YOUR MOTABILITY EVENT GUIDE.

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1 FOR DEALER USE ONLY Online Resource YOUR MOTABILITY EVENT GUIDE. Version 2.0

2 2 Your Motability Event Guide Contents 1. Overview p 3 Promoting the Motability Scheme 4 2. Boost sales with an event p 5 Events hints and tips 7 3. Planning a successful event p 9 Making your event stand out 11 When and where to hold your event 12 In the run up to your event Promoting your event p 13 Attract your target market 14 Getting coverage in local press 14 What to include in your event promotion 15 How we can support you 15 Want a Motability ambassador to support your event? On the day p Supporting you p 23 If you have any questions, please contact our Dealer Contact Services team on

3 Contents 3 1. OVERVIEW Promoting the Motability Scheme 4

4 4 Your Motability Event Guide Overview Motability Operations Ltd works in partnership with you to provide our customers with the service and support they need in selecting, maintaining and returning cars at the end of their lease. Promoting the Motability Scheme 25 of your Supply event payment is rewarded to support your promotion of the Motability Scheme. By meeting our standards, you will ensure that Motability customers know you value them. One of the easiest ways to promote the Scheme is by branding it clearly across all points of contact: Display Point of Sale material appropriately. Communicate and promote the Scheme s features and benefits on your website. Host at least one Motability Scheme awareness-building event each year. This guide will give you all the information you need to access our marketing materials, tools and advice to support you in promoting your dealership as a Motability Scheme partner.

5 Overview 5 2. BOOST SALES WITH AN EVENT Event hints and tips 7

6 6 Your Motability Event Guide Boost sales with an event Holding an event is a great way of getting your dealership known in the local community as it provides an opportunity to have conversations with potential customers in a relaxed and fun environment. This can help people get a better understanding of the benefits of the Motability Scheme. Events are also good for business with many dealers reporting sign ups on the day and in the weeks following the event. For dealers holding successful events, the main benefits have been sales from new customers and renewals from existing customers. Holding an event is a good opportunity to keep in contact and build good relationships with your existing Motability customers, making them more likely to renew with your dealership. To get the most out of your next event, think of it as an awareness building opportunity rather than a sales pitch. As well as promoting offers or sales, it s important to focus on how you can stand out from other local dealers. For customers, an important element in leasing a car is feeling looked after, supported and engaged with. By ensuring your event demonstrates all the support that your customers can expect, you can get the most out of your next event. There are many people out there who may qualify for the Scheme but don t know anything about it. The aim of the event was to increase the awareness of Motability in our local community and encourage those who wanted to know more about the Scheme to pop in and discuss it in a friendly and relaxed atmosphere. Richard Howard Sales Director

7 Boost sales with an event 7 Event hints and tips Initial planning From our experience, Motability events can be successful on any day of the week, so if your retail business is busy at the weekends, you can hold your Motability events on weekdays. It s best not to clash with any major sporting or local community events. For some customers, getting out and about in bad weather conditions or in the dark can be difficult, so don t hold your event on a dark winter night. Spring and summer are better times of the year. If you re planning an off-site event away from your dealership, check that the venue has adequate disabled parking facilities, plenty of level concrete for your car displays and lots of accessible parking. Why not contact local disability charities to see if they would like to be involved with your event? Marketing Work hard at promoting your event through local media, social media and your website. A common error in planning events is a lack of notice and not leaving enough time to advertise your event. We recommend that you start promoting your event at least four weeks before the day, allowing you time to follow up through different mediums such as local papers, radio or even targeted s. Use our Mapping tool to target areas in your local areas who have lots of potential customers. Order any Point of Sale material you need well ahead of time, so you can be sure it s all available for the day and makes a real impact. Invite local adaptation, WAV, scooter and powered wheelchair companies to support your event. They can help with advice on the day and invite people from their own databases too. On the day Put your event signage up all around your dealership, or the event so people can easily see where to go. This may also encourage passers-by to pop in. Make sure you capture all the leads you generate on the day. Events cost money and making sure you capture leads will help you maximise your financial investment. Take photographs for future event promotions, press releases and newsletters, but remember to get people s permission to use their photo. Have plenty of trained Motability Specialists on hand to answer people s questions. Why not draft Motability Specialists in from other dealerships? Make sure you have plenty of parking spaces available on the day and that the disabled toilet facilities are clearly signed and easy for guests to access. If you re hosting a disability event, it s important that you make it as easy as possible for guests to get into and around your venue. Leave plenty of space around the cars for wheelchair users.

