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Manufacturers like you want to enter new markets, create lasting partnerships with dealers, and earn lifetime customers.
You want to move inventory.
Taking learnings from our 15+ years serving leaders in the outdoor recreation and commercial vehicle segments, we've created The Inventory —an educational podcast focused on how to win in your distribution model and bridge the gap between manufacturer and dealer.
From dealer programs to product portfolio, we'll cover topics that are relevant to helping you grow market share and ultimately move more units.
Scott Smith (00:00):
You can think of every new product launch as another chapter in your brand story, and what is that point of connection to the overall story? How does that continue the story of your brand? It could be into a new category, it could be more iterative, but how does it move your brand narrative forward? Welcome to the
Reid Morris (00:20):
Inventory. We are running a special podcast series from Element Three and Trader Interactive exploring how OEMs can launch products smarter and with more lasting impact. In each episode of this series, we unpack new research on what really drives sales momentums in dealer distributed industries from the timing of your reveal to how buyers actually shop and how dealers sell. I'm Reed Morris, and I'm joined by Brian Cole from Element Three and Scott Smith from Trader Interactive. The team behind leading marketplaces like RV Trader, commercial Truck Trader and Cycle Trader, as well as Statistical Surveys, the industry leader in sales intelligence. Together, we'll dig into data stories and strategies that reshape how new products come to market and what it takes to turn a launch into long-term growth. Let's get started. All right, Scott and Brian, thanks for coming back on the show.
(01:13):
Thank You.
Scott Smith (01:14):
Thanks for having us. Good to be back.
Reid Morris (01:16):
Yeah. For those of you who did not see the first episode of this many series we're running, Scott Smith is the VP of OEM and Strategic Initiatives at Trader Interactive, and Brian Cole is on our team Element Three as a director of strategy. And in today's conversation, we're going to do a bit of a double click into one of the insights that came up in the report and hopefully give some really helpful ideas on how to actually apply that. If you were a leader in an OEM who was in the process of launching products, the headline of that was the Valley between announcement and enablement. And I'm curious, Brian, if you could give a little bit more of a double click into what we meant by that and what we saw in the data.
Brian Cole (01:56):
What essentially means is the way that a lot of these companies are releasing new products and communicating that new product to the market, there is often a moment of announcement that happens usually around a dealer meeting or maybe they're doing a reveal of it at a show or whatever that might be. But then the moment when the dealer network is fully equipped with all the resources that they need and the product is available to buy and actually have a consumer get their hands on, it can be months later than that. And so that gap has the potential to create sort of a momentum drag for that new product. And so you're creating a bit of a spike in excitement when you tell everyone it's coming. And then often you don't do a lot of the marketing to promote it until maybe months later. And the risk there is that in that gap, people are learning about other products, making decisions about a purchase they might make. And depending on when that gap happens, you might be landing that gap on top of the prime shopping season for people. And so there's just a risk inherent there. So we looked at why does it happen, what things might be good about it, what things might be a risk and how might people do something different?
Reid Morris (03:13):
Yeah, it feels like naturally there, the product launch process is a long process and there are certain stages where you are setting up dealers, maybe you're having dealer meetings, you're doing the consumer launch versus the dealer launch, all the training, all that. Scott, that feels like what you were talking about as in your words, an operational launch in kind of the initial conversations we had about this,
Scott Smith (03:35):
Right? Yeah. There's so much work being done behind the scenes and this came up in our OEM interviews that right up until the point after reveal, right up until the point that a new model goes on sale, there's tons of activity happening within the organization with the dealer network to be ready launch readiness. So there's again, we talked in our first conversation about there being really two launches that happen sequentially. So there's the operational launch, then there's the end market launch, and that first launch is happening right up until the point that the end market launch takes place. And one, the success of one certainly leads into the other. So as an OEM, you've really got to excite your dealer network, educate them on why this product is great and why consumers should buy it when it becomes available. And you've also got to do that same, I think the best possible launch would have you accomplish that same objective with your end user. So build that excitement at that hype period. You should be operating and hyping concurrently, simultaneously. You're getting the dealers ready to sell and you're getting the consumer ready to buy.
