Welcoming the digital evolution – Michelin Auto Professional regional forums

Embracing the ever-evolving digital consumer experience is key to thriving in the tyre retail trade, Michelin’s partner dealers were told at annual regional forums across the UK and Ireland. Guests at the full-day events, held in Windsor, Manchester and Kilkenny, were encouraged to make full use of the tools and advice Michelin provides to develop a slick, engaging and accessible online presence capable of reaching a far wider audience. The forums also highlighted the dedicated end-to-end support that Michelin offers to all partner retailers – giving them the best possible platform upon which to build a solid and loyal customer base.

“We’re committed to our dealer partners and invest heavily in helping them provide outstanding customer service in an ever-evolving marketplace – both online and offline. As a result, Michelin really can help them grow their audience if they make use of the range of tools and guidance we give them,” comments Mark Meagher, Michelin’s programme manager for the UK and Ireland. “In order to retain customers, we expect our dealer partners across the UK and Ireland to deliver a seamless end-to-end consumer experience, from research, tyre selection and buying to fitting the premium products and delivering post-purchase support.

“We want to provide a simple, robust, integrated, digital one-stop shop for customers’ tyre needs. We have made an investment in capabilities and expertise to provide a suite of services and content to help our network of dealers succeed online,” continues Meagher.

Those in attendance learned about the benefits of powerful digital tools such as syndicated advertising, syndicated content, pay-per-click ads, Net Promoter Score (NPS) software and Michelin’s Click2Sell – an online portal that enables tyre dealers to roll out a personalised website in just two hours.

NPS allows people to rate a business or service online and is becoming an increasingly vital component of the consumer experience – with research revealing 92 per cent of customers consider positive reviews to be highly influential on their web purchasing habits.

Meagher adds: “Quality of service is essential and consumers seek out the experience of others to influence their purchasing choices. Customer acquisition and retention is more important than ever and Michelin will continue to work closely with its partner dealers to develop solutions, ensuring the purchase process from beginning to end is first class.”

Advantages for Michelin Auto Professional advocate dealers include free staff training sessions and bespoke business support by Michelin to help them further grow their premium tyre market share. Once part of the Michelin Auto Professional programme, newly ratified advocate dealers can apply to become a Michelin Certified Centre, and face Michelin’s stringent quality audit process. Dealer that successfully complete the audit – which checks everything from telephone manner and workshop cleanliness to tyre stock levels and training provision – earn the right to display Michelin Certified Centre signage and to add the Michelin Man’s famous logo to their frontage.