Brand, Customer, and Employee Loyalty

OUTdrive Episode 119 with Kyle and Kelsey Weymuth

The long-term success of a business hinges on loyalty. Every day, companies are competing for brand loyalty, customer loyalty, and employee loyalty. This might be most evident in the car industry. Purchases are few and far between and a customer usually has their mind made up before they walk in the door. Building loyalty grows from the inside out, and today’s guests, Kyle and Kelsey Weymuth, experienced this firsthand growing up in a family-owned business that now boasts over 100 years of service to Central Missouri.

W-K’s long history stretches back to 1919, when Walter C. Weymuth and his business partner Joseph A. Kreisel opened a shop in Cole Camp, Missouri. Since then, the family business has been handed down from generation to generation and has expanded to dealerships in Sedalia and Boonville. W-K employs over 120 people, but the Weymuth family is also well-known for supporting thousands in the communities they serve through partnerships, sponsorships, and generous donations. Now the 4th generation of Weymuths, brothers Kyle and Kelsey, oversee the day-to-day of the company.

Through a family work culture, community involvement, and strategic marketing, W-K has hit the loyalty trifecta. Tune into this episode to hear how the Weymuth family has stayed up with trends, technology, and the ever-evolving world of consumer buying habits.

SHOW NOTES

• 2:15 – Kyle’s background growing up in the car business and how he worked his way through the dealership departments
• 5:30 – Kelsey’s perspective on his childhood and the different career path he took before returning to the family business
• 8:45 – Kyle gives an overview of the car business and the different types of departments within W-K
• 10:15 – How Kyle and Kelsey divide up their daily responsibilities and how their long-time employees keep things running smoothly
• 13:30 – Details on the growth of W-K and how it organically came about
• 16:30 – The benefits of having different brands and how car businesses are moving toward the direction of consolidation
• 19:00 – Kyle and Kelsey discuss some of the current challenges and trends in the industry
• 23:30 – How W-K positions themselves in front of a rural audience
• 30:00 – Details behind W-K’s new video podcast series, “W-K Burnouts” (wkburnouts.com)
• 34:45 – How the car industry has changed to allow people to buy cars from anywhere in the country from their phone and the impact that makes on marketing
• 40:00 – What Kyle and Kelsey love about living in rural America