Point S launches new marketing campaign, online platform

SAN ANTONIO — Consumers in markets served by Point S Tire & Automotive Service soon will hear the independent dealer cooperative's new marketing catchphrase: No Stress with Point S.

And if all goes as planned, over the next six months the dealers who own and operate the 200-plus locations will get the tools needed to turn the slogan into a reality.

Point S officials launched a proprietary online platform — the All-Trac Platform — during the annual Point S dealer meeting, held Feb. 14-17 at the La Cantera Resort & Spa in San Antonio.

More than 500 dealers, associates and vendors attended the event, which included a general session, preferred vendor presentations, a shareholders' meeting, a vendor show, owners' discussions and a workshop.

The All-Trac Platform, an online store and customer management program, is designed to continue growth in the expanding digital marketplace. The platform will provide online scheduling, reputation management, declined service management and other time-saving resources for tire dealers.

"It's a fully integrated system that starts from the store level and integrates to the point of sale level," said Walter Lybeck, CEO of member-owned Point S.

"It's a connection point between the distributors and customers. … It connects consumers with the shop and ultimately (addresses) retention, bringing them back in for the next service. It's about the full lifecycle of the customer."

Customers can research tires, check their availability, purchase them and schedule an appointment for installation and other services — based on the dealer's availability — by using the platform without having to contact the shop by another means. Once in the shop, a customer can track the progress of the vehicle throughout the service process.

Other components of the plan include an online chat and follow-up call to the client once the service is done as part of its reputation management component.

Customers who have declined recommended services are called 45 days later, asking whether the customer would like to schedule an appointment for that service.

"The idea is everything in this system is about the customer," Mr. Lybeck said. "Ultimately, it's to drive profit to the independent tire store, but with the approach of, if you can satisfy that customer 100 percent of time, if you can get them engaged and understanding and feeling good about the process, you'll keep that customer long-term."

Phase 1 of the process was rolled out during the conference, with the goal of getting 30 members signed up for the program.

Steve Helstrom, director of IT and operations at Point S, said the platform was developed with two purposes: Provide experiences that customers demand, with an online portal and ease of scheduling service; and provide accessible, practical tools that members can use from reputation management and creating new sales opportunities with declined services.

The rollout of the platform culminated the most successful 12 months in the brief, four-year history of Point S USA since it converted the majority of its stores from the Tire Factory identity.

During that time span, the member cooperative:

• Added 18 locations, expanding into four new markets (Louisiana, Mississippi, Nebraska and Tennessee) and pushing its total number of locations "well past" the 200 mark, according to Clint Young, director of sales and business development.
• Increased sales by 10 percent; and
• Boosted its Net Promoter Score (NPS), which measures members' satisfaction with the organization, to 69, putting it on par with such national retailers as Costco Wholesale Corp., USAA Insurance and Nordstrom Inc. Just a few years ago, that number was negative 7.

"I believe we could have signed 70 or 80 stores last year if we just signed up everybody who inquired," Mr. Lybeck said. "We have to be picky about who we bring on. There's a reputation of this existing group that we're trying to keep. We just don't want anybody. We want the good, solid retail stores."

The new marketing slogan is designed for the customer to have an "easy, stress-free experience," according to Devin Barr, Point S/MBT marketing director.

"We wanted to take the emotion of everyday stresses and emphasize how Point S provides rational, actionable differentiation in the industry," Mr. Barr said

Point S Canada adopted the "No Stress with Point S" campaign in 2016, the same year Point S USA adopted its previous slogan, "Get to the point — Point S."

As part of that stress-free experience, dealers will adopt the one-hour tire promise: Customers can get their tires installed (with some exceptions) in an hour or less when the appointment is scheduled online.

In addition, the group is offering a 30-day satisfaction guarantee: If the customer isn't satisfied with the new tires for any reason, he or she can expect a stress-free return.

One other takeaway from the conference is that Point S has added Toyo Tire Corp. to its portfolio. Previously, customers in the Pacific Northwest could buy Toyo only products through Les Schwab Tire Centers Inc. The companies' exclusive agreement ended earlier this year.

"Toyo is such a massive brand for (Les Schwab)," Mr. Lybeck said, "that consumers in the Northwest considered Toyo and Les Schwab as almost the same. The Toyo presence in the Northwest is so deep that by separating them that brand is now going to be attempting to live on its own in the Northwest.

"It's a great opportunity for the independent tire dealer."

While he admits it might be a bit of a stretch, Mr. Lybeck said he believes that if dealers work together as one, Point S can "change the industry and the way it reacts.

"There's a little bit of ego there," he said, "but it's really neat, and I'm really excited about it."

At the conclusion of its meeting, Point S announced that next year's meeting will be held at the Paradise Point Resort in San Diego.