Brands Are a Big Deal

Manufacturers construct their products of many previously built components. Quality parts are pieced together for one larger machine, but it’s often the brand or logo that is placed on outdoor power equipment products that sells them.

You’ve heard the term many times, including in our magazine, that a dealership needs to operate like a well-oiled machine. The different departments that make up the dealership need to work together to provide the best service and experience for customers.

However, the dealership's brand is larger than its components. As many people who know me realize, food analogies work really well with me. When you drive past a big chain restaurant, many things likely go through your mind, including the service, menu options and price. All are a part of the bigger brand. Olive Garden has pasta, Red Lobster has seafood, dealers offer quality products backed by solutions.

Many customers are brand-loyal, and often have the same mentality about where they shop for those brands. A dealership's service department, sales staff, parts counter and product inventory are what makes the business. Packaging those offerings under a trusted brand is what sells it.

We continue to make changes here that build on our Yard & Garden magazine brand. You'll now see we are lucky to welcome Bob Clements as a regular columnist in Yard & Garden. In "Bob's Business Tips", dealers will learn from the president of Bob Clements International about how to turn their dealership into a high-performance business.

Hopefully by now you've noticed that this column is being written by me, former managing editor and newly appointed editor for Yard & Garden. Lucky for you, Gregg Wartgow still plays a big role and will continue to contribute to our editorial content. Unlucky for me, this means he is still within earshot.

We aren’t changing our brand, rather building off of its successes and looking for fresh new ways to help dealers to be professional, forward-thinking individuals who are educated on all the industry's hot topics. We will continue to offer market insights through print issues of Yard & Garden and online at Greenindustrypros.com.

See, sometimes change can be good.

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