Creative Marketing Brings Sales Success

Clay's Power Equipment
Raleigh, NC
www.claysequipment.com
Year founded: 1965
Owners: Jerry and Phyllis Clay
Employees: 8 full time, 5 part time
Annual sales: $1-3 million
Sales mix: 60% wholegoods, 25% parts, 15% service
Customer mix: 55% consumer, 45% commercial
Shop labor rate: $75 per hour
Major lines: Ariens, Giant Vac, Gravely, Honda, Ryan, Stihl, Toro

The doors to Clay's Power Equipment opened in 1965, originally as a garden and hardware store, by Hoyle and Margaret Clay. Son Jerry Clay was an active participant in the store's operation throughout his schooling, and was named the business's general manager after obtaining his degree in business administration. In 2004, Clay and his wife Phyllis, the store's office manager, became the exclusive owners, and made the decision to transform the garden center into a go-to-retailer for the outdoor power equipment customer.

"We did not feel we could grow our business any further with plants and nursery items because of the local competition, especially the box stores," explains Clay. "We also saw a trend in the marketplace towards landscape contractors doing more lawns in our area." Clay saw the need for a retailer that could successfully provide for the landscape contractor market when several customers came to him inquiring about heavier-duty commercial equipment. He decided that this was the direction in which the company would expand.

According to Clay, the company's background made for an easy transition. "We had already experienced being in the consumer equipment business since 1970," explains Clay. The company name was changed to Clay's Power Equipment, Inc. in 2001 to signal the new product offering and service focus. Already known in the area as "Clay's," they were able to hold onto their existing customers while welcoming the potential new shopper.

DIFFERENTIATE FOR SUCCESS

Now a dealer of outdoor power equipment, Clay still faces the challenge of competing with the big box stores in the Raleigh, NC, area. They have set themselves apart with their unique service and product offerings. Programs like the Clay's Cutter Club, for example, offer customers convenience and value not found at the big box stores. The Cutter Club provides customers with priority repair and maintenance, free unlimited blade sharpening, and free initial delivery, just to name a few. In addition to this consumer customer service, the larger commercial customers enjoy the convenience of Clay's parts delivery system.

At Clay's, they feel that the relationships they build with manufacturers and distributors, as well as their customers, are key to their success. With customers, they strive for a friendly and respectful approach. "We treat our customers like we want to be treated, with honesty and respect," explains Clay. "We take an interest in them personally as well as professionally. Our employees are instructed to learn the customers by name and greet them by name as soon as they come in the door."

Clay works hard to maintain the support of manufacturers. He prefers to team up with manufacturers who continue to offer products only through independent dealers rather than cashing in on the lure of the big box stores. "We feel we have a partnership with these manufacturers, because their entire interest is on the well-being of the independent dealer," says Clay. "I feel the independent dealers need to support these manufacturers, so they will continue to do business this way in the future."

IN-YOUR-FACE ADVERTISING

One way that Clay's has grown their customer base is through aggressive advertising. Clay realizes that in order to be successful with a complex customer base, they have to utilize different forms of advertising. "In our market, as a consumer and commercial dealer, we do a combination of various types of advertising to reach our target customers," explains Clay. "Some forms work for both, but we have found that newspaper ads zoned to target zip codes, along with newspaper inserts, tend to work better for the consumer, and direct mail works better for the commercial customer."