Why Distance Matters
Why Aren’t Customers Working with You? Check Your Geographic Market.
Equipment dealers will never be able to work with every single potential customer that their marketing targets or that their sales team pursues. But if you are having trouble converting prospects who otherwise seem like a perfect customer for your business, then the problem might not be anything that you can control. It could simply be how far away they are located from you because the distance from your location to the customer is important.
The distance for your geographic market is one of the key business metrics to consider, because it will tell you the maximum distance that customers are generally willing to travel to work with you. For the majority of equipment dealers, that distance is 60 miles. Farther than that, it takes too long for your field service trucks to respond when a machine goes down, so customers will try to find a dealer who is closer to them.
Why you should pay attention to your distance of geographic market
For equipment dealers and other brick and mortar businesses, understanding your geographic market is critical, and it is one of your most important business metrics. Beyond that range, customers are very unlikely to work with you, which means that targeting them for sales and marketing is a waste of time and resources. Dealers should only be targeting prospects within that 60-mile radius, so they are not spending money trying to convert impossible prospects.
Instead of spreading your efforts too thin, use geographic market insights to zero in on the people most likely to say yes. Focusing your time, budget, and energy on leads within your true service area will increase efficiency and improve sales and marketing results.
How to understand your distance for geographic market
Although the average geographic market for equipment dealers is about 60 miles, your specific distance could vary based on local conditions. To learn your dealership’s maximum customer range, you have to look at where your current customers are coming from. Once you map out that footprint, you’ll be able to spot patterns, identify your primary service zone, and determine whether distance is limiting your growth.
That’s where our partner company, Zintoro, comes in. They can conduct a market analysis that determines how large your potential market is and exactly what the distance is for your maximum reach.
You can’t change your physical location, but you can change how you use location data. Treat geographic distance as a critical input into your business strategy, just like revenue, margins, or service KPIs. Use it to build a smart, localized marketing approach that leads to better targeted campaigns, more efficient resource use, and stronger customer relationships.