The Seasonal Accessory Program to Establish Your Store

Winter is the season for new potholes. As we approach months of snow, freezing temperatures, and harsher overall conditions, roads are prone to crack under the pressure. The result is blown tires and bent wheels on your customer’s vehicles. 

Now is the opportune time to be proactive about better serving your customers. Seasonal tire and wheel programs will benefit your customer base while adding profit to fixed ops and striving towards those year-end goals. 

A Chicago dealership rolled out this program by offering customers four winter tires mounted on steel wheels for a fixed price. The sale price also included storing the off-season wheels and tires at the dealership. In addition to the profit made from the initial sale, your dealership will see many other advantages from a seasonal wheel and tire program, such as an increase in tire and tire accessory sales overall. Tire sales will positively impact your front-end gross, while tire accessories serve as a lead-in product to other forms of customization and pad your salesperson’s pocket as well.

And you’re not the only one reaping the benefits. Your customers will also benefit from the program. 

 Some customer benefits include: 

• Safety. Winter tires can improve braking on ice, snow, and slush by 25%, or 2-3 car lengths.
• Assurance. Your customers get the peace of mind that when they do encounter a massive pothole, they won't need to replace an expensive OE aluminum wheel.
• Convenience. While customers can purchase winter tires at just about any tire retailer, the price of having tires swapped out and lugging their off-season tires back and forth twice a year is enough to deter most would-be seasonal tire shoppers. 

Further benefits for the dealer:

• Customer retention. Because your customers are having their wheels and tires swapped out every spring and fall, this ensures they’ll be pulling into your service drive at least twice a year.
• Increased maintenance and recommended service sales. When customers are already in the service lane, they’re more likely to get their oil changed at your store as well. And because the wheels are coming off, it also allows your technician to inspect the brakes while the cars are in the air. 
• Tire sales. Sooner or later, your customer will need new tires, either on the winter set or on the summer set, or possibly both.  Your service writers will have twice the opportunity to sell double the tires.

 Offering your customers the option and convenience of having their off-season wheels and tires stored at your location differentiates your service department from the dealer or tire shop down the road, creating customer-added value for your dealership.

Getting your seasonal tire program started is easy using the resources your parts department already has, and with winter fast approaching, your customers will be happy you did.

Insignia Group Can Help

For over twenty years, Insignia Group has been the leading provider of digital accessory-selling systems in dealerships nationwide. Our sleek interface allows dealerships to create profitable accessory programs at the point of sale. Dealers using the Insignia Group accessories selling system can bundle accessories into custom packages, feature hot-selling accessories, process orders, and more. In addition, our integration with major digital retailers covers all your bases and allows for a seamless transition when customers decide to come into the store. 

Schedule a demo today with us to see how our system can help you sell more accessories at the point of sale.