Exploring Off-Road Vehicle Sales

Challenge

Helping an off-road vehicle brand explore the perspective of dealers to develop a compelling, differentiated positioning that would drive growth.

Unlike traditional car sales, Off-Road Vehicles, ATVs and Side-by-Sides, are sold almost exclusively by third-party dealerships. Our client, a leading  Off-Road Vehicles Brand, wanted to know exactly what was happening inside ‘the black box’ of dealerships… so they could talk to dealers in the right way. Our task was to get under the hood of Off-Road Vehicles dealers’ sales strategies and perceptions of the category in order to inform a new positioning.

Approach

The first part of the puzzle was a thorough remine of previous research and the competitive landscape, which enabled us to start piecing together the realities of what was taking place inside dealerships. We then conducted dynamic 2-hour discussion groups with dealers across the US, deep-diving into their perceptions of their customers, the category and brands within it… but most importantly their sales strategies for “moving the metal”.

Impact

In a topline report, we revealed what ultimately matters to dealers, providing a set of guidelines and guardrails for how our client could reach potential buyers and optimize their dealer programs.