Brian Cole (04:48):
We often talk at Element Three about how marketing functions in the dealer model, and we call it B two X or in these outdoor rec brands, it's a B2B2C model where you're selling through the dealer that the OEM's first job as we see it, is to build preference and equity with the consumer so that brand is top of mind for people and something that they aspire to own. And then their second job is then to enable that channel of the dealer so that when those people who have that preference walk into a dealership, they are asking for that brand. And then the dealer can close that deal or help market in their local community that the product is available. And when we think about that with a launch, we wouldn't say that an OEM should not say something as soon as possible about a product that they're releasing.
(05:44):
I would never say wait to tell people until the last minute. It's not that it is. We heard stories of say a marine manufacturer taking a new boat, they're releasing to a boat show to show people and that people could get into the boat. They would see that none of the electronics are even set up in there yet. It's all still just a shell of a boat, but it's the idea of a boat. And so what we often think about is we talk to our manufacturer clients is how can you lean into that desire to say something earlier rather than avoid it? So what can you do to make the early announcement or early reveal build momentum into a gap of enablement rather than creating a gap of enablement?
Reid Morris (06:29):
That's interesting. Well, so I'm curious. That is an example of a place where there's just an experience of a product maybe isn't fully ready for the customer experience, but I know we've talked about situations where it'll be a public unveiling on the consumer side again, but the units haven't reached the dealer lot and so you can't go buy one. Or maybe even the systems aren't in place to have orders for it. What are some of the other areas more specifically that we see when we say the timeline isn't done in an ideal manner or there are certain pieces that are lagging or done too late? What are some of the other places that we see that specifically?
Brian Cole (07:05):
One of the examples that's always stuck with me, an RV manufacturer we've worked with before, we'll often use their annual dealer meeting to tell their dealer network about a new or sort of do a big reveal of a product they're going to be releasing. And they will often pair that with doing some PR to tell the world or to get some news coverage that this product is coming. But it also ends up being a moment for dealers to give input on the product and we will find out as we're getting ready for a marketing launch of that product that they're making changes to the product well beyond the point of that dealer reveal. And so they might, the unit that they take to the dealer meeting to do the reveal can't even be used for photography later because of the changes they make to it later. And so what that does is it creates this pressure to have things like brochures or ads produced when you can't even take pictures of the thing until weeks or even months after the point that you first told the market about it. And so you've created this gap in being able to maintain that energy that you've created. And so how can you work around that is really the question we ask ourselves all the time.
Reid Morris (08:20):
I'm curious, Scott, from your perspective, I know we've talked about your background in the automotive industry, if there are some parallels that are kind of popping up into your mind where either you have seen some gaps or because the level of sophistication frequently in automotive is that step ahead where they've done some things well that maybe these other OEMs in marine and outdoor rec and other areas have not been able to accomplish.
Scott Smith (08:44):
It's interesting what Brian notes in terms of that gulf that happens, the delta between announcement to on sale, that's familiar to me from my automotive background and having prototypes as the only units available to show off to your dealers and to begin the process of enablement, begin the process of education and excitement building around why this vehicle, why this product is going to be transformative for the brand and worthy of consideration from the market. That's all very familiar to me and I think that everyone loves to see a product before it's on sale. There's always a buzz in the room when you've got a prototype or an early production unit that you can start to educate your dealers on. So I think in automotive, in all of our industries, you do really well to bring dealers in and make them feel invested in the success of this product.
(09:50):
Take their questions, explain the story of that product, why your product development team built it the way that they did, what went into the aesthetic design, what went into the features and technology, which we know from our consumer research is so important to the end user. You see the words, reasons to believe in marketing briefs all the time for new launches. What are the reasons to believe for the dealer? Because ultimately the dealer, when they sell this product, the consumers, the end user is going to attribute their happiness with that product back to the dealer so the dealer has a real vested interest. So all of that to say bring the dealer network in, show them the reasons to believe and do the same with your press. Do the same with your press release. Do the same with your external marketing communications.
Reid Morris (10:36):
I'm curious, Brian, as we think about some other ways that organizations can solve and get ahead of the curve as they're planning, what are some tactical places that we've seen or that we're frequently helping clients more plugging into their product launch processes that can help tackle some of these challenges that we're talking about?
