Reaching your existing and potential customers with a relevant message is harder than ever and practically demands that auto repair shops keep up with new and engaging trends. For most shops, this means finding new and creative ways to market services.
Here are five tire advertising ideas that can ensure new and existing customers choose your shop for their next set of tires or service, and not your competitors!
1. Ride the Summer Wave
The warmer months of the year are a great time for a weekend road trip. Whether it’s the beach or country-side, you can invite customers into your shop for a pre-vacation travel inspection. Let them know that your quality and comprehensive visual inspections will help ensure they get to their destination. Instead of just selling tires, you’ll be encouraging an unforgettable family experience.
You can include this in your tire advertising strategy by simply sharing a reminder before the next long weekend: an image-based post on your Facebook wall showing sandy soils, rocky paths, and smiling faces will sell the concept for you. You can also try launching a more comprehensive “Road Trip Ready” special, that includes multi-point safety inspections, brake checks, tire wear and air pressure checks, and fluid top-offs.
2. Show the Consequences
The internet has placed thousands of improper car maintenance pictures and videos at our fingertips. These are short, easy-to-share, and they trigger an emotional reaction - which makes them a winning combination for marketing strategies.
Finding the right picture or video may require some research on your part, but they will be easy to incorporate into your tire advertising plans. Simply add a quick line or two about tire safety or your next sale and voila! Your viral post will be ready to go.
3. Put Discarded Tires on Display
Before you have the recycler pick up those old, used tires, put them to good use! Stack used tires in the showroom to highlight different tire conditions that require replacement. Uneven wear, sidewall cracking and damage, alignment and balancing issues, and exposed cords all make for an engaging display.
Putting tires on display in creative ways can help remind your customers that tires need periodic inspections and replacement. Used or busted tires can also be transformed into unique gardening accessories, swings, and impromptu works of art such as the perennial Tire Snowman. Pinterest is full of posts showing the endless possibilities for used tires or rubber.
4. Shine a Light on Your Expert
Do you have an employee or partner who is especially knowledgeable or passionate about their job? Place them at the center of your next tire advertising campaign with a short video! Your customers will have an easier time placing their trust in your shop and building a life-long relationship with someone who knows their stuff.
Create a social advertisement highlighting your tire expert’s latest accomplishment. Show their face and make sure everyone knows who to ask for if they need help with their tires. The extra recognition will also give your expert a boost of motivation!
5. Reach Out to Past Customers
Thanks to the internet, implementing novel tire advertising ideas is simple and effective, but we should never underestimate good old customer loyalty. Make sure that everyone who buys a set of tires from you becomes a die-hard fan of your shop. Sign them up for the BayIQ rewards program. Reward their loyalty with extra discounts and personalized service. This is definitely more effort than posting on Facebook, but it can still be simplified!
An automated customer loyalty platform like BayIQ will save you from having to go through old records every week or wasting time setting up complicated reminders across a variety of different apps.