Evans agreed that window signage is huge for his dealer group, but even working from within, he’s up against an old-school mindset that any PSP looking to target this market will need to be aware of. “It’s coming from the traditional car dealer mentality where they would just use a marker on the windshield to producing something professional and world class. Changing that mindset from the old-school style of doing media or ads on vehicles to something fresh and new and clean is not that difficult, but it is one of my biggest challenges.” Training and Support It might not seem like a great in, but another angle to consider is those large dealer groups that do have a print shop in-house. As Evans pointed out, his group’s partnership Some dealerships, especially large groups, have separate fleet divisions that cater to businesses that want to purchase multiple vehicles at a time, or want to buy larger trucks and vans. Offering dealerships another product to sell their fleet customers—vehicle wraps—is a great way to build a solid relationship that could expand to other print work down the line. with PSP Grant Graphics in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. has been a relationship that both sides benefit from. While Driver’s Village does its own printing, they rely on the PSP for parts, materials and even training. “We were buying thousands of dollars of preprinted materials to slap on the cars, so we talked to Skip Grant, founder, business development, Grant Graphics and he hooked us up with the right equipment. He taught us how to use it, and we started out producing year ovals and price stickers for the cars. As we grew and experimented, we started getting into wall graphics and vehicle wraps. And Skip sent one of his guys to teach us how to do wraps. Now we’ve got car wraps, signs, vehicle decals and it’s gotten to the point where we’re going to have to start adding to our crew. And we still work with Skip—he services our machine and we buy all our materials from him. It has been a hand-in-hand relationship with him, and it is nice to have someone who has grown up with us.” For PSPs, partnering with either small independent dealers or franchise with only a few locations as the sole print provider, or working with big groups that have some on-site print capabilities can both be lucrative paths. In the first, the shop can build a relationship that can grow as the dealership grows, with a steady need for new, innovative graphics that catch consumers’ eyes. For the second, it’s all about finding the areas the dealership needs help with, and then providing solutions. The automotive market is all about relationships. Cars are sold and deals are signed based on the strength of the relationship between the salesperson and the consumer. And that same philosophy applies to the vendors the dealership works with. For a PSP looking to break into this market, start small and be willing to demonstrate the real-world applications that can bring tangible results. Go in expecting to be there for the long-term, creating a partnership that will both last the test of time and result in both parties coming out ahead. That is the way to win the auto dealer business. PSPs can look outside the traditional box when looking for ways to work with dealerships. Many have displays at automotive shows, and booth graphics like this one produced by the Driver’s Village in-house shop is a great example of another way to get a foot in the door. Find this article at PrintingNews.com/12168248 28 Wide-Format & Signage | April 2016 PrintingNews.com
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