Flynn's Tire Wholesale recently rolled out several new programs to 53 of its accounts. The meeting took place at the Marriott Hotel in Cranberry Township, Pa., and was hosted by Shaun Fitzgerald, general manager of Flynn's Tire Wholesale Division.
The goal was to enhance their marking efforts and support their growth.
* Matt Peters and Rob Rupert of E-Solutions Professionals talked about www.Family-Tires.com, the cooperative website designed to have one data source of tire inventory viewable to the public -- from which all participating dealers can sell tires using their own store specific pricing.
Peters explained that the website will be heavily promoted through a strategic and aggressive Search Engine Optimization (SEO) campaign, which will position it at or near the top of several of the most popular search engines. Once an online shopper reaches the website, he or she can choose from any of the dealers listed and get specific tire prices from a specific store.
"We have designed this website to be clean, simple and extremely user friendly," he said. "It's a well-know fact that most tire buyers research tires online before buying."
In addition to store-specific tire pricing, addresses, phone numbers and maps of each of the stores will be listed with the name of the dealership. If the store has its own website, the URL link for it also wil be listed.
General information about tire inflation, tread depth, flat tires and descriptions of auto repair services are listed as well.
* John Hobbing from ASA Auto Systems briefed the group on the latest updates of ASA's point-of-sale software. These updates make it easier than ever for dealers to draw inventory from Flynn's Tire Wholesale's four warehouses, he said.
* Fitzgerald, Tim Brennan and Jeff Wonderling of Flynn's Tire introduced three additional associate dealer programs available through Flynn's Tire: the Nexen Nitro Program, the Sumitomo Select Program and the Towmax STR Program. They then reviewed the ongoing Goodyear G3Xrpress and Yokohama Advantage associate dealer programs.
* "Flynn's has now consolidated it's marketing and advertising strength's and are offering these to independent dealers," said Chuck Zarbaugh of Zarbaugh Studio, about the new module on flynnstire.tireloop.com. "Our goal is to help you sell more tires."
Most everything a dealer needs is offered in Flynn's advertising module, "and if it's not there we'll find it for you," he added.
* Flynn's independent dealer customers can earn a free trip to Dublin, Ireland, in April 2013, by purchasing tires from Flynn's Tire Wholesale and earning points.
Established in 1964, Flynn's Tire Group is a major regional tire dealer, with 18 Flynn's Tire & Auto Service stores in western Pennsylvania and eastern Ohio; four tire warehouses in Pennsylvania and Ohio; and five commercial tire service centers throughout western Pennsylvania, eastern Ohio and New York.