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9 9 3. PLANNING A SUCCESSFUL EVENT Making your event stand out 11 When and where to hold your event 12 In the run up to your event 12

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11 Planning a successful event 11 Planning a successful event Hosting a great event is all about planning and starting early enough to get everything done. Start by creating a time plan of key tasks and don t forget to allocate plenty of time for promoting your event. 1. Making your event stand out People are getting more and more invitations to retail events these days, so the key to making your event a success is making sure it stands out from the crowd. Some ideas to help you are: Promoting competitions, special offers on the day, free prize draws or gifts at your events are a great way to encourage people to attend. Hold your event in an interesting location, such as a local tourist attraction or a sporting venue. Promoting free refreshments or entertainment on the day is always a crowd pleaser. Why not persuade a local celebrity, sports person or dignitary to attend? At the very least their presence should gain you some media coverage in the local press. Invite other Scheme partners, local disability organisations, charities and medical centres to attend. A relevant expert such as a WAV, adaptation or powered wheelchair and scooter company will help attract more guests, increase the publicity of your event and can help promote the event.

12 12 Your Motability Event Guide 2. When and where to hold your event From our experience, Motability events can be successful on any day of the week, so if your retail business is busy at the weekends, you can hold your Motability events on weekdays. It s best not to clash with any major sporting or local community events. For some customers, getting out and about in bad weather conditions or in the dark can be difficult, so don t hold your event on a dark Winter night. Spring and Summer are better times of the year. If you re planning an off-site event away from your dealership, check that the venue has adequate disabled parking facilities, plenty of level concrete for your car displays and lots of accessible parking. 3. In the run up to your event Work hard at promoting your event through local media, social media and your website. A common error in planning events is a lack of notice and not leaving enough time to advertise your event. To maximise your financial investment, we recommend that you start promoting your event at least four weeks before the day, allowing you time to follow up through different mediums such as local papers, radio or even targeted s. Order any Point of Sale material you need well ahead of time, so you can be sure it s all available for the day and makes a real impact. Invite local adaptation, WAV, scooter and powered wheelchair companies to support your event. They can help with advice on the day and invite people from their own databases too.

13 13 4. PROMOTING YOUR EVENT Attract your target market 14 Getting coverage in local press 14 What to include in your event promotion 15 How we can support you 15 Want a Motability ambassador to support your event? 18

14 14 Your Motability Event Guide Attract your target market You ll need to let people know you re holding an event at least four weeks in advance. Send invitations out to your own database of contacts and don t forget to invite your existing customers, encouraging them to bring friends and family along. Contact local disability organisations and charities, including your local Shopmobility to see if they will promote your event to their members in return for offering them space to exhibit at the event. Think about contacting charities that help with people with cognitive disabilities. Potential customer could be in receipt of the relevant PIP award. Contact your local doctor s surgery and medical centres to see if you can put up a poster or leave invitations in their public waiting areas. If you ve asked other companies to support your event, such as WAV converters or adaptations installers, make sure they also distribute invitations to any mailing lists they may have. Consider an event to attract potential customers with cognitive disabilities who receive PIP awards. You could choose a quiet morning to hold these events. Getting coverage in local press Try to get press coverage in your local papers don t forget we have event press release templates which you can personalise and send to local newspapers. Make your local radio station aware of what you re planning. They may decide to plug your event or even come along. Consider sending your event press releases to local online What s on guides. Getting coverage is about whether your event has something special to offer. Names and faces make an event more interesting to write about, so include pictures with your press releases. If you ve persuaded a local celebrity, sports person or dignitary to attend this will help generate coverage.