Brian Cole (10:54):
We generally try to approach a new product marketing campaign from the standpoint of sort of teasing to revealing, to promoting. And we'll often talk about this idea that you should wait to fully promote a new product until you're comfortable with dealers taking orders today. If that is two months after the point that you reveal it, then there should be some thinking that you put into what is the structure then of the marketing campaign and not, well, let's wait to start a marketing campaign until we can promote it. It is how can we start talking about this To Scott's point, how can we tell a story about the reason this product should matter to a certain part of the audience early and even as some features of that maybe become more specific over time, that maybe is okay, you could even for the brand that's willing to do it, embrace that and say, we're telling you about this while we're still working out the details, but the goal is to build the best version of this that does why and lean into that rather than be afraid of it.
(12:00):
And maybe that is a risky place to be, but I often think about this idea that if there's, I dunno, it's a best practice that means everyone's doing it and you're not standing out in any way. And so there's maybe an opportunity to be different in that way to let people into the fact that you're still perfecting the product rather than don't say anything until it's done. That is one way. I would also say there's probably an opportunity that's especially nowadays with different technology that's out there that the days of a printed brochure that you have to, once it hits that press use really hard to change and it's expensive, are long gone. So living, breathing, sales enablement materials that can be easily adjusted and the dealers understand that a thing might change. And having the systems in a dealer enablement technology and platforms that allow you to push out changes to them quickly and it's not laborious or disjointed. That is probably another thing to be thinking about the way a product team in a channel team and a marketing team work together at these OEMs to make sure that you are being on time and clear with the changes that you're making and it should be okay. It's not going to cause the kind of disruption that you might think it would.
Scott Smith (13:22):
And if I could add to that, I would say that it's also important to sort of telegraph to your dealer network what you're doing as an OEM in support of this launch, not only the product itself that's essential. So as Brian notes maintaining those living marketing materials and sales enablement materials to educate, to inform the dealers, but also be clear, be transparent about your marketing plans as an OEM to say, this is the sequence we've mapped out between announcement to on sale. This is what we expect from you, this is how we're setting you up for success. I've always found that in my own automotive experience as well as outside the category and QSR, that kind of transparency, that kind of communication goes a long way just so that they understand the marketing plan and they feel there's real support being put behind the launch.
Brian Cole (14:18):
Scott, do you, if nothing else, do this tomorrow? Kind of advice for people in this model that we could weave in that's maybe even more actionable than some of the ideas we've just talked through. And then I think we could segue into what did this research only touch on that you are interested to learn more? Where is this leading your thinking from here? That kind of thing.
Scott Smith (14:42):
Maybe this is a bit of recency bias, the last point that I made, but I do think what comes out in the research, what comes out in our experience with OEMs, our experience with dealers is that idea of transparency that the more guarded you are around your launch, around the product, around your marketing plans, I think that can be counterproductive, right? I think the more open and collaborative you are as an OEM in sharing the product story, how you developed it, who you're marketing it to and how you intend to reach that audience. I think that's ultimately, I think if you find the common threads in our research findings, it's really that's what it comes down to is engage your dealer network as a partner in your launch and be really transparent with how you intend to go to market. I think to me that's sort of the synthesis of our findings where if I were one of our OEM partners or anyone listening to our podcast, I would say adopt that spirit of transparency and you'll have a more successful launch
Brian Cole (15:51):
To throw in a less short term, but maybe just an observation for maybe a more long-term investment. Scott, maybe you've seen this from your side too, but what I see very often is that a lot of these brands on the OEM side have really clear, compelling, exciting stories to tell about who they are as a brand, why should you buy from us? And then I see a gap there where they are often not good at telling the story of and because that's who we are, we have these products, this set of products, this portfolio of things that we have is what we sell because it supports our brand. That is always, to me, feels like a jump for these brands, that there is a clear story of who we are and then, oh, by the way, we've got all these products that serve all these bottom up things that we hear dealers or people say they'd like to have in a trailer.
(16:52):
And so you're doing this top down identity and then bottom up product development and it do think that leaves a bit of a gap in your story to the marketplace about the products you have, why you have that portfolio, why you're retiring one product and replacing with a different why. You're deciding to move into a whole new category. Those are stories you can start to tell to people if you have that clarity as a business, you can start to talk about that before you even tell them what the wheel base is and how many cabinets there are in the galley. You can say we are moving into a trailer, a towable or a fifth wheel when we've typically been motorized because we believe X, Y, Z is true for anyone in this industry who believes in what we believe in. There's a compelling brand story to tell there that extends into your portfolio that I don't think, at least in my experience, the OEMs in this type of space do a great job of making that jump from who they are to why those products are the products they carry.
