When talking about best Web and social media practices, a small town tire dealer from eastern Tennessee is probably not the first thing to come to mind. Best-One Tire of Crossville, Tenn., nearly tripled its business over the past few years because the dealer has been proactive with its website and social media.
By improving the company website and increasing social media activity, Natalie Steward, store manager, says her store doubled its car count and increased monthly tire sales by 100 units.
“A large part of it was due to Facebook, the website and getting the name out there,” Steward explains.
For being a tire dealer in a small, 11,000-population town, this is a huge win.
Some 20 years after the first websites, it is amazing that so many tire dealers till don’t have one. According to Tire Review research, less than 70% of independent tire dealers have their own websites.
However, having best practices on the Web and social media doesn’t come naturally– as exemplified by this Tennessee tire dealer.
Steward says prior to joining Best-One Tire, the dealer had no Internet presence. She says it was only listed in a couple of newspapers and phonebooks, and that almost everything within the business before 2007 was done by “pen and paper.”
Business was a lot slower then than it is now. Steward notes that things hit an all time low from 2005 to 2006 when the tire dealer had two negative revenue years in a row. “We were at a point where we would have had to shut down if we didn’t increase revenue,” Steward recalls.
Something had to give. Steward stepped into the company to assist with the company’s marketing. In 2009, she built a website with one vendor to get the company’s name on the Web; however, Steward thought it was too generic and plain.
Although Steward says Best-One Tire’s ‘upgraded’ site was a bit of a “disaster,” the website made a 180-degree turn when the dealer partnered with Net Driven in 2011. Now, the site is clean, easy to navigate and has an increasing community of customers “liking” its Facebook page.
Steward says the dealer’s push for more Internet presence tripled business. Now, she sees about 40 cars from all across the region stop by the dealer a day for work on tires, automotive or mechanical repairs.
While tire dealers and the Web might not always mesh, more and more tire dealers and companies such as Best-One Tire of Crossville are seeing the need to create a strong Web-presence. Steward argues that being online is vital to tire dealers because consumers research almost everything before buying it, including tires.
“People are Googling tires to find our website,” Steward says. “That alone generates a ton of revenue for us each year. If we didn’t have that website, [consumers] would find our competitors and we would be lost.”
Get In Line with Online
Print publicity and ads are OK, but with the way today’s market is going, online is the better option.
According to Valerie Burke, director of marketing for Net Driven, the majority of Millennial consumers – those age 18-30 – along with an increasing number of older consumers, research products online before they make a purchase. She estimates in 2014, a tire dealer might be able to survive in the market for a while without a website, but in the future, that won’t even be possible.
“If you don’t have a website, they won’t find you,” Burke says. “If you don’t have the right site, then you won’t generate sales.”
For the tire dealer without a website, there is hope. Steward suggests tire dealers research reputable Internet marketing companies or local graphic designers. Make sure to check out prices, how willing the company is to accommodate needs and expertise. Some offer only an annual fee, while others will charge by the hour or task.
“Don’t go with the first one you look at,” Steward says. “Just do the research and make sure you weigh the features and the benefits for each place.”
Burke recommends hiring a company such as Net Driven when building a website, as that is what the company specializes in. She says if a dealer wants to hire a freelance graphic designer or Web developer for the job, make sure that the designer or developer has some software development experience so they can build an interactive tire fitment guide on the site.
“An effective website is so much more than appearance,” she says, pointing numerous desired features like e-commerce, a complete fitment guide, an online appointment system, customer feedback sections, and more.
Burke thinks that a designer or developer should also have an in-depth knowledge on the tire and automotive industry, proven SEO background, the ability to integrate with manufacturers and wholesalers, and have some positive testimonials from other dealers on their experience.
Burke says if the dealer’s website is built right, there will most definitely be more revenue coming in than the cost for the website.
“If you partner with the right website company, this should be viewed as an investment, not a cost,” she explains. “If a website isn’t generating measurable revenue for a dealer, they should consider looking at other options available in the market place.”
