Service Providers

National Car Care Month is a program designed to motivate people both within and outside of our industry to promote vehicle maintenance. Since the early 80's, it has been a great educational and promotional tool. According to the Car Care Council, neglected maintenance not only costs lives, wastes fuel and contaminates the air, it also represents an estimated $60 billion annually in unsold service and parts. Click here to view a presentation on how check lanes can benefit your business.

Programs like National Car Care Month can mold better vehicle maintainers through education. Start now by perusing the list of ideas below. Make several of the National Car Care Month events below part of your promotional calendar.

National Car Care Month Vehicle Check Lanes
Few NCCM activities receive as much press or are as educational as National Car Care Month Vehicle Check Lanes. The Event Planning Kit gives detailed instructions on how to set up a car care event.

Signage
Banners, counter signs and door signs will alert customers of National Car Care Month. Whether you plan to participate vehicle check lanes or other promotions, NCCM signage used inside and outside your shop help attract customers. View pre-designed National Car Care Month banners and signs.

Telephone On-Hold Messages
Educate your customers while they're on hold with National Car Care Month messages. Much like the Be Car Care Aware scripts, available in the Industry section, these brief messages explain why vehicle maintenance is so important. Don't forget to include any National Car Care Month specials you're offering. Download scripts (.pdf/20 KB).

Incentives
Almost everyone responds to incentives. Perhaps your repair facility can offer National Car Care Month special discounts, add-ons or giveaways. Remember, something that is a little thing to you could be a big deal to a customer. For example, how about a free filter with an oil change. Another idea is to partner with other businesses that can trade out items (dinners, movies, etc.) or provide them to you at a discounted price. Finally, ask your suppliers for promotional items.

Web site
Use National Car Care Month to drive customers and potential customers to your your web site. Print informative articles, run contests, etc. NCCM Web banners also can be included on your site. All of this heightens awareness about National Car Care Month and drives business to your door.

Publishing Information
Each time your company communicates (newsletter, e-mail, web site, etc.) with customers between now and April, include a National Car Care Month message and the logo. This can be as simple as putting a border around the sentence, "April is National Car Care Month" to reprinting an entire article.

A selection of 3 articles is available for reprint and distribution. If you plan to do an event, you can simply combine these articles with information about your activity.

Cause Related Marketing
Cause related marketing means partnering with a "good cause" as a way to help "market" a product or service. In short, it's a combination of good will and good business.

If your business is helping sponsor a free vehicle check lane, for example, consider this as an opportunity to raise money for charity. In return, local volunteers from that charity might be willing to help with some aspect of the check lane.

Your company or other sponsors might also promise to match donations made during the check lanes. This enhances your event by giving it a dual purpose. It also gives you additional volunteers, exposure, PR, etc. From Mothers Against Drunk Driving to the Boy Scouts, this marketing idea is a winner.

Motorists view free NCCM vehicle check lanes as a valuable public service. For this reason, most of them are happy to give a donation. With a beneficiary, everybody wins:

• the charity makes money,
• the motorist receives an inexpensive inspection,
• the industry sponsors create the start of a relationship based on a positive feelings in the hearts and minds of the motorists; this is public relations at its best.

Getting started

1. Consider your options before settling on a charity. Partner with a charity that can give something in return. For example, does the group have a good promotional person? Do they have an active membership base that could provide volunteers? Do you have a pre-existing relationship with a specific group?

2. Decide on the charitable partners ASAP and establish a liaison.

3. It is important to find out what type of things the charitable group can commit: signage, press releases, PSA's, local mailings, e-mail reminders, club speakers, radio interviews, volunteers during the event, tee shirts, etc.

4. Consider offering items that your shop or suppliers have available (mugs, gym bags, racing items) as incentives to encourage larger donations. This accomplishes two purposes: the charity makes more money and the motorist becomes more familiar with your brand/product or service.

5. Consider offering matching donations. It doesn't have to be dollar for dollar, it might be 1 to 3 or 1 to 5. Ask suppliers to help out up to a specific dollar amount.

6. Get a commitment from the chosen charity as soon as possible, along with a press release to announce the partnership.

7. Stay in close contact with the charitable organization, making certain they know their responsibilities prior to, during and after the event.

8. Make certain a representative from the charitable group is part of the evaluation session following the event.

9. Promote this activity in-house, in the local community. Send the check lane forms along with any photos, comments, etc. to the Car Care Council.

Brochures
Currently the Council has two brochures available to download and print. They can be reproduced in color or black and white and have room for your logo. For distribution during National Car Care Month, please make sure they should carry both the Be Car Care Aware and the National Car Care Month logos. Print enough for the sponsoring group to have plenty to distribute.

• Brochure download page
• Logo download page