15 Promoting your event 15 What to include in your event promotion When promoting your event, remember to highlight all the extras you ve added to make your event stand out. Consider the type of people that might attend they will be encouraged if they re reassured that they re coming to an accessible venue with good disabled facilities and plenty of free parking close by. As many of our customers are also nervous about visiting a dealership for the first time, make sure your invitation looks as friendly and welcoming as possible. Pictures of the friendly staff they re going to meet on the day can really help. How we can support you Our Dealer Resource Centre, motabilitydealer.co.uk, is your one-stop-shop for all Motability support and resources, including ordering Motability Point of Sale material and logging your event on our website.

16 16 Your Motability Event Guide How we can support you Advertise your event on our website You can advertise and promote your event by adding your details to our customer website Events page, where customers can search for their nearest event by postcode. Once your event is listed, your dealership will receive a free event pack that contains loads of goodies to help you promote your event. To submit your event, simply go to motabilitydealer.co.uk, click Marketing and then Advertise your Motability event. Post your event on our Motability Events Facebook page Our Motability Events Facebook page at facebook.com/motability can also help advertise your event. Simply like our page and you can share details of your events directly on the Motability Events wall. Why not post photos of previous events you ve held to encourage more people to come along? Order Motability Point of Sale material to make your event stand out To see the full range of materials available, go to motabilitydealer.co.uk and follow the link to Point of Sale. You will need to set up an account the first time you visit, you can do this by going to Register. Make sure you have your dealer code handy. To order your merchandise, add the items you would like to your basket. You will see that many items are free, however, for chargeable items and postage, you can pay by credit/debit card, or Direct Debit if you have one set up for your dealership. Don t worry if you have forgotten your password. You can reset it by following the Forgot password link from the sign in page.

17 Promoting your event 17 Hire our event equipment to give your event a boost We have stands available to hire at very competitive rates to support your events. Hire any of these stands includes delivery, full set up and collection. Additional collateral is available to order at an additional cost. Hire charges 1 day basic hire day basic hire day basic hire 495 For more information or to book a stand, go to motabilitydealer.co.uk. Availability is limited, especially at peak times, so book early to avoid disappointment.

18 18 Your Motability Event Guide Want a Motability ambassador to support your event? Chris Edwards, Motability Dealer Events Executive, works with our dealer partners in the planning, preparation and delivery of awareness-building events, from supporting national events to regional disability groups. As well as working for Motability Operations Ltd for the past 10 years, Chris has also been a Motability Scheme customer for 25 years. In addition to supporting you in the run up to the event, Chris may be available to come along to your event and provide on-the-day support by talking to your guests about the Scheme and answering any questions they may have. He can also share his experiences of being a Motability Scheme customer himself. Chris was a delightful ambassador for Motability. The best feedback is please could he come again next year. Chris Edwards Motability Dealer Events Executive

19 Promoting your event 19 Thank you again for all your help and your presence there it was invaluable, truly. Just to say, a BIG thank you for your work with us this week on the Motability Awareness Week it s FAB! The support could not have been more professionally handled by Motability. Fantastic support from Chris and the team at Motability, always on hand for advice and support before and during the event. Get some support If you re interested in our Dealer Events Executive attending your event, please the details of your event to dealersupportteam@motabilityoperations.co.uk or contact our Dealer Support team on Due to limited availability, please send your requests as far in advance as possible to avoid disappointment. We ll review every request to check availability.

