Alan Mayes

In the motorcycle world, there are two kinds of companies — those that advertise and those that go out of business.

Almost without fail, when a business owner says, "I can't afford to advertise," one of two things happen. Either he alters his plans and starts advertising, or his business closes within a short time. Truth is, if you own a motorcycle business — or any business — you can't afford not to advertise.

Views From Two Sides

As a former franchised motorcycle dealer, I have been where many of you are — trying to attract new customers and keep current ones.

On the other side of the equation, as an advertising manager for major chopper and hot rod car magazines, I have heard testimony from shops and manufacturers about what works for them, and what doesn't. I believe print advertising offers the most bang for the buck and it's medium of choice for the majority of the industry.

There are three basic types of print advertising outlets — direct mail, local and regional publications, and national pubs. Each has a purpose, advantage and drawback.

Insider Secrets

Direct mail works best for soliciting repeat business from existing customers and specifically targeting new ones. Your mailing list needs to focus on people who are predisposed to your type of motorcycles. Sending American IronHorse brochures to Suzuki sportbike owners is probably not good use of your ad dollars.

Direct mail done in news letter style seems to work better than pure advertising, especially with existing customers. Let your direct mail be a mix of sales tools, news, tips and insider news. Reward loyal customers with a coupon for certain items to keep them coming in.

Local and regional publications. This is no knock to the publishers of free local and regional biker publications, because their magazines and newspapers serve a definite and useful purpose, but as an advertiser, you need to be aware of the staying power of these pubs. I refer to them as "outhouse papers" for the simple reason that most of them don't stay around any longer than one or two trips to the bathroom.

The perception for most of your potential customers is that the freebie paper is worth what they paid for it — nothing. While taking care of nature's business, they'll thumb through it once or twice, scanning for three things: upcoming events, pictures of them and their buddies from past events, and any eye-catching ad. Then away it goes.

If you run an ad in one of those publications, it had better be an eye-grabber, because you'll only get one fleeting chance. Again, coupons are a good idea because they require the customer to hang on to the magazine, or at least your ad, a little longer.

National publications are a more prestigious venue for your ad, but they only work if you have something to sell nationally. And your ad will be competing for attention with those of many other companies, some with tons of money to spend on eye-catching ads. But if you have the product and the right ads, they can do wonders for your business. These days savvy advertisers create print ads that hook readers' attention, then direct them to a website or a toll-free number for more information.