You spend a lot of timestrategizing ways to beat your competition, but have you thought about how theyview your dealership? Staying ahead of the competition also means making yourtire business harder to compete against.
Here are some tips foranalyzing your tire business in the same way you should look at yourcompetition:
1. Define Weaknesses: Youfocus a lot on what they’re doing wrong, but may not be able to see weaknessesin your own business. Get together with your staff and pinpoint your business’top three to five weaknesses. Allowing them to anonymously share their viewswill get you more candid answers. Think of this careful self-scrutiny as achance to make a pre-emptive strike.
2. Improve Strengths: Whenyou check out competitors, you look at their weaknesses and strengths, hopingto avoid their mistakes and matching or exceeding what they are doing right.Take the same steps with your own business. Seeing your strengths as you woulda competitor’s is simply one way to stay ahead of the game.
3. Don’t Fix What Isn’tBroken: You don’t need a complete overhaul, but fine-tuning. At the same time,if you add new services or products, make sure they are something customersreally want. Introduce new items on a trial basis and keep your most popularproducts consistent.
4. Be Open to Criticism: Ifyou’re truly going to compete against yourself, start viewing criticism as anopportunity. When an employee or customer airs a complaint, react analytically,not defensively. Ask yourself if the complaint pertains to a one-time situationor points to a larger, ongoing problem. Don’t be afraid to seek it outcriticism; ask customers to fill out questionnaires or bring in a managementexpert to observe your company and give you improvement tips.
– Source: Tire ReviewBusiness Toolbox