Once a tire dealer has a website, it needs to focus on staying up-to-par with and exceeding competitor sites. If a tire dealer’s website becomes outdated or too plain compared to competing dealer sites, it’s time to spend more time and money to revamp the site.
Staying updated does not mean simply changing the color scheme and adding some tabs on the main page. Dealers are advised to let go of what does not work and start fresh with a new backend. According to James Yim, senior manager of advertising and creative with Falken Tire Corp., when companies “revamp” their sites only by changing minor frontend problems, they are likely to develop more backend problems with time.
“That formula is cause for pain,” Yim comments.
Yim says investing in a new website might be costly, depending on where a dealer goes to get help with it, but he explains it is worth it to keep up with competition and the times.
Kost Tire struggled with an outdated, plain site only two years ago. Chris MacNeil, website and social media marketer with Kost Tire, says while the dealer has had a website since 1997, the original site was too generic and poorly put together. On average, he recalls this version of the website would only receive 1,000 to 5,000 hits a week.
Kost Tire teamed with ARI/50 Below in 2012 to rebuild the website. MacNeil says Kost Tire chose 50 Below over competitors to revamp the website because the vendor was consistently returning Kost Tire’s phone calls, making suggestions to help Kost Tire and were willing to make accommodations for the site.
“We gave 50 Below an idea, and they showed us their ideas, and we were in communication about it, not just doing it without telling us,” MacNeil comments. “We felt they were in it for the long-haul to improve our business.”
Potential in Blogging
Consistently adding new content to websites and social media is what boosts search engine rankings and often gets more visitors. If a tire dealer wants to get more creative with their website, Jody Devere, CEO of AskPatty.com, suggests adding a blog.
Devere is an experienced blogger and owns a company that gives expert advice on the automotive industry, particularly geared toward women. If a dealer is struggling to post consistently to its website or social media, Devere advises the dealer add a blog with fresh content on a monthly – even weekly – basis.
“Active blogs with regular posts around the subject of your business will also add a steady stream of fresh content to your website – and that means fresh content for search engines to index, helping boost your search rankings.”
Yet blogs do not always have a great reputation, as not all blogs online are credible. Anyone with an Internet connection can blog. To assure credibility for a tire dealer blog, Devere suggests that blog posts be factual, authoritative and strike a knowledgeable tone and appearance.
For dealers who want to start a blog but don’t know what to write about, Devere says to consider scheduling Google alerts for keywords like “tire safety,” “tire tips,” and “tire industry news” to the owner or manager’s email so they can stay on top of news and trends in the industry, giving them some fodder for a future blog post.
Get Talking
Once a tire dealer has a well-designed website, the next consideration should be getting involved with social media to boost online reach and presence. According to a May 2013 Pew Research Center report, 72% of adults online use social media.
Nathan Lehmann, sales manager at ARI/50 Below, thinks tire dealers without social media presence will lose out on an effective platform to reach potential customers that are heavily engaged.
“Social media is about letting your customers and potential customers get to know your staff, while getting a behind-the-scenes look at your business,” Lehmann says. “What makes your dealership different from your competitor down the road? Use social media as a place to show and tell people why they should buy from you.”
Yim argues that social media is important for building brand and customer loyalty. Yim gave a presentation in 2013 where he says he found research that stated “Facebook fans are 80% more likely to be brand users than non-fans.” That is a lot of loyalty that no dealer can afford to miss out on.
Fair warning, though: Social media should only be used if it’s going to be updated consistently – like daily. If not, the dealer should get out of social media altogether.
“You have to be highly adaptive because people get bored,” Yim comments. “If you’re stubborn and have the attitude that ‘this worked two years ago,’ you’ll fail on social media.”
With dozens of social media sites out there, it is not possible for one dealer to manage them all on a regular, effective basis. Ross McArthur, director of sales with Net Driven, says he recommends dealers pick one or two social media sites to focus on to build business and engage customers. And assign that task to a staff person.