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21 5. ON THE DAY 21

22 22 Your Motability Event Guide On the day Put your event signage up all around your dealership, or the event venue if it s off-site, so people can easily see where to go. This may also encourage passers-by to pop in. Highlight Advance Payments on your Motability models so guests can clearly see what s available through the Scheme. Make sure you capture all the leads you generate on the day. Events cost money and making sure you capture leads will help you maximise your financial investment. Take photographs for future event promotions, press releases and newsletters, but remember to get people s permission to use their photo. Have plenty of trained Motability Specialists on hand to answer people s questions. Why not draft Motability Specialists in from other dealerships or train all your staff to answer Motability questions? Make sure you have plenty of parking spaces available on the day and that the disabled toilet facilities are clearly signed and easy for guests to access. If you re hosting a disability event, it s important that you make it as easy as possible for guests to get into and around your venue. Leave plenty of space around the cars for wheelchair users. Consider having a quiet space available for visitors with cognitive disabilities. Tips for holding a successful event Send invitations to your own prospect database and don t forget to give invitations to local disability organisations. Invite your existing customers and encourage them to bring friends and family along who may also be eligible. Send out press releases to local newspapers and magazines. You ll find press release templates in the Marketing section of the Dealer Resource Centre. Use outdoor signage for your event to maximise the chance of catching passing traffic. Use Point of Sale material to make Motability stand out at your dealership and create a fun atmosphere for the day. Highlight Advance Payments on your Motability models. Capture all the leads you generate on the day. Take pictures for future event promotions, press releases and newsletters. Have plenty of trained Motability staff on hand to answer questions and queries. Good luck with your event!

23 6. SUPPORTING YOU 23

24 24 Your Motability Event Guide Supporting you To support you in understanding our systems, maximising your potential MDP rewards and delivering excellent customer service, we ve developed a range of support tools to help clarify any areas of our systems, the Motability Scheme or your performance that you re unclear on. motabilitydealer.co.uk motabilitydealer.co.uk is your one-stop-shop as a dealer partner with all your guides, urgent updates, marketing support, advice and Point of Sale material, as well as links to the Partner Training Centre and other relevant sites. Visit today to find: The Tools and Support page of the Partner Training Centre is a good starting point for finding out more about the resources available to you. The Resource Library at motabilitydealer.co.uk contains all the guides you ll need as a Motability dealer, available to view online or download and print. Bespoke Group reporting tools have been developed, detailing your performance across key measures. To view your Group report, go to motabilitydealer.co.uk. Our Dealer Contact Services team is on hand to support you with any problems or queries on

25 Supporting you 25 Making the most of dealer search The Motability website motability.co.uk has nearly 1.5 million visitors each year and is the second biggest generator of New to Scheme customers after the targeted mailings sent out by the DWP. The Find a dealer tool on the Motability website is one of the most popular pages with thousands of page views every month. It helps customers and potential customers find their closest Motability dealer and also assess the dealership s accessibility before deciding whether to visit them. Viewers can search by location, manufacturer and an accessibility symbol to find the most convenient dealer for them. It also provides you with a great opportunity to promote your dealership online at no cost to you. Once someone has found your dealership details through Find a dealer, they are very likely to click through to your website. Making Motability visible on your homepage or directing people straight through to the Motability pages on your website will encourage people to visit your dealership. Updating your details We strongly recommend that you take a look at your dealer listing regularly to make sure it s up to date and is promoting your dealership. It s important that you customise your listing as much as possible with your dealership details, information about your facilities and your Motability Specialists. You can also add descriptions, pictures and logos to boost your listing. To update your listing, go to motabilitydealer.co.uk, click Marketing and select Update your dealer listing.

26 You can access the latest dealer guides, dealer dashboard, Partner Training Centre and further information at motabilitydealer.co.uk Motability Operations Dealer Services Bristol Park House 610 Bristol Business Park Coldharbour Lane Bristol BS16 1EJ Tel: (Lines open 8.30am 5.30pm Mon Fri) Fax: motabilitydealer.co.uk RAC Motability Assist Customer Services Thomas Street, Stretford Manchester M32 0HX Tel: Tel: Bristol Park House 610 Bristol Business Park Coldharbour Lane Bristol BS16 1EJ Tel: (Lines open 8.30am 5.30pm Mon Fri) mfldirect.co.uk Epyx 1link Tel: link.co.uk Glass Repair/Replacement Managed by RSAM Tel: RSA Motability (RSAM) Customer Services PO Box 4, New Hall Place Old Hall Street Liverpool L69 3SD Tel: (Vehicle lines open 8am 8pm Mon Fri and 8am 4pm Sat) motability.co.uk/insurance