Are there any Goodyear Tire Dealers on this forum?

[Elon Block]

Hi eveyrone!

As a result of the some of the recent changes, I'm preparing to hold a special webinar just for Goodyear tire dealers.

 

Please send me a private message if you would like to be notified when this has been scheduled.

 

Thank!

Elon

 

 

[mspecperformance]

what are these "changes"?

[xrac]

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[Elon Block]

These are the two recent announcements that have a lot of the Goodyear tire dealers worried that

something else is going to eat away at their customer base. In reality, the opposite is true, if

they know how to take advantage of it.
http://www.moderntiredealer.com/news/story/2015/01/goodyear-will-sell-tires-at-goodyear-com.aspx
http://www.tirebusiness.com/article/20150126/NEWS/150129933/cars-com-launches-repairpal-program-for-auto-dealers

[alfredauto]

Elon, I appreciate that dealers must adapt and take advantage of the current situation, but convincing yourself its better for the dealer is absurd. Goodyear dealers get to do the same work for much less money. I agree that customer base may increase - the type of customers that want to buy their own parts on the internet.

 

All things considered, profit pays the bills but cash flow keeps everything afloat.

[Elon Block]

I'm not agreeing or disagreeing with Goodyear's decision.

This is just one more change that's happening in this quick-moving industry.

So, what I always look at is "Where's the opportunity in this latest change?"

Which always leads me to the question of: What is the benefit to the customer

and what is the benefit to the shop?

The readers's digest version of this topic is:

No one can control the uncontrollable. Internet shoppers are not going to go away.

Customers of all ages (and all income levels) are turning to the internet to do
research before spending money for anything, including tires.

Think about it... Most customers do not understand anything about the auto repair

business. All they know is: it looks like they could save some time and money by

making a tire purchase online.

So, it's up to the auto repair shop staff to communicate to the customer while they are there...

How they can take care of all their service needs - not just the tire installation.

In other words, the smart tire dealers understand the big picture and know that selling tires

isn't just about tires.

The focus is all about gaining a loyal customer that will use their shop for all of their needs

for the rest of the time they own a vehicle. That's equal to thousands of dollars in sales from

that one customer.

I'm putting all my attention on helping auto repair shop owners make that happen.

[Elon Block]

For those that are following this topic, here is an update:
http://www.tirebusiness.com/article/20150506/NEWS/150509963/goodyear-online-tire-sales-debut-in-chicago

 

Other tire manufacturers are closely watching what Goodyear is doing.

 

It will be interesting to see what this does for the customers and the dealers.

[Elon Block]

The manager in this article understands the big picture:

http://www.moderntiredealer.com/news/story/2015/05/a-quick-cruise-through-goodyear-com.aspx

 

Everyone reading this thread is probably an internet shopper, at some level.

 

Some customers are going to buy their tires online. That's something we have no control over.

I've actually been standing in auto repair shops when Tire Rack customers have come
in for their installations. And I had the opportunity to talk with them.

Taking a curiosity approach, I've asked the customers "what made you decide to
buy your tires online?"

It was almost always because they "thought" they were saving time and/or
money by purchasing their tires online. Because customers don't understand
the auto repair business, they almost never save time or money.

But because they're trying to be smart shoppers, they turn to the internet.

The other thing I discovered during these store visits was:

How those customers were treated by the service advisor varied greatly from
store to store.

The service advisors that understand the big picture know they are being paid
for their performance and sales.

The big picture I'm referring to is: The money is not in that one tire sale.
The real money is in gaining a new customer that will use the shop for ALL
of their vehicle needs.

Here's the best example of a service advisor really capitalizing on the opportunity.

I was in a shop when a Tire Rack customer came in for his installation appointment.
The service advisor, at an appropriate time, strategically asked the customer
what he paid for his tires. The customer told him. The SA looked up his own
tire price and said, "For future reference, our price would have been about
the same. Here's what the difference would have been in the way of added value to you.
Blah, blah, blah."

The customer responded with, "WOW! That's good to know! Especially since I have
two other vehicles that need tires soon. My wife's and my son's cars. Can you give
me a price for those?"

In the next couple of weeks, that customer spent THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS with that shop!
Tires. Alignments. Front end work. Brakes. Oil changes.

Chances are: this shop would not have gotten this new customer if it wasn't for that

online tire purchase.

Here's an example of a different way the service advisor treated an online customer.

The sales person told the customer that "because he didn't buy his tires at the shop,
he was going to be charged a $10 surcharge for each tire."

What happened next? The customer not only left and took his tires with him,
he posted a review online about his experience.

So, for $40, that service advisor cost the shop countless dollars in future
business - not just from that customer - but all the potential customers that
are still reading that review years later.

That surcharge was like stepping over dollars to pick up pennies.

Bottom-line: Understanding that customers know very little about their vehicles
beyond putting gas in it and changing the oil occasionally. It's up to us to help
them unravel the mystery of what it takes to maintain their vehicle properly.

The shop that can do this will never have to worry about sales/profits.