By Bill Springer, President, DriveSure

“Every three months or 3,000 miles.” Remember how nice it was when that was the universal recommendation for how often a customer should bring their vehicle back for another oil change? How times have changed.

Fewer oil changes per customer not only has an impact on your dealership’s overall oil change revenue but also your ability to build relationships with customers and catch issues before they turn into major repairs or safety risks.

So, what is a dealership to do? Begin to shift your focus to tire rotations as the most frequently performed service.

The Current Landscape of Tire Rotations

Historically, tire rotations have been an after-thought and a secondary service for customers coming into the dealership for an oil change. While oil changes are becoming far less frequent due to extended recommended maintenance intervals from manufacturers, combined with the use of long-life synthetic lubricants, it’s the opposite for tire rotations.

The focus has shifted as manufacturers are now recommending tire rotation more frequently instead of every 6,000 miles or more.

Take Toyota and Lexus for example: For most of their newer models using synthetic oil, a maintenance visit gets scheduled after the first 5,000 miles. But this first maintenance visit isn’t an oil change—it’s for tire rotation and multipoint inspection. The first oil change is due six months after that, along with another tire rotation.

For many vehicles, this means that manufacturers recommend nearly twice as many tire rotations as oil changes. As this trend continues, tire services will become the most frequently performed service for dealership service departments.

The Exponential Impact of Tire Services

With tire rotations getting recommended more frequently, dealerships have a new opportunity to encourage customers to return consistently, similar to oil changes in the past.

There’s also another reason why focusing on tires is important for you. Tires are the largest point of defection for a dealership. Of customers who purchase tires elsewhere, only 10 percent will ever return to your dealership for any other service. On the other hand, customers who buy tires from your dealership often visit four times as often during their vehicle ownership.

What this means is that solidifying your place in your customers’ mind as their tire service provider is crucial. Tires play an important role in customer retention. If customers think of your dealership as the go-to place for everything related to tires, then they’re much more likely to think of you for everything else too.

Tire services can help with developing a consistent customer base, which not only boosts your service revenue but also increases the likelihood that those customers will return to your dealership for their next vehicle purchase.

So, now that you understand why you must focus on tires, let’s focus on what your dealership can do next.

If your dealership is not already active in the tire business, there’s no time like the present to invest in this space and show that your service advisors are the experts in tires, especially before your customers go elsewhere for their tire rotations, repairs or new tires.

For those that already offer tires and related services, make sure your customers know because if not, they may assume you don’t, and in turn, look elsewhere, which is detrimental to your customer retention.

Make your dealership your customers’ first thought for tires by taking action to ensure your business is top-of-mind. Consider having your service advisor make follow-up calls when it’s time for a tire rotation or providing additional services that make it easy to choose your dealership for tires.

All dealerships should educate customers on the importance of this service by explaining the impact tire rotations have on the longevity of their tires and ultimately their safety. If customers don’t understand why rotating their tires matters, they will be less likely to return for this service.

Create educational materials for your customers on what you offer for tires and use it as an opportunity to teach them, not just sell to them. Additionally, give your customers an incentive to return to your dealership for tires, service, and more.

Stand out from aftermarket shops by highlighting strengths like having technicians trained specifically for their vehicles and factory parts. Use these strengths to build long-lasting relationships with your customers, supporting that with the services you offer.

The future of successful service departments will include a heavy emphasis on tire services, repairs, and sales to keep customers coming back for maintenance. Prepare your dealership for the opportunity that tires provide. Neglecting it can quickly threaten your future success.

About the Author

Bill Springer joined DriveSure in 1987 and has served in the role of President since 2000. Prior to that, he was a controller, operations manager, and the general manager of DriveSure.