MOTABILITY EVENTS DEALER GUIDE

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1 MOTABILITY EVENTS DEALER GUIDE

2 MOTABILITY EVENTS BOOST YOUR SALES WITH A Motability event Holding an event is a great way of getting your dealership known in the local community, as it provides an opportunity to have conversations with potential customers in a relaxed and fun environment. This can really help people get a better understanding of the benefits of the Scheme. Events are also great for business with many dealers reporting sign ups on the day and in the weeks following. The Under One Roof Motability event we held this year was a great success. We promoted it on local radio and in the local press, plus we sent over 5,000 invitations. About 450 people came along and 10 signed up on the day. We ve seen an increase in new business each month as a result. Are we running the event again next year? Of course and we re making it even bigger! Douglas Small, Group Motability Specialist, Eastern Western Motor Group Limited 2 DEALER GUIDE MOTABILITY EVENTS 3

3 2. When and where should you hold your event? 4 From our experience Motability events can be successful on any day of the week. So if your retail business is busy at the weekends, hold your Motability events on weekdays 4 Try to not clash with any major sporting events and also avoid any big soap storylines on TV 4 For some of our customers, getting out and about in bad weather conditions or the dark can be difficult, so don t hold your event on a dark winter night. Spring and summer are better times of year 4 If you re planning an event away from your dealership, check the venue has adequate disabled facilities, plenty of level concrete for your car displays and lots of accessible parking Advice on planning a successful event Hosting a great event is all about planning and starting early enough to get everything done. Start by creating a time plan of key tasks and don t forget to allocate lots of time to promoting your event, as well as the planning. 1. How to make your event stand out People are getting more and more invitations to retail events these days, so the key to making your event a success is making sure it stands out from the crowd. Here are some ideas to help with this: 4 Promoting competitions, special offers on the day, free prize draws or free gifts at your events are a great way to encourage people to attend 4 Want a ready made prize draw? Then use our free prize draw cards that give everyone who attends your event a chance to win a great prize (paid for and sent out to them by Motability). These are available from the Point of Sale website or in the Event in a Box pack (see page 7 for more details) 4 Hold your event in an interesting location, such as a local tourist attraction or a sporting venue 4 Promoting free refreshments or entertainment on the day is always a crowd pleaser 4 Why not persuade a local celebrity, sports person or dignitary to attend? At the very least their presence should gain you some PR coverage in the local press 4 Invite other Scheme partners or local disability organisations to attend. A relevant expert such as WAV, adaptation or powered wheelchair and scooter companies will help attract more guests and they can help promote the event too 3. What should you do in the run up to your event? 4 Work hard at promoting your event 4 Order any Point of Sale material you need well ahead, so you can be sure it s all available for the day and makes a real impact 4 Invite local adaptation, WAV, scooter or powered wheelchair companies to support your event. They can help with advice on the day and invite people from their own databases too 4 DEALER GUIDE MOTABILITY EVENTS 5

4 Advice AND support for promoting your event 1. Attract your target market 4 You ll need to let people know you re holding an event at least two to three weeks ahead of it. Send invitations to your own database of contacts and don t forget to invite your existing customers and encourage them to bring friends and family along 4 Contact local disability organisations including your local Shopmobility to see if they will promote your event to their members 4 Contact your local doctor s surgery to see if you can put up a poster or leave invitations in their public waiting areas 4 If you ve asked other companies to support your event make sure they also distribute invitations to any mailing lists they may have 4 Use our marketplace data to see areas of high potential near you that may be worth targeting with a door drop of your event invitations. This is available on our dedicated marketing site, simply click the Marketing icon at motabilitydealer.co.uk 2. Getting coverage in the local press 4 Try and get press coverage in your local papers don t forget we have event press release templates which you can personalise and send to local newspapers 4 Don t forget to also make your local radio station aware of what you have planned. You never know they may decide to plug your event or even come along! 4 Consider also sending your event press releases to local online What s on guides 4 Getting coverage is all about whether your event has something special to offer. Names and faces make an event more interesting to write about, so include pictures with your press releases. If you ve persuaded a local celebrity, sports person or dignitary to attend this will really help generate coverage 3. What to include in your event promotion 4 When promoting your event remember to highlight all the extras that you ve added to make your event stand out 4 Also consider the type of people that may attend; they will be encouraged if they are reassured they are coming to an accessible venue with good disabled facilities and plenty of free parking close by 4 As many of our customers are also nervous about visiting a dealership for the first time, make sure your invitation looks as friendly and welcoming as possible. Pictures of the friendly staff they re going to meet on the day can really help 4. How we can support you Our Dealer Resource Centre, motabilitydealer.co.uk provides one easy place to find all your Motability support. So, if you need help go to motabilitydealer.co.uk to access everything from ordering Motability merchandise, logging your event on our website, downloading marketing templates and much more. Post your event on our website By logging details of your event on our website it will be advertised online. We also promote this website in all our customer mailings. Once listed, your dealership will then receive a FREE Event in a Box pack that contains loads of goodies (including our free prize draw cards) to help you promote your event. You are able to purchase more of these packs at motabilitydealer.co.uk. Submitting your event is simple, just go to motabilitydealer.co.uk and click the Events icon (shown below). ADVERTISE YOUR MOTABILITY EVENT FOR FREE! 6 DEALER GUIDE MOTABILITY EVENTS 7

