Jack Bartholomew, a former farmer himself, converted an ambulance into a “store on wheels,” fully stocked with parts and tools to serve his customers.

Talking to industry people about their thoughts on customer training, one response was that customer events are a “necessary evil;” that customers expect it, so we do it. Another said, “We do them, but we don’t feel like we get anything in return from them.” And another said, “Our customers don’t remember anything that we teach them so why do them — what’s the point?”

“A brand is a promise — reinforce it with every touchpoint,” says Gillis West, executive vice president of sales and marketing for Koenig Equipment.