How Digital Marketing Can Help You Sell More Tires
Tire buyers are now more sophisticated in how they purchase tires. They research more online and expect to interact with retailers in ways that go beyond stepping through the door at a brick-and-mortar outlet.
These days, buyers are more empowered when it comes time to purchase. Because they have search engines at their fingertips, they understand the world of tire brands more, are knowledgeable about pricing, comparisons, and even what other users are saying about whichever brand they are considering.
This means you need to be smarter about how you interact with your buyers. Not only can you use digital marketing tools to reach out to buyers in a more targeted way, but you can also accommodate buyers by presenting them with the tools they not just need, but expect. Here are a few ways you can start now:
Go beyond an attractive website. It’s easy to launch a website that looks good, but is your website engaging? Almost half of in-store tire purchases start online. Make sure your website has deep dives into all the tire brands you offer. Break out comparison tables between brands, offer videos, customer testimonials, high-resolution images, interactive features with your customer service reps, and make sure it is designed to accommodate mobile devices. If your site is difficult to read on a smartphone, you’re losing business.
Get an SEO audit of your website. Hire a professional to assess whether or not your website is living a long and active life in cyberspace. Have them tweak content so it shows up consistently in searches; they can also clean up your online presence on third-party sites too. Make a list of images or content that are working best in local search rankings so you can keep highlighting them, and ditch everything else. The more knowledge you get about how your site is activated online the smarter you will become in structuring content.
Invest in digital signage. Your tire and auto services shop should not look static. Invest in digital signs, informational kiosks, and videos. Put screens around your tire dealership to catch the eye of people no matter where they are. Let them get drawn into your brand by seeing it in action. That will bring to life your products that are sitting on the floor right in front of them. Your customers will be that more motivated to buy.
Don’t forget email and text reminders. This is the bread-and-butter of digital marketing. Collect emails and phone numbers from your customers so you can keep in touch with them. Send reminders about oil changes, tune-ups, seasonal tire sales, and more. This is probably the most cost-effective marketing you can do, but the key is to not take advantage of their personal information. Make sure your messages are succinct, have a purpose, and are providing value. In other words, don’t be a pest and customers will welcome you.
Think about your digital presence as a conversation. No matter how you interact with buyers digitally, it is all about talking with them and not to them, making them familiar with what you do, giving them information they may be seeking, surprising them with features they didn’t expect, and making them at ease. You want to build a friendship, so do what you can to make the friendship last.