“Claim your social media profiles and build them out,” McArthur says. “Then, link your Facebook and Twitter accounts from your website to make website visitors aware that you maintain an active presence on these networks.”
Today, the most popular social media sites for businesses include Facebook, Twitter, Google+, YouTube and LinkedIn.
For smaller tire dealers, Yim advises them to try Yelp, as it is frequently searched and is highly interactive with customers. He says both positive and negative reviews are good because negative reviews can be used to inform dealers what people think needs to be improved with its services. It’s up to the dealer to make changes and to reach out to unhappy customers to rebuild the relationship.
Emily Whitaker, administrative assistant at Clark Tire, says the dealer uses Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest, with most of its focus on Facebook. She says Clark Tire posts contests and gives out prizes such as football or race tickets to get more followers engaged with the company.
Whitaker explains that one beneficial aspect to social media is that it allows dealers to see what customers are saying about the company.
“Social media is important for reviews,” she notes. “If we see a problem, we can turn them into a happy customer. Tie into customers on social media so you know what they’re thinking. You might not realize their thoughts about your dealer unless you check with them on Facebook and Twitter.”
The Finishing Touches
The best Web practices for dealers includes having good website design, e-coupons, a mobile site and leveraging cloud computing.
Most websites today offer much more simplistic designs. Function and form need to mesh so the site is both useful and designed well. Devere recommends light-colored backgrounds with a horizontal navigation bar at the top with drop down submenus to keep the site neat.
She says to also use some images on the site, but to use them sparingly, as too many images and videos can slow a page from loading. Photos should be tagged properly in HTML code so they can be found on search engines.
When it comes to e-coupons, McArthur says tire dealers that offer coupons online should offer them in various formats: on the Web, the mobile version of the site and through email marketing campaigns. Yim adds that dealers need a mobile-friendly website or an app for tablets and smartphones, as more consumers are turning to those devices to learn about businesses and deals.
Lastly, cloud computing allows a tire dealer to run software or access data on multiple connected computers at the same time.
Lehmann finds that cloud computing services often save dealerships time and money by allowing staff to connect on one system, which prevents duplicate work and gives dealers a quicker turnaround.
A Final Thought
The Web and all of the communications paths it brings can no longer be ignored. If a dealer lacks a website, it could mean serious trouble. Competitors with better websites and active social media efforts will steal sales.
“Your website is more than just a representation of your business,” Devere concludes. “In the 21st century, it is going to be a customer’s first impression of your business.”
Dealers moving forward on the Web should be thinking about how to best portray their image online so customers get a great first impression and how to one-up competitors with a better online structure and services to keep customers engaged.
Here are some last-minute questions answered:
Q: What are some of your tips on creating a good website?
Natalie Steward, Best-One Tire of Crossville: You have to analyze the market first: What are your competitors doing? Know what your market is doing. You obviously want to avoid a cluttered website – it has to be appealing and clean, but it must represent your business and not be deceiving as to what your business is.
Chris MacNeil, Kost Tire: Find a reputable website to revamp the site. You want to make sure to include pages for coupons, research on tire products and quotes.
Emily Whitaker, Clark Tire: It’s got to be user-friendly. Do not have too many steps where the users cannot find what they are looking for.
Q: What about creating a strong social media presence?
MacNeil: Throwing ads in followers’ faces is not good. They are there to be entertained. Engage your followers, entertain them and then advertise. We put a couple humorous things on our pages to get interest, then we throw a manufacturer special and then we put up the ad.
Whitaker: If you start a Facebook, keep it current. Comment back to people when they talk to you, thank customers if they compliment you and do not post excessively more than once a day.
Steward: Social media is free, and that’s the best advertising you can have. Ask customers open-ended questions in posts to gain interaction. Post interesting pictures on occasion – we posted some cool ones when our dealer met the Duck Dynasty guys. Customers love celebrities. And keep posting to once a day at most.
