Eight summers ago I moved to North Carolina. I immediately began hearing ads for a dealership called John Hiester. Almost weekly I’ll hear a radio ad. The tagline was always, “Get off your kiester and come to Hiester.”
The dealership is in this small town of Lillington. It has a population of 3,604. It’s not near anything. In fact, it is smack dab in the middle of and 30 minutes from both Raleigh and Fayetteville. Yet, Hiester has built one of the largest Chrysler Jeep Dodge dealerships in the State.
It’s one thing to drive a little further to buy a car, but what do you do when it needs to get serviced? No one wants to take a day off of work. In 2018, Hiester leveraged technology to offer an added service. Using the Hiester Valet app, customers can organize to have their car/truck picked up and delivered back. All maintenance/repairs are approved in advance via the app.
This service is even more important now with COVID. A few months ago, I heard a new wrinkle with the ads. “We know it’s not easy to get out. Let us know if there is anything we can get for you when we come to pick up or drop off your car.”
What a tremendous way to add a little warmth and honor the relationship. To quote Jay Baer, “Great marketing is about help, not hype.”