Mid-State Equipment, a John Deere dealership with 7 locations in Wisconsin, recently revamped its website to improve the timeliness of inventory updates and information. The dealership was Rural Lifestyle Dealer's 2012 Dealership of the Year. 

Beth Halverson, the dealership's marketing and advertising coordinator, believed it was important for current and potential customers to find the information they need when visiting the store online. She researched other dealership websites and found website vendor Dealer Spike of Lake Oswego, Ore. 

“Dealer Spike had the promise of a whole support team available to make changes within 24 hours, which was a really big deal to us,” Halverson says. “We were also looking for a cleaner and more streamlined design — bold, but easy to navigate.”

Halverson and her team signed on with Dealer Spike in December 2016. “Our website is probably the most important method of advertising that we do,” she says. “We’ve received a huge amount of leads since our launch, and they are legitimate leads.” Halverson says that her team has seen an impressive close rate overall on those that come through the website, and they see the potential to keep growing with their new digital marketing strategy in place.

“Agricultural and heavy equipment dealers are beginning to see the value in a strong online presence, and we are impressed with dealerships like Mid-State Equipment that are really taking the initiative as leaders,” says Jay Mason, CEO of Dealer Spike. “We are proud to partner with these industry front-runners, and we only see bigger and better things coming for Mid-State and others who have made a wise investment in the future of digital.”

One of the biggest changes Halverson has seen in comparing the old and new websites is the amount of traffic that comes in. “Customers are finding us through organic search,” she says. “The content on our website is a huge help.” Before, Halverson says that Mid-State Equipment didn’t really receive any online leads, and they didn’t even have forms on their website to gather that kind of information. 

The Mid-State Equipment team has great ambitions for their company’s future with digital marketing. “It’s the most important way to spend our marketing dollars,” she says.