Focusing on reduced wait times for auto service customers may be one way to boost online booking and improve the efficiency of your shop and customer satisfaction.

It is precisely this type of thinking that U.S. service chain Discount Tire, which says it is the world’s largest retailer of tires and wheels, is hoping will shift customer behaviour.

The operation has launched a new brand message that continues the company’s culture of providing the best end-to-end customer experience and delivers on its brand promise to ensure that customers are taken care of.

Starting today, the new “Get 30% Shorter Average Wait Time When You Buy and Book Online” campaign informs customers that when they buy and book online for an installation appointment, they can expect a 30 percent reduction in average wait time at their Discount Tire store service visit.

“We know how important convenience and time are for the overall shopping experience, and we’re here to accommodate,” said Lisa Pedersen, assistant vice president of marketing at Discount Tire. “The ‘Buy and Book Online’ experience is key to ensuring that we provide the most inviting, easy and safe tire and wheel purchase and service experience around.”

Customers can feel confident when buying and booking online at Discount Tire because they can use Treadwell, a proprietary online tire-buying decision guide, which is the same tool used in-store by Discount Tire employees to make personalized tire recommendations to customers.

Discount Tire’s “Get 30% Shorter Average Wait Time When You Buy and Book Online” message will be incorporated throughout all brand messaging. Campaign pieces include broadcast television; digital advertising (including billboards, radio and social); and in-store signage, web banners and more.

Online booking can help:

• Empower customers to schedule their appointments around-the-clock.
• You manage staffing levels.
• Create automated appointment reminders, reducing no-shows.
• Improve efficiency and load balancing, especially over multiple outlets
• Improve satisfaction for increasingly tech-reliant customer base.

While independent shops may not have access to media resources in the same way, highlighting the benefits to customers from online booking are worth considering for every size of shop with a booking-capable system.

There are even some free software solutions available.

It may just be another way that consumers and their automotive service providers can both see benefits from connecting through technology.