Carolina Tire on a roll with female-friendly design elements, enlightened marketing

Because women are more likely than men to bring the family car into the shop, the Carolina Tire & Service Center in Pineville, N.C. is making a concentrated appeal to female customers.

“There’s nothing else like it in the United States,” according to Jim Seidel, president and CEO. “We aren’t just marketing to their cars, but to their hearts and minds.”

The facility features soft colors and lighting, music plays in the background, tires are kept in simple displays instead of stacked on the floor, and a large glass doorway provides a view of the cars being worked on.

An interactive computer shows how the customers’ vehicles will look when affixed with different types of tires.

The waiting room has a large couch and leather chairs. Free gourmet coffee is offered, magazines such as O and Red Book are available and a Finding Nemo-themed playroom is set aside for children.

Wipes, diapers, hand sanitizer and hand lotions are stocked in the women’s restroom.

Marketing includes forming partnerships with department stores to promote cosmetics and making arrangements with local beauty shops to provide manicures, Seidel says.

A woman who had recently graduated from the NASCAR Technical Institute was hired last January to work behind the counter. Seidel reports that she “has a unique perspective and background that enables her to better translate automotive repair issues to both men and woman.”

Scouting is underway to plan for a second location in the Charlotte area, according to Seidel, who is intent on opening nine more female-friendly outlets within the next nine years.

For more information, visit www.carolina-tire.com.