Whilst buying tyres online may not be as familiar to consumers as buying clothes, household items or food for example, getting your brand recognised and trusted is still of utmost importance. After all, you're not just going up against the local competition, there are large, national online tyre retailers that you need to find a way to get ahead of in your area.
The good news is locality is on your side. Often, customers want to find a trusted, local garage to help them get the new tyres they need, but they want the convenience of being able to search and shop online. If you can get the right tyre e-commerce solution in place and back it up with effective marketing and great customer service, you're on to a winner.
However, this requires a strategic approach. Here we're going to explore what you need to consider to build, grow and optimise the online presence and reputation of your garage(s) to keep the new custom rolling in.
It sounds obvious, but a lot of business owners skip this step – understand who your ideal customers are and what they want. If you're a local garage engrained in the community, you should have a distinct advantage here. After all, you know your regular customers and what generally sells well. Even so, it pays to make a written plan. Selling online successfully to new customers can be very different to selling in person to people who know you.
Consider, learn and note down the needs, preferences, and pain points of your target audience. Identify demographics – age, precise locations, and likely buying trends. You can then tailor your marketing strategies accordingly.
Create a proposition that sets you apart so that you appeal more than the competition. That could be quality of products, your range of options, price, fitting options, technology and the online buying experience, or customer service for example. Or ideally, a blend of top-class attributes and selling points to create a compelling overall offering.
The nucleus of everything you do and the ultimate determining factor in your success will be the capability of your tyre e-commerce solution, and how you use it to your advantage.
You need to be able to optimise your website for SEO locally so that people can find you, then it needs to provide a seamless customer journey from initial search through to completing the purchase and arranging the fitting. You also must make sure it's optimised for mobile users, as this is very likely where the bulk of your traffic will come from.
Your site will need to provide:
It should also give you the ability to push additional products and services to maximise profits – servicing, MOTs, alignment, mobile fitting, battery checks, for example.
To help attract new visitors you should regularly produce quality content. Incorporate informative blogs, videos, and guides about tyre maintenance, selection tips, and industry-related information. Valuable content not only educates customers, it also boosts your brand's credibility and authority whilst positively impacting your SEO performance.
It pays to have a solid marketing strategy that's full of activity you can consistently stick to with a clear objective in mind. Of course, creating ad hoc campaigns from time to time is a good idea around things like seasonal promotions or upselling other services, but these should all align with the common goals – generally to build your brand awareness, increase online sales and keep customers coming back.
We've mentioned about the importance of producing regular content and using a tyre e-commerce solution that allows you to optimise your website's SEO, but there are also additional channels that you should be taking advantage of, especially social media.
Leverage social media platforms to engage with your audience. You can share informative or educational content, get involved in discussions in local community groups, conduct contests or giveaways, run promotions, and partner with other local businesses to leverage their audience. Always respond to all enquiries that come via social media promptly – whether they come to you directly or existing customers recommend you in the comments.
Finally, once your online machine is operating efficiently and bringing in the business, you need to back this up with exemplary in-person customer service. Keep customers coming back and leverage the most powerful form of advertising in the community – positive word of mouth!
Use your online channels to shout about your success too and how you've helped your customers. Display reviews and testimonials on your website to garner even more social proof and share them on your social channels. Make it even easier for new customers to choose you over the competition.
Your success hinges on the capability of your website to service customers.
At SellMoreTyres we can help you make an impact. Add a tyre shop to your existing website or create a whole new e-commerce solution and upgrade your entire online operation.
Email getstarted@sellmoretyres.com or call us on 01625 433388 to find out more.
The possibilities are limitless, take a look at how it works today.