Tire Maker’s Incentive Program Bumps Up Sales
Tire maker Bridgestone/Marketing North America LLC is embarking on its sixth year of an incentive program credited for boosting its sales between 30% and 50% annually.
The Race to Win program was developed to coax sales associates to sell tires at service centers whose main business does not involve selling tires.
Through the program, which operates on four-month cycles, auto dealerships, muffler and brake shops and service centers receive information that outlines the benefits of the program. For every 10 tires sold, associates receive a $25 Home Depot or Best Buy gift card. Each sales period, participants are entered into a sweepstakes to win a trip for two to motor sport events including the Champ Car World Series.
The number of U.S. sales associates and dealerships who participated in the program both grew by 17% from 2004 to 2005. In Canada, the numbers soared 53% and 49%, respectively. Bridgestone/Firestone did not disclose the number of participants.
This year 20,000 large postcards were mailed out to service center managers to help them keep the program top of the mind. Reminder postcards are also mailed to sales associates between sales periods to maintain momentum and excitement about the program.
Participants keep tabs on their standings at Bftstires.com, which also gives the company the opportunity to push other retail programs. The tire maker also captures participant’s information to use it for other marketing initiatives.
Race to Win “was a way to help keep our Purchase Resale customers focused on the business of selling tires…and the rewards that dealer sales associates can earn help reinforce our relationship with them,” said Mike VanSicklen, Bridgetsone/Firestone’s national sales manager of the division that oversees service centers nationwide.
The program’s success is gauged on many levels, said Gary Stanko, president of Chicago-based Marketing Alternative’s, Inc., the agency that created the program. “First, by the impact it has on tire sales to purchase resale accounts; and second, by the year-over-year increases in individual participation that we’ve seen,” he said.
