Whether it’s converting customers who traditionally buy equipment of other colors, or losing a customer who was previously loyal to John Deere green, it’s a serious matter, according to Randy Amosson, CEO and general manager of Precision Equipment. In fact, the dealer calls it “Chasing the Rainbow.”

Besides analyzing overall sales and sales trends on a monthly basis, the company pays particular attention to gaining new customers and losing old ones. “We ask a lot of questions,” Amosson says. “What happened? What did we do wrong? Was it a price point only decision? Did we not focus on value rather than price?”

When it comes down to selling against other colors, Precision Equipment’s philosophy doesn’t stress price. “From a product standpoint, we’re not the lowest cost retailer. We believe we can provide lowest cost in terms of total ownership. We also focus on offering better parts availability than the other guys. We try to stay away from selling on price.”

He says the dealership is aggressive about going after customers with other colors of equipment. “Matt Poeltler, our vice president of marketing, keeps track of our ‘Chasing the Rainbow’ program. We’ve been fortunate this year and have been able to convert a few key accounts that we’ve been after,” Amosson says.