How to Use Winter to Drive Traffic to Your Tire & Auto Services Shop

Winter is coming which means a perfect opportunity to sell new tires. But how do you get people to understand that now is the time to make sure they have the safest and most reliable tires on their vehicle so they can survive the roads during the harshest months of the year?

Here are a few ways to make sure they are informed of the risks of driving without winter tires and how your shop can benefit:

• Get the message out about winter safety now. That means compiling data points that show why winter tires are so essential in areas where snow and heavy precipitation are greatest. They need to know why winter tires grip the road better when temperatures plunge. Explain how winter tires have a wider tread pattern with narrow slits on the edges to give vehicles a better grip on snow and ice. Create onsite models or illustrations to compare and contrast the tires they have now with the tires they could have if safety was top priority.

• Offer free tire inspections or winter safety workshops the first Saturday of every month (or whatever day works best for you). Emphasize in your messaging the importance of reporting irregular tire, rim, and wheel conditions early so your customers are not vulnerable on the road once winter arrives. Make sure they understand how snow, ice, slush, and freezing temperatures create long-lasting damage on tires. Link to weather reports of pending storms to create urgency.

• Drive customer traffic by providing new tire discounts. Make sure you target the discounts for customers who, during your free inspections and workshops, decide to ditch their old radials in favor of replacements. This will encourage participation in your outreach sessions, which will strengthen the relationships with the people you serve.

• Use social media to track storms. Every time your local media reports a pending weather event, push it out on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or other social platforms with messaging that reminds customers now is the time to buy winter tires. Push out success stories of customers who rode through the storm without incidents thanks to their new set of winter tires and link to local weather stories to emphasize it’s not too late to improve road safety.

• Email customers in your database. Ask them if they are winter ready. Show them evidence how winters are growing harsher every year. Deliver them a checklist of things they need to do now — checking brakes, oil changes, flushing the cooling system — and remind them they can get it all done at once at your shop along with a free tire check.

  What have you done in recent years that have worked in getting your customers invested in winter tires? Share with us in the comment section below!