Derek Alexander, rural equipment salesperson for Wright Implement, Owensboro, Ky., has found a mix of automated and personal contact sales strategies to let him be available to his customers 24x7.

The automotive market is a good one to watch for trends that might impact the rural lifestyle equipment market. Automotive dealers' wide customer base leads them to adopt marketing practices and technology earlier than equipment dealers. Consumers overall are spending an increasing amount of time online, so what's the auto industry doing to evolve its online strategies?