5 cars to to choose from cars to to choose from Servicing and maintenance included Servicing and maintenance included Post your event on our Motability Events Facebook page Our Motability Events Facebook page can also help advertise your event. Simply like our page and you can share details of your events directly on the Motability Events wall. Why not share photos of previous events you ve held to encourage more people to come along? Use our marketing event templates to help promote your events To find our dedicated marketing site click the Marketing icon (shown below) at motabilitydealer.co.uk. Here you ll find a range of pre-designed event templates for you to use, including press adverts, pre-recorded radio adverts, direct mail, web banners and press releases all designed to help promote your events. They re simple to use, just download and then add your own dealership and event details to complete the template. MARKETING ADVICE AND SUPPORT Order Motability merchandise to make your event stand out To see the full range of material available go to motabilitydealer.co.uk and click on the Point of Sale icon (shown below). Alongside our standard range of merchandise there s a wide range of event items available to order. GET MOTABILITY POINT OF SALE FOR YOUR DEALERSHIP Ordering is simple, just go to the website, click on the items you want and place your order, lots of items are free. For chargeable items and postage, you simply pay for your order by Direct Debit. Silent salesman Car topper Hire our event equipment to give your event a real boost New this year, we have a range of stands available to hire at very competitive rates, to support your events. Indoor stand Motability gives us the ability to enjoy great days out Mr and Mrs Wilcox Motability gives me the ability to enjoy worry-free motoring Alan Ison PVC Banners 2,000 Talk to a specialist here today 2,000 Talk to a specialist here today Flags Hire charges: 1 day basic hire day basic hire day basic hire 495 Outdoor stand (4m x 4m suitable for a car display) Hire of these stands includes delivery, full set up and collection. Additional collateral is available to order at an additional cost. For more information or to book a stand visit motabilitydealer.co.uk/eventhire Availability is limited (especially at peak times), so book early to avoid disappointment. 8 DEALER GUIDE MOTABILITY EVENTS 9

6 FINALLY, ON THE DAY OF THE EVENT... Want a Motability ambassador to support your event? We have a Motability ambassador (who s both a Motability employee and a customer of the Scheme) who may be available to come along and support your event. Our ambassador is a great person to talk to your guests about the Motability Scheme and answers any questions they may have. They can also share their experiences of being a Motability customer themselves. 4 Put your event signage up all around your dealership so people can easily see where to go. You may also encourage people passing by to pop in 4 Highlight Advance Payments on your Motability models so guests can clearly see what s available through the Scheme 4 Make sure you capture all the leads you generate on the day. Events cost money and making sure you capture leads will help you get the most from your investment 4 Take photographs for future event promotions, press releases and newsletters but remember to get people s permission to use their photo 4 Have plenty of trained Motability specialists on hand to answer people s questions. Why not draft Motability specialists in from other dealerships or train all your staff to answer Motability questions? 4 Make sure you have plenty of parking spaces available on the day and make sure the disabled toilet facilities are easy for guests to access and clearly signed 4 As you re hosting a disability event make sure you make it as easy as possible for guests to get into your venue. Leave plenty of space around the cars for people with wheelchairs Good luck with your event! I just wanted to say a heartfelt thank you for allowing Chris Edwards to attend my Party in the car park event on Sunday 16th September. What a wonderful guy he is and so helpful. I don t think there is anything he doesn t know about Motability and he was a real asset to our day. Cheryl Ashton, Gordons Ford If you are interested in our Motability ambassador attending your event please the details of your event to dealermarketing@motabilityoperations.co.uk. As availability is limited please send your requests through as early as possible to avoid disappointment. We ll review every request to see if our ambassador is available. 10 DEALER GUIDE MOTABILITY EVENTS 11

7 How to get in touch Ask a question Our online virtual assistant is there to answer any questions you may have and is available at: motabilitydealer.co.uk City Gate House 22 Southwark Bridge Road London SE1 9HB dcs@motabilityoperations.co.uk Tel: (Lines are open 8.30am 5.30pm Mon to Fri) Fax: motabilitydealer.co.uk RSA Motability (RSAM) Customer Services PO Box 4, New Hall Place Old Hall Street, Liverpool L69 3SD Tel: (Lines are open 8am 8pm Mon to Fri, and 8am 4pm on Sat) motability.rsagroup.co.uk Glass Repair/Replacement (managed by RSAM) Tel: Bristol Park House Building 610, Bristol Business Park Coldharbour Lane, Bristol BS16 1EJ sales@mfldirect.co.uk Tel: (Lines are open 8.30am 5.30pm Mon to Fri) mfldirect.co.uk RAC Motability Assist Customer Services, Thomas Street, Stretford, Manchester M32 0HX Tel: Kwik-Fit Tel: Version 1 (12/2012) Epyx 1link Tel: link.co.uk