meet customer by appointment, which does work.”

— Joe Hines,
Hines Equipment,
Altoona, Penn.

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“Extended hours has brought significant parts sales.”

— Name Withheld

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“Regardless of how late you stay open, customers will always push it to the limit. It’s best to focus more on regular hours and employee satisfaction.”

— Name Withheld

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“I don't think you can look at total sales. It is more for the customer's convenience. When can they get there? Most people don’t get off until 5. We stay open until 5:30, but it really needs to be 6. That is April 1 through September 1.”

— Name Withheld

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“We have extended our Saturday hours to be permanent.”

— Name Withheld

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“The hard part has been in scheduling. Just because we added hours does not mean we can hire part-time people to staff those hours. Customers expect the 'A-Team' to be on duty here all the time.”

— Name Withheld

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“We don’t post or advertise extended hours but are at the store late a lot of days and Saturday afternoons in summer. We have always been open until 6 p.m. for 33 yrs. and people who have done business here for more than 20 years still call and ask if we close at 5 p.m. They don’t seem to expect a dealer to be open after 5 p.m.”

— G&R Sales,
Markle, Ind.

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“Extended business hours will generate increased revenue for the shop, but very little increase for parts and sales.”

— Carrico Implement,
Beloit, Kan.