Scott Smith (17:57):
It's an excellent point, Brian. I think that's really well put that you can think of every new product launch as another chapter in your brand story and what is that point of connection to the overall story? How does that continue the story of your brand? It could be into a new category, it could be more iterative, but how does it move your brand narrative forward? I think that's a really important point.
Brian Cole (18:21):
Yeah, and I think you can start talking about much earlier in the product development process without feeling like you're putting pressure on the product team or the dealer team with announcing something that no one's ready to sell yet.
Reid Morris (18:36):
Right. Well, I'm curious, while we're on this thread of timelines and enablement and make sure that your message is clear as communicated, what did we not necessarily get to in this period of the research? What's kicking around in each of your minds as we're just going about working with our clients and conducting more research in the future? Where are there more questions that you'd like answers to
Brian Cole (18:59):
Within this space? Because we talk about this gap, I want to talk to more dealers. I don't think Scott and I are both going to be out at the RVDA event in Vegas here in a few weeks to put a timestamp on this podcast, but hearing more from dealers about their experience with this would be interesting to me. I am also thinking there's an old saying in marketing strategy or marketing planning around everybody has access to the same customers but not the same brand. And so I'm thinking a lot about how can, what I touched on a minute ago is how can these OEMs leverage their brand and not the product itself to make their product launches more effective each time they happen, whether it's a model year turn or a net new product or a whole new category, how can they use the brand more effectively to create momentum earlier and sustain it through the launch and not just wait for all the product details to be hammered out?
Reid Morris (20:05):
I think it's interesting the way that comes to life being a bit different depending on which B2B2X industry that you're in. Some of these organizations, the actual parent brand is the one that consumers recognize and gets recognition. You can think about some and maybe the marine space, your big marine brands on the consumer side and then in others it's actually the product brand that's the one that really has the market weight and which one do you lean into? How do you balance those two things? It's really
Brian Cole (20:35):
Interesting. Yeah, and I think the auto world, in the auto space, you see both things can exist within the same manufacturer. I would imagine that most people think of a Corvette before they think of being a Chevy, but people think of Chevy trucks as the type of truck that they want to have more than they understand whether it's a Silverado this or a Silverado that or whatever that is. So that can coexist within the same overall brand as long as you're telling those stories well and positioning those products as an extension of that brand.
Scott Smith (21:08):
I would add that the word enablement is just so rich in, it's so rich and fertile to me in terms of the conversations that we can have with OEMs, with dealers, as Brian said, around how can we better enable the end user in that valley between announcement and enablement. So clearly there's a job to be done in terms of sales enablement. That's probably job one within the dealer network and educating them a new product, equipping them for success when that product comes to market. But how do we give the consumer something to do, for lack of a better phrasing, like you look outside the category, you look at other products like smartphones or increasingly in automotive, any number of categories. There's an ability for the consumer to meaningfully interact with a product before it's launched. Think about when the new iPhone is announced. Everything you need to know about that iPhone to the most detailed specifications is available at the point of announcement. And in fact, you can transact at the point of announcement even if that product is not going to be available for some time. So you have the ability to shape purchase intention in the valley between announcement and on sale, and that's what enablement's all about. It's educating retail network, educating the consumer and giving them the ability to learn about the product and transact or pre-order even I think is a future state that's really interesting for us to explore.
Reid Morris (22:44):
Really interesting guys. Appreciate the conversation with you both and I know we've got a lot more to dive into and some feature episodes around the research, but it's been great spending time with you.
Scott Smith (22:53):
Thanks as always, really appreciate it.
Reid Morris (22:55):
Thanks guys.
Scott Smith (22:55):
Talk to you next time.
Reid Morris (22:56):
The Inventory is brought to you by Element Three. We're a full-service marketing agency that helps modernize go-to-market strategies for organizations that go-to-market in the OEM-to-dealer business model. And this series has been brought to you in partnership with Trader Interactive, near the organization behind brands like RV Trader, Cycle Trader, Wuotemar, and Statistical Surveys. For more information on Element Three, you can head to elementthree.com. And for more on Trader, you can head to traderinteractive.com.