Dealership leaders may increase the business’s profile and chance of success if they run it to support, not exploit, their local community, says professor Jim Saker, president of the Institute of the Motor Industry.
One of the privileges that I have is to sit on the judging panels for a number of industry awards that are offered annually by publications such as AM. This process takes a great deal of time and means reading both the submission but also delving into the supporting material that has been provided.
Over the years the standard of the submissions has increased greatly with more data being used to support the narrative being made.
This may be due to improved data analytics being available that can be incorporated more easily than possibly a decade ago.
The written explanations have also improved possibly by the use of AI. The downside of this is that unless the AI platform is carefully briefed what can emerge is something more attuned to an American marketing textbook than the UK retail automotive sector.
It becomes incongruous when the script changes halfway through from being middle-England to the US Mid-west, even if the punctuation has improved.
For me one of the biggest changes is the number of companies that are doing serious ‘good works’ in their community. It seems that good companies who are high performing have increasingly developed an outward mindset that appreciates that supporting the local community is ultimately good for business.
Businesses should support their communities
Some 20 years ago, it was the exception to find businesses helping the people in their area. Now it is becoming the norm.
There is always the question about whether businesses only support the local community when they are being successful, but I would suggest that there is a different interpretation.
There is a co-dependency between a dealership and its local market. If the dealership is seen to be supporting good causes in the area local people are more likely to think positively about the business.
The challenge is that when the economy takes a knock and people are not spending the business suffers, however this is when the community needs the support the most.
It was my privilege to present the IMI’s Sue Brownson Award to Eddie Hawthorn at the recent IMI Annual Dinner. This was in recognition of his contribution to our industry, but also for what Arnold Clark has contributed to not only BEN but also the vast number of charities that they have supported under his tenure in the west of Scotland.
Of course, Arnold Clark is a massive organisation and has been very successful, but its mantra is particularly apt: ‘we want to use our success to help others.’
By viewing the local market as something to be supported as opposed to being exploited, that seems to be something that leads in the long run to business success.
Author: Professor Jim Saker, president, Institute of the Motor Industry