When a road trip is right around the corner, repairs and preventative maintenance are necessary. As the summer winds down, consumers stop planning road trips… or do they?
Are Road Trips Really Just For Summer?
According to Google Trends, consumer searches for “road trip” on Google have peaked in late June or early July in the last three years.
However, there’s still a substantial number of people researching road trips in mid-November, and again in mid-December. So it’s a good idea to ask your customers about holiday road trips in the fall and winter. You want to make sure that they’re adequately prepared for a long trek in cold weather.
What Your Shop Can Do to Help Your Customers Prepare for a Holiday Road Trip
Preparing for a road trip in cold weather isn’t like preparing for one in warm weather. Cold weather breakdowns are much less fun than warm weather breakdowns.
The best way to help your customers prepare for a fall or winter road trip is to offer the following services:
- Thorough inspection of the vehicle
- Battery load test
- Installation of snow tires
- Inspection and maintenance of existing tires
- Installation of winter wiper blades
- Oil change and fluid level check/refills
- Inspection of the belts and hoses
If you get enough requests to prepare a vehicle for a long trek in cold weather, you can consider putting together an all-in-one package deal.
Talking to Your Customers About the Importance of Preparation
It can be pretty tricky to bring up the topic of road trips, especially during small talk. That’s why it’s recommended to:
- Put together a pitch for all of your service advisors to use. They can open the pitch with, “Are you going on a road trip anytime soon?”
- Put up a sign in the customer area saying something like, “Going on a road trip soon? Talk to us; we’ll help you prepare for it.” Or put up a sign listing all the necessary services to adequately prepare a car for a fall or winter road trip. You want to invite the customer to talk to you about their upcoming road trip and possibly inquire about the services your shop offers.
If a customer approaches your shop about their upcoming holiday road trip, your service advisors can use the opportunity to:
- Explain the consequences of taking an ill-prepared car on a long trip
- Suggest keeping an emergency survival kit in the car
- Remind them that your shop has all the necessary services for preparing their car for a road trip in cold weather
It’s important to keep the conversation as open and welcoming as possible. It’s a great way to build trust between the customer and your shop.
This article was sponsored by GMB North America, Inc. For more information, please visit our website at www.gmb.net
