A Blueprint for Successful Branding
By David Kunkel, CITGO Petroleum

In the past few years, I have written and spoken extensively to fast lube operators about the need to start thinking of their businesses as unique brands. Competition for the hearts and minds of consumers is fierce, especially in this environment of $4-per-gallon gas and shrinking household budgets. Creating a compelling brand image around your operation will provide a cue to consumers to help them see you in a certain way.

Investing in consumer-centric processes and focused brand marketing will not only help you cut through the clutter thrown out by other automotive service providers, it will ultimately give your current and prospective customers insights in to your character. Are you someone they will want to do business with? Are you actively engaged in the community? Do you stand behind the quality of your work? These are all questions your brand image will convey and your marketing will support.

In an article on allaboutbranding.com, marketing guru and author Peter Fisk provided some of the best insight on branding I’ve seen in some time. He wrote, “Marketing injects the customer insight and creative thinking that gives business its edge. However it must combine this with the analytical and commercial rigor that drives strategy, innovation and profitable growth.”

He added, ”A great brand is one you want to live your life by, one you trust and hang on to whilst everything around you is changing, one that articulates the type of person you are or want to be, one that enables you to do what you couldn't otherwise achieve. Brands were originally developed as labels of ownership. However, today it is what they do for people that matters much more, how they reflect and engage them, how they define their aspiration and enable them to do more.”

More succinctly, Fisk put the whole issue of branding this way:
Brands are about you, not me.
Brands are about people, not products.
Brands are about customers, not companies.

It’s a given that your marketing efforts need to give customers insights into your values (e.g. sense of urgency, trustworthiness, etc.) and who you are as a person. But more importantly, the values you promote need to align with the wants, needs and desires of consumers in your service area.

To gain better insights into your target customers, you need to clearly understand your trading area. Whether done during your original site analysis when you purchased or built your store or later, gather and analyze historical data from your service history files archived in your point-of-sale system. Reviewing and noting information like customer zip codes will paint a fairly accurate picture of the number and types of consumers you can tap in establishing the typical trading radius of your fast lube.

Whether you have one store or multiple locations, it is vital that you understand exactly where your customers live along with their general travel patterns. With that information you can take a highly-targeted, rifle shot approach to your marketing efforts, concentrate resources to your trading area, and “plant your flag” as deeply as you can to truly own your territory in the face of other automotive service options. Ideally you will want to allocate a ratable marketing and advertising budget reflecting a percentage of your store’s total yearly income to the effort.

Here are some key factors to keep in mind as you launch your brand-building marketing efforts:

Use media that is most effective at reaching the most possible customers. Though building awareness and traffic is important, your goal should always be customer retention. In fact, 50 percent of your marketing efforts should be concentrated on gaining repeat business. You always need to constantly reward past customers for future behavior.
Explore as many marketing options as possible until you find the correct mix for your store and trading area(s). Whatever you ultimately decide to do, bear in mind that we live in an era of multi-vehicle families, so make sure any programs or promotions are customer-unique not vehicle-unique.
Analyze available media options and create a mix that is highly localized and targets your customer base. If you have a lot of high-traffic expressways or boulevards in your trading area, for example, bus benches and billboards can be effective. If your store is located in a retail area, make sure your exterior signage is highly visible. If you operate near the outskirts of a major metropolitan area with a lot of commuter traffic, radio might be an option to grab the attention of drivers.

Depending on your budget and the time investment you want to make, consider:

Online coupons
Service reminder mail (generated by information captured when the customer is in your store)
Affinity cards/frequent purchase programs
A car key tag program (similar to grocery/drug stores)
Paper coupons (printed on receipts)
Allow customers to use a receipt from a previous purchase as a coupon during their next visit to your store.

When devising programs, never discount your base oil change service. Your base oil change service should establish the everyday value baseline for the services you and your team provide. Instead, offer incentives for ancillary services and service bundles that reward customers for performing needed preventive maintenance services on their vehicle.

Seasonal service bundles are particularly effective in driving business. In the spring, offer incentives for wiper blade replacement along with a base service. During the summer, consider a discounted package on a fuel injector cleaning service or other services where you can demonstrate fuel economy benefits as consumers enter the summer driving season.

When tracking customer purchase frequency, if you notice vehicles of a customers’ household coming to your fast lube more than four times a year, you probably need to establish a VIP program that provides attractive incentives to retain those customers.

Design programs specifically to attract and capture customers who would otherwise use other service platforms like car dealerships for servicing. Make note of what other service providers in your area are doing and create similar and competitively-priced promotions that incentivize first-time and repeat purchases.

After you have identified and established your unique trading area, don’t assume it’s just a common radius around your store. If there is a high school nearby, for example, consider sponsoring car care clinics, fund summer internships, or launch a rewards program specifically designed for teachers. Not only will it help you build a brand identity with the school and help you build mindshare with new drivers, it will reinforce that you are a good neighbor.

Area churches, like schools, are another high-traffic destination that should not be ignored. Consider funding a church-related activity to build good will and, as parishioners drive to and from services, awareness and purchase consideration of your fast lube.

As with schools and churches, always look for creative ways to get active and engaged in your trading area. Support Little League, youth soccer leagues, and Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts. Research has consistently proven that businesses that consistently give back to their communities, and are good corporate citizens, are more highly regarded and patronized by consumers.

There is no one-size-fits-all answer for creating, marketing and maintaining a brand image. Just as every fast lube has its own unique qualities, so too do its customers. But understanding where your business and your customers share priorities and values — and developing programs that constantly reinforce that common link — will help you remain competitive and profitable in an increasingly crowded marketplace.

Editor’s Note: David Kunkel is Manager, Marketing & Direct Sales for CITGO Petroleum Corporation.

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