Goodyear offering CTSN to dealers

NASHVILLE, Tenn.—Goodyear is extending the reach of its recently rechristened Commercial Tire & Service Network (CTSN)—formerly Wingfoot Tire—to its independent dealers in the U.S., offering them the opportunity to operate under the CTSN banner. Goodyear disclosed the plan during its 2014 Goodyear Dealer Conference in Nashville. The Akron-based tire maker's literature shows the potential for up to 1,300 service points throughout the U.S., with the potential to extend into Canada. “The consumer side of our business blazed the same trail several years ago with the Goodyear Tire & Service Network,” said Phillip Kane, vice president, commercial tires, referring to the conversion of the Goodyear Gemini auto service program to Goodyear Tire & Service that started in 2010. This was something the company had wanted to do and “finally the stars aligned,” said Warren Croyle, brand marketing operators manager at Goodyear. The consumer program has been doing well, he said, so Goodyear management decided to add a program for commercial dealers as well. Whereas the consumer side of the Tire & Service Network is broken down into three different categories on a varying pay scale, at this point in time, there are no levels for the Commercial Tire & Service Network (CTSN) at no cost, Goodyear said. Goodyear said the reception from its aligned dealers has been very positive thus far. Jim Hamilton, vice president and general manager at Graham Tire, told Tire Business the company joined the network because “it seemed like the thing to do” because Graham Tire is a Goodyear dealership and thought it would be a “preferred choice.” He said the dealership has seen a benefit from the on-the-road truck calls from the service network. Previously, Goodyear's company-owned commercial locations operated under the Wingfoot name, which was its first aligned program for the commercial side of the business. The firm announced in October 2013 it was rebranding that program under the Tire & Service Network banner. At that time, Goodyear said it operated 180 tire sales, service, retread facilities and truck care centers under the Wingfoot banner, with Wingfoot Commercial Tire and retread locations comprising 135 of that total and Wingfoot Truck Care Centers—located at Pilot/Flying J truck stops—comprising the rest. Goodyear's company-owned commercial tire network had operated under the Wingfoot banner since September 2000, when the tire maker combined the commercial tire distribution and retreading assets of its own company stores with those of Treadco Inc. and its Brad Ragan affiliate. In announcing the switch, Goodyear said it wanted to lead with its brand name. This was a sentiment Mr. Kane explained in October when the name change was revealed. “We are rebranding Wingfoot locations to utilize the strength and equity of the Goodyear brand,” he said at that time. “Our extensive research shows that fleet customers know and trust the Goodyear name,” he said. “We believe we can utilize the power of the Goodyear brand to drive additional traffic to our Commercial Tire & Service Centers.” Mr. Kane noted that Wingfoot's product lineup, service menu and organizational structure will not change. Goodyear said when joining the network, dealers are provided with “comprehensive advertising and marketing support that reaches the right targeted audiences at the right times.” The material should help gain more reach for dealers by attracting fleet customers across the country that are loyal to CTSN dealers. Promotional materials include a commitment poster; window cling to identify the business as an independently owned and operated CTSN dealer; and an ID kit instruction sheet to assist dealers on how to display the information effectively. The dealers can carry products that will attract fleets when they are looking for new tires, Goodyear said, including the Goodyear, Dunlop and Kelly brands that the company promotes as featuring “innovative technologies to help your customers reduce downtime and save on fuel costs.” Goodyear said benefits of the network include getting exclusive access to programs to help fleets choose products to reduce operating costs, supporting the professional image with the network ID and increase and maintain new fleet customers. Additional benefits include having priority preference on Goodyear Fleet HQ calls and being offered the premium listings on the online Goodyear dealer locator. For dealers to qualify to be in the network they must: c Be a network-aligned dealer; c Adhere to Goodyear Fleet HQ service standards; c Display network signage and point-of-sale; c Provide 24-hour road service and access to an on-call service tech; c Report night cage inventory; and c Have a decline rate of 20 percent or less. Interested dealers can visit goodyeartrucktires.com for more information. To reach this reporter: [email protected]; 330-865-6143.