Shining Social Media Example
Spencer Carruthers of Kenwood Tire is one of our heroes in the tire industry – a tire dealer who truly gets social media and is using it to his advantage. Spencer doesn’t use print, TV or radio media, which would have been unheard of just a few years ago. He relies on social media and
The Best Idea I’ve Ever Had
Top tire dealers share that one brilliant idea that shaped their success.
Is Pinterest of Any Interest for the Tire Industry?
The next "shiny new object" in social media is Pinterest, a two-year-old social bookmarking site that lets users collect and share things they like on the web. Users create online bulletin boards, or "pinboards," for popular categories such as home decor and food. Members can use the Pinterest "Pin It" bookmark tool and iPhone app
Have You Tried Facebook Advertising Yet?
It’s encouraging to see so many tire dealers now using Facebook, many of them quite effectively! But how many of you have advertised on Facebook? If not, you are missing an excellent opportunity for extremely targeted online advertising and a great way to build your fan base. Facebook display ads show up on the right
The Final Countdown Counts On You!
This is it…the final countdown until the end of the year. While it’s easy to fall into vacation mode and coast through the holidays, you would be ill-advised to do so. Like a boxer that lets his guard down in a match, you could very well get knocked out! This time of year finds many
Your Business’ Spokesperson: Putting Your Face and Voice to Your Brand
Anyone who has been around our industry more than just a few years has seen how dramatically customer interaction has changed. Tire specifications, features, ratings, prices – they’re available at everyone’s fingertips. People can literally buy tires and have them installed without leaving their house. A few years ago I saw a customer use his
Lay Claim to Your Google+ Page
Falken Tire came out of the gate quickly on Google+, announcing the creation of its page not long after Google released this new social media platform for brands and organizations to connect with consumers. I recommend that you follow suit, but proceed with care. After setting up JTMarCom’s business pages, here is what I found
Leverage Text Messaging to Strengthen Your Local Marketing Push
My 70-year-old mother started texting before I did. This probably sounds strange given that I’m the tech geek in the family and "Web" is my middle name. I just never got that hyped about texting. I think it was because I am always being pinged by someone or something (e-mail, phone, kids, doorbell, and so
What Can we Learn from Amazon’s Customer Service? A Lot!
I love Amazon! Over the past five years or so, I have purchased countless items from Amazon: books, DVDs, office supplies, electronics, coffee, assorted gifts and a lot more. In fact, rarely does a week go bywithout at least one Amazon package arriving from UPS. I even have my own “Recommended Reading Store” powered by
Tire Dealers Have a Place on YouTube
The power of video in today’s ultra connected world is undeniable. In today’s time-crunched society, people will take a minute or two to watch a video on YouTube well before reading some ad copy that an agency spent hours producing. Videos often appear on the first page of search engines and are a tried and
Use Cause-Related Marketing to Boost Sales
If you’re looking to increase your dealership’s exposure in your local community, a cause-related event is virtually guaranteed to get some much-desired exposure, help you earn the trust and respect of your current and potential customers – and, not to mention, help out a great cause.Whether you’re supporting a local organization, a national charity or
Six Internet Marketing Investments Worth Making
My team has regular discussions around the office about what we think dealers should be doing with their websites and online marketing efforts. We certainly do our fair share of griping, mostly because it’s difficult to get our message across above all the noise that is coming at tire dealers.