Home >
Cruises and Meets >
Setting Up Local Clubs
>
1 >
2 >
3 >
4 >
5 >
6 >
7 > Page 8 >
9 >
10
Setting Up A Local Club
In Ten Easy Steps
STEP EIGHT - PROMOTE YOUR CLUB:
Rock on! You’re making excellent headway in setting up your club. You’ve
given it a name, got it listed on the website, set up a plan, planned out
the route and activities, published the plan both in the database and in
the calendar. You’re ready for promotion.
You’ve got a couple of routes you can go – active and passive promotion.
Passive promotion is the field of dreams approach, build the entries and
hope they come. In rare cases this is a good plan, but if you don’t live
in one of the larger US cities you may find your club growth slow.
Active promotion includes working with area dealerships and stores. It’s
best to visit them in person. Bring some club brochures (both regular and
for dealers). Service Managers and Parts Managers are going to give you
more traction. These are the people dealing with Avalanche OWNERS, the
sales department is dealing with potential customers.
You may want to consider making up fliers for your meet. This gives the
dealerships something to give out to people who are interested. The same
goes with 4-wheel drive shops, speed and performance shops and part
stores.
So how do you approach the dealer? The best way for a large dealership is
to call ahead. Ask to speak to the General Manager or the Service Manager.
Although many dealerships have a strict no soliciting policy remember the
following and keep this in mind when talking to the dealer:
-
The Chevy Avalanche Fan Club of North America was mentioned in a dealers
newsletter from GM/Detroit in May of 2002
-
We are an approved Chevrolet Club and listed in the Chevy Club
Connection
-
That YOU yourself are an Avalanche/Escalade owner
-
That the club is non-profit
-
That the cruise is free
-
You’re not looking to receive or buy contact information
I can’t guarantee 100% success – if you visit enough dealers sooner or
later some one is going to growl at you – you know to take your business
elsewhere!
When you do approach a dealer be polished, professional, poised and
prepared. Also be aware of the situation. If the GM made an appointment
but he’s dealing with an irate customer or some other issue – work around
their time. Remember – they don’t need us, Chevrolet does the advertising
– we need them so don’t burn bridges.
Dealers can support you in a number of ways. They may simply let you leave
a stack of brochures behind. They may hand our brochures to new or
potential customers. Some will even be willing to do a mailing to their
customers (assuming you do the leg work and pay for postage). Remember the
golden rule, “you don’t know what they’ll do until you ask.”
Many of the responses will surprise you – some dealers will be out right
not interested. Other dealers may want to form advertising partnerships or
strategic deals. If that happens just refer them up to the site and to the
Press Page at:
/resources/press_kit.html
One thing that has been learned is dealer support is critical unless you
have good momentum on the website.
Another place to promote your meet is at four-wheel drive shops, speed
shops, and auto parts stores. Many of these stores have bulletin boards at
their entrances. You may just be able to put a couple of club brochures
and a flyer up there. Others you may need to talk to them about promoting
the event. In general you’ll find these outlets easier to work with than a
dealership. The problem is not everyone walking into the Auto Zone owns a
2002 Avalanche, so the promotion is less focused.
On to step nine...
|
