Why Discount Tire Is A Great Example of Marketing Automation
“You’re either the one creating the automation, or you’re the one being automated”
Tom Preston Werner
A few weeks back I was pulling my horse trailer and one of the tires blew out.
Ok, to be more precise I clipped the curb while rounding a corner and put a tear in the rubber the length of a dollar bill. Oops. Fortunately I was not hauling any horses at the time. Taking a “glass-is-half-full” view of this unfortunate incident, it did give me an opportunity to check in on one of my favorite businesses - Discount Tire – the red branded tire place that has 1073 stores in 36 states. Chances are there’s one near you.
It was founded in Ann Arbor, Michigan by Bruce Tulle who was fed up with other tire stores so after a few failed attempts at other businesses started his own. It took him 3 days to get his first customer, and 4 more days to sell his first tire.
Tulle admits that at the time he had no business plan, no marketing strategy to begin with.
Fortunately that quickly changed.
Fast forward to today and Discount Tire is one of the finest examples of marketing automation I have ever come across growing it from a one-man operation into the largest retailer of tires and wheels in the world. Annual revenue? $5.7 billion.
So how does their marketing automation work? I discuss this in-depth in my upcoming book The Client Stampede For Fast Growth Companies. But here’s the dime tour by way of bullets:
· They offer free puncture repair service. And while they’re repairing your tire and filling your other tires with air they also take the opportunity to do a tire inspection and measure the tread on your tires. All in a super-friendly, no pressure environment. Brilliant on so many levels.
· The actual sales process of buying tire from them is so well automated (and pleasant), it’s as simple as buying a hamburger from McDonalds (another marketing automation master).
· They’re all about building relationship with their customers. Once you come in once, you’re in their system, no matter where in the country you’re located. They have all the history of your vehicles and past purchases. The high service standards and the experience is the same irrespective of location. The people that work there love their job.
· They use irresistible offers to bring people in, and once they come in, every potential customer – and existing customer - is treated like gold.
Building a multi-billion dollar business in a fiercely-price competitive industry like tires, is exceptional. Their marketing system, just like that of McDonalds is the secret to their exponential growth.
The next time you or any of your family need air, or a puncture repaired, find a Discount Tire near you and sit back and watch a valuable marketing lesson unfold.
