It seems that every geographical area of our nation goes through some sort of a natural disaster. If the disaster is predictable in nature, another set of equally predictable things occur — fear, hoarding and a buying frenzy. The possibility that you might, and I do mean might, run out of wheat bread will drive most people to the brink of insanity as they hurry to the local grocery store only to find that many others are also experiencing the same pandemic psychotic break. We've all seen it in varying degrees. But the real question is what triggers it, and more importantly, how do we, as jobbers and service centers get in on it.
The triggering mechanism seems to be weather forecasters. If you watch the Weather Channel long enough, I guarantee at some point you will go out and buy a gallon of milk and a loaf of bread even if you don't need it. Bad weather makes us want to buy stuff that is totally unrelated to the automotive aftermarket. Good for grocery stores and hardware stores, but bad for us. The money a prospective client had set aside for four ball joints was spent on three cases of water, six sheets of plywood, an extra snow shovel and a wind-up radio. Granted, we sell a few things when inclement weather is predicted, but nowhere near what all of us should.
So, I'm going to share my plan with you to get us through the doldrums of the remaining winter.
Phase 1
Send an email to every local television station in your area offering to do routine service work on every weather forcasters' car for free, or at least for a much-reduced price. Not necessarily bribery, but possibly subliminal enough to remind the meteorologist that much of our product offerings relate to weather.
Phase 2
Sponsor the local weather forecasts with advertising. Not necessarily a new tactic, but possibly a worthy tactic.
Phase 3
Lean heavily on every major supplier to co-op funding for Phase 2.
With the phases of my plan complete and in place, now it's the complicated issue of developing knee-jerk, fear-inducing advertising spots around imposing weather forecasts. Below are a few ideas that should create fanatical buying of copious amounts of auto parts.
Weather forecast: Torrential rain
This is when we sell wiper blades for sure. However, if our advertising eluded to the idea that rain, and possible flooding, may hinder our distributors from being able to reach us, thus inducing a possible shortage of wiper blades, sales may skyrocket.
Weather forecast: Hurricane
Instead of selling supplies to endure the weather, let's sell something to get the affected people “out of Dodge.” A sample of this may be to have a tune-up special to get your car in peak driving condition so you can blow the doors off of everyone using the 'Emergency Hurricane Evacuation Route' while trying to outrun a Level 5. For those staying to ride out the storm, a good tune-up would enable them to beat their neighbor to the hardware store that has two sheets of plywood left.
Weather forecast: Tornado
This is much the same as a hurricane spot; however, there is another customer you could target for this forecast. People that have mobile homes and campers might need a new trailer hitch to relocate their abode to a new area. The trailer hitch could also be handy to haul what's left of your house to the dump.
Weather Forecast: Partly cloudy
Develop awareness that the production of carnuba wax requires full sun, and canuba wax is best applied out of the full sun.
Weather Forecast: Partly sunny
See “Partly cloudy.” I'm a “glass is half-empty” kind of guy.
The real query is what makes people buy and when, where and how much. There are so many answers to that question that it boggles the mind. But one thing is certain — whatever the spark of desire required to ignite the demand depends on the individual situation of each buyer, their location in respect to your locale, their financial ability, the severity of the problem, availability of a solution and the weather.
If your prospective client possesses every characteristic required to come and buy something from you, I hope the sun is shining. Have you ever heard the saying that a person’s mood changes like the weather? I must say that it seems like inclement weather has a tendency to slow many of our business segments because our customers' priority changes. If you want to be Singing In the Rain or Walking on Sunshine, it would be wise to recognize that weather will always play a small role in how your customers respond. Stay warm and dry, and make sure you have enough milk, bread and bacon to weather the storms of late winter.
It seems that every geographical area of our nation goes through some sort of a natural disaster. If the disaster is predictable in nature, another set of equally predictable things occur — fear, hoarding and a buying frenzy. The possibility that you might, and I do mean might, run out of wheat bread will drive most people to the brink of insanity as they hurry to the local grocery store only to find that many others are also experiencing the same pandemic psychotic break. We've all seen it in varying degrees. But the real question is what triggers it, and more importantly, how do we, as jobbers and service centers get in on it.
The triggering mechanism seems to be weather forecasters. If you watch the Weather Channel long enough, I guarantee at some point you will go out and buy a gallon of milk and a loaf of bread even if you don't need it. Bad weather makes us want to buy stuff that is totally unrelated to the automotive aftermarket. Good for grocery stores and hardware stores, but bad for us. The money a prospective client had set aside for four ball joints was spent on three cases of water, six sheets of plywood, an extra snow shovel and a wind-up radio. Granted, we sell a few things when inclement weather is predicted, but nowhere near what all of us should.
So, I'm going to share my plan with you to get us through the doldrums of the remaining winter.
Phase 1
Send an email to every local television station in your area offering to do routine service work on every weather forcasters' car for free, or at least for a much-reduced price. Not necessarily bribery, but possibly subliminal enough to remind the meteorologist that much of our product offerings relate to weather.
Phase 2
Sponsor the local weather forecasts with advertising. Not necessarily a new tactic, but possibly a worthy tactic.
Phase 3
Lean heavily on every major supplier to co-op funding for Phase 2.
With the phases of my plan complete and in place, now it's the complicated issue of developing knee-jerk, fear-inducing advertising spots around imposing weather forecasts. Below are a few ideas that should create fanatical buying of copious amounts of auto parts.
Weather forecast: Torrential rain
This is when we sell wiper blades for sure. However, if our advertising eluded to the idea that rain, and possible flooding, may hinder our distributors from being able to reach us, thus inducing a possible shortage of wiper blades, sales may skyrocket.
Weather forecast: Hurricane
Instead of selling supplies to endure the weather, let's sell something to get the affected people “out of Dodge.” A sample of this may be to have a tune-up special to get your car in peak driving condition so you can blow the doors off of everyone using the 'Emergency Hurricane Evacuation Route' while trying to outrun a Level 5. For those staying to ride out the storm, a good tune-up would enable them to beat their neighbor to the hardware store that has two sheets of plywood left.
Weather forecast: Tornado
This is much the same as a hurricane spot; however, there is another customer you could target for this forecast. People that have mobile homes and campers might need a new trailer hitch to relocate their abode to a new area. The trailer hitch could also be handy to haul what's left of your house to the dump.
Weather Forecast: Partly cloudy
Develop awareness that the production of carnuba wax requires full sun, and canuba wax is best applied out of the full sun.
Weather Forecast: Partly sunny
See “Partly cloudy.” I'm a “glass is half-empty” kind of guy.
The real query is what makes people buy and when, where and how much. There are so many answers to that question that it boggles the mind. But one thing is certain — whatever the spark of desire required to ignite the demand depends on the individual situation of each buyer, their location in respect to your locale, their financial ability, the severity of the problem, availability of a solution and the weather.
If your prospective client possesses every characteristic required to come and buy something from you, I hope the sun is shining. Have you ever heard the saying that a person’s mood changes like the weather? I must say that it seems like inclement weather has a tendency to slow many of our business segments because our customers' priority changes. If you want to be Singing In the Rain or Walking on Sunshine, it would be wise to recognize that weather will always play a small role in how your customers respond. Stay warm and dry, and make sure you have enough milk, bread and bacon to weather the storms of late winter.
