At a recent seminar on digital media, one of the panel experts uttered this phrase: “It’s the content, stupid.”
That brusque Clintonesque sound bite was meant to rattle. Until that point, the room was fixated on delivery methods. The panelist’s sharp comment snapped everyone’s attention back to the most important element of any publication – print or digital.
The reader. You.
And I don’t disagree. In fact, Tire Review has always been about the reader, its focus and features crafted to bring valuable information to help you build and strengthen your business and enjoy a profitable future.
At the same time, we have to recognize that in today’s world of endless pressures and time constraints, information can take many forms and can be delivered in the many ways and at the times you choose.
Over the past several months, Tire Review has undergone many changes, all of which have increased the amount of information available for your consumption and the number of ways you can choose to access our content. Some were noticeable, others have been a bit below the radar screen.
First, the magazine itself. Over the past several months, we’ve added some new faces to our staff of contributors, an evolutionary change that brings fresh perspectives and insights to important topics. In the near future, we plan to add even more voices and ideas from other experienced professionals – customer service and profit-producing content you won’t find anywhere else.
With our recent redesign, we repackaged portions of the magazine to make it more accessible and to improve our coverage of industry events. We also improved the way you can access information directly from suppliers. Our Rapid Response system gives you multiple ways to instantly investigate new products and vendors.
Last year we unveiled our all-new website. Nearly a year of planning went into what is arguably the industry’s most comprehensive and expansive storehouse of profit-building information.
With the new website, our goal was to create a separate – and totally free – “virtual magazine,” stocked with never-before-published articles, Web-specific and exclusive content, and important features from the vast array of magazines in our Babcox Media family. Topping that is our extensive coverage of the global tire industry, with daily news updates from the four corners of the tire world.
Speaking of tire industry news, last fall we launched Tire Review’s World Tire Report, a daily e-newsletter stocked with the latest dealer, tiremaker and market news and commentary. Published each weekday morning, the WTR has become an indispensable tool for thousands of readers. And it, too, is totally free!
If you haven’t done so already, I urge you to go to tirereview.com and sign up for the WTR today.
Read the magazine, visit our website and get the WTR and you’ll see that we believe content is king. And our Facebook page and Twitter efforts mean we haven’t forgotten about making that content accessible 24/7/365.
Content isn’t just about feature stories and hot news and how-tos. Two important Tire Review initiatives underscore that fact.
First is our Top Shop Awards. Thanks to presenting sponsor Ammco/Coats, our fourth annual awards program promises to be the best yet. Time and time again we have heard from past winners and entrants about how important the honor has been to them and their businesses. Countless dealers have told us unashamedly that they are going all out to win the honor.
Why do so many dealers feel that way? Because the Top Shop Awards have always been about your business. Whether they win or not, many dealers use the Top Shop Awards as a measuring stick to see how they stack up against the best of the best. And they are intensely interested to learn more about and from the annual winner and finalists.
Entering is as easy as going to tirereviewtopshopaward.com and completing the entry form available there. The deadline is June 28, so make sure to get your entry in soon!
The AskPatty.com for Tire Dealers education and marketing program you’ve seen advertised in these pages is another important tool. We co-developed the program with the experts at AskPatty.com to give our readers another weapon for their customer development and retention battles. Why focus on female tire and service buyers? Quite simply: Women represent more than 50% of your business – and a huge portion of your potential word-of-mouth advertising! As dozens of dealers already have found, the AskPatty/Tire Review program gives you the tools to effectively attract new female customers, provide the service they expect and make them your best customers.
So, yes, it is the content, but as you can see, content can come in a lot of different flavors. And like the good folks at Ben & Jerry’s, we’re always working on some new ones!