Fixed Ops Journal - February 2022 - F11

business. And most importantly, their prices are
equal to, or lower than, those of local competitors.
Strategies such as these have helped franchised
new-car dealerships grow their share of the replacement
tire market from 1 percent at the turn
of the century to perhaps as much as 10 percent
today.
But that means the nation's 17,000 new-car
dealerships are still losing around 90 percent
of tire sales each year, a market that accounted
for around $26 billion in sales in 2020.
" Tires are probably the biggest defection
point that a dealer faces today, " says Tim Hebron,
vice president of sales at Dealer Tire, a
Cleveland-based distributor that serves
roughly 8,000 franchised dealerships in the
U.S. " We know that where 80 percent of consumers
buy their tires is where they get their
maintenance work done. Th e more eff ective
we can be making consumers see the dealer
as a tire retailer, the better chance they have of
capturing all their maintenance needs. "
A plan for success
While there is no one-size-fi ts-all strategy
Get customers to think of tires as their top
safety issue, one marketer advises.
to increase tire sales for every dealership,
there are basic steps that every service department
should follow, says Chuck de Martigny,
owner of Jungle Cat Marketing. His
Get a grip
Here are some tips to increase tire sales,
according to experts.
 Establish and follow a process that
creates trust with the customer.
 Train service advisers to the expert level
of an independent tire store salesperson.
 Make tire sales convenient for the
customer.
 Display point-of-purchase tire materials
prominently.
 Price tires competitively with local
independent shops.
Tampa, Fla.-based fi rm creates tire-related pointof-purchase
materials for service departments,
such as posters, videos, wraps and tire displays.
He off ers three tips:
1. Make tire purchases easy and give discounts.
Tire stores, de Martigny says, are set up to
provide fast, convenient service. Dealerships
should be, too.
" A car dealer's service drive is [often] a pain in
the ass - getting an appointment, getting in and
see TIRES, Page 12
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Fixed Ops Journal - February 2022

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