Tire Plus Repair

CRM to increase margins

You work hard to get every tire sale, fighting against many competitors from small tire dealers to giant warehouse stores.  A lot of the time, you don’t get to make the margins you deserve.  You’re a business pro, so you do what you have to do.

But then what?

Preventive maintenance is where a lot of extra profit lies.  This isn’t news.  But what are you doing to lock down preventive maintenance work from customers who come into your shop?

A targeted, customer specific CRM program will keep those customers coming back.  Make back the narrow tire margins you have to settle for sometimes by increasing the overall profit of your shop with preventive maintenance revenue.

With average response rates to mailings at 22%, the typical CustomerLink customer sees an additional $54 in sales for every $1 spent on marketing.  Doing a bit of math reveals the following:

• Spend $0 on marketing, get $0 in extra business.
• Spend $1 on marketing, get $54 in extra business.
• Spend $100 on marketing, get $5,400 in extra business.
• Spend $1000 on marketing, get $54,000 in extra business.

The size of your customer database is really the only thing regulating how much your business can grow.  (And we can help you grow your database too.) 

More Maintenance Means More Routine Repairs

Your shop is not a charity.  You are in business to make a profit.  Discounting and free stuff is not how entrepreneurial fortunes are made.  So, how does a shop control the number of coupon-clippers and bargain hunters coming through their doors?

The answer is CRM.  Your customer database is full of information that you can put to use with CustomerLink CRM.  It’s not only about getting more people to come in; it’s about getting the RIGHT people to come in.

With CustomerLink CRM, you control to whom your shop communicates and whom you are going to invite to come back again.  Cherry pick from the most profitable consumers and let the bargain hunters, the “oh, it wasn’t like that when I came in” people, and the coupon clippers go somewhere else.

Take control of the quality of customers you see.  Get the best kinds of customers and keep them coming back time and time again.

Do Your Customers a Favor with CRM

Not only does CRM help you get customers in more often throughout the year and help you balance out seasonal highs and lows, it helps your customers too.  By sending timely reminders, you give them the chance to plan for maintenance in advance, rather than having to deal with trouble unexpectedly.  Do them a favor and remind them to come in.

Plus, we don’t have to tell you that tire rotations make for longer lasting tires.  We also don’t have to tell you that customers whose tires wear well are more likely to keep buying tires from you – not just for one vehicle, but for all their vehicles.  They’ll even recommend you to friends and family.

The same goes for preventive maintenance.  Sure they probably don’t want to spend money on that sort of thing, but they do want to keep up their warranties, and they want to keep their cars running safe and reliably.  Unfortunately, none of that equates to them remembering to bring their vehicle in for service, and none of that equates to them bringing it back to your shop - unless you are keeping in touch and consistently inviting them to return.

Keep their vehicle maintenance and tire maintenance schedules fresh in their minds, keep in touch, and keep them coming back year after year. 

A lot of people counting on your shop’s success

That’s right, a lot of people are.  You, your family, your employees, their families.  Depending on the size of your business, that can be a lot of folks relying on what you do every day.

• YOU - It’s not just about paying the bills.  It might seem like it sometimes, but it shouldn’t be.  It’s about time.  It’s about vacation time.  It’s about going home earlier and maybe getting a bit more sleep.  It’s about having the freedom to use your time for yourself when you want to or when you need to.
  
  You deserve to take trips every year.  You deserve to at least go home early and work on that hobby for which you have trouble finding time.  You deserve to be able to hire and pay employees who are skilled enough and smart enough to cover for you while you are away for fun with your family.  You deserve to ENJOY owning that business, not be bound to it like an anchor to a chain.
  
  
• YOUR FAMILY - Guess what, they miss you.  Running a shop is grueling, hard work.  You know it far better than we do.  Long hours, long weeks.  Ugh.  If you could afford to hire (and/or train)  that really qualified person you could get some time for yourself and family.  You could coach your kid’s team.  Coach all your kids’ teams.  Take your spouse out.  Volunteer somewhere that matters to you.  Heck, just go home early and mow the lawn on a day that isn’t your one day off a week.
   
  
• YOUR EMPLOYEES - We mentioned hiring a really qualified person to make a big difference in how your  business proceeds, but a really competent manager, salesperson, tech or bookkeeper won’t come cheap.  Not the kind you can trust to cover for you when you are gone.  Those kinds of people are expensive, even though they, like marketing, usually more than pay for themselves.  They can help you make more money even as they help free you from being trapped always at the shop.
  
  But beyond the highly qualified personnel that you can hire or train, your whole crew benefits when your shop does well.  You can afford to give raises, pay for benefits, throw parties and picnics, help them when they are in need.  Growing your business is good for everyone.
  
  
• YOUR COMMUNITY - When your shop does well, your community benefits.  The jobs you create help the economy with every dollar your employees spend, donate or save.  The tax base helps the city, county, state and even the U.S.  This might seem over-stated or optimistic to an extreme.  But it’s not.  It’s true.  The better your shop does, the better everyone does.  Think of your shop like a stone tossed into a pond, the ripples traveling outward are the expanding impact of your success.  The only question is, do you want to make ripples or make waves.

A solid marketing plan is one of the most critical tools you can use to help make these things happen for you and the people relying on your shop.