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MONTEREY, Calif. — BRP’s Can-Am dealerships were the top ranked brand in the newly released 2018 Pied Piper Prospect Satisfaction Index (PSI) U.S. UTV Industry Benchmarking Study. The study measured treatment of Utility Task Vehicle (UTV) shoppers who visited a dealership, with rankings by brand determined by the Pied Piper PSI process, which ties “mystery shopping” measurement and scoring to industry sales success.

Kawasaki and Honda were ranked second and third, while Bobcat, Kubota and Textron were tied for fourth. Mahindra and Yanmar were tied for seventh, followed by Ingersoll Rand’s Club Car brand in ninth, all scoring above the UTV industry average. Other UTV brands rated in the study were Hisun, Polaris, CFMOTO, Yamaha, John Deere, MTD Products’ Cub Cadet brand, Toro, Kymco and Ariens’ Gravely brand.

For more than 10 years, the automotive and motorcycle industries have used PSI “mystery shopping” as a tool to improve the sales effectiveness of their dealer networks, turning more shoppers into buyers. From a customer’s perspective, top scoring brands and dealerships are considered “more helpful,” resulting in greater customer loyalty. 2018 marks the first time that Pied Piper applied PSI’s fact-based approach to research and then measure the sales effectiveness of the UTV market.

The UTV market overlaps two well-established industries that previously did not compete with each other: Powersports (motorcycles, ATVs) and Outdoor Power Equipment (tractors, lawn mowers). Previously the Powersports industry focused mostly on leisure, while the Outdoor Power Equipment industry focused mostly on work. Today, for the UTV market, those boundaries are disappearing.

Differences exist today between the typical sales approach followed by Powersports dealerships and Outdoor Power Equipment dealerships. For example, Powersports dealerships are more likely to learn about customer needs, showcase vehicles through walkarounds and accessories, and promote their dealership, but also more likely to try to steer a brand’s customers to a different brand instead. Outdoor Power Equipment dealerships are more likely to provide hands-on demonstration of vehicles, including test drives, more likely to use visual aids and provide customers with printed materials, but are less likely to get customer contact information to allow follow up.

Not only is there variation in UTV sales behaviors, but for some brands it can be difficult for customers to find online product information or even accurate dealership location information. “It’s not always easy to be a UTV customer today,” said Fran O’Hagan, president & CEO of Pied Piper. “Because the UTV market is still young, strong dealerships with skilled salespeople are an important competitive advantage for UTV manufacturers.”