What New Tires Taught Me About Marketing and Connecting with Others

I’m extremely proud to announce that Falken recently launched the first ever All-Terrain tire for crossovers: The WILDPEAK A/T TRAIL. I’m also proud to announce that I just bought a set of A/T TRAILs for my Mazda CX-3. As a Falken employee, sporting these tires on my CUV allows me to boast about my company’s products in an honest and enjoyable way. They instantly made my crossover ready for snow-covered roads, off-road terrain, and a cheeky golden hour photoshoot. But most importantly, buying the A/T TRAILs gave me valuable insight into why someone should pay extra for a new set of wheels and tires. So while I’m excited to drive around on these badass tires every day, the real excitement lies in my ability to share a marketing lesson I won’t soon forget.

Connecting with Others

Be the car guy’s guy

I’ve never been a car guy. Quite frankly, I’d rather analyze T-Swift’s new album than talk about how much horsepower my CX-3 has (....146). But something’s changed after 2 ½ years with Falken Tires. Though I’ve yet to develop that car guy-level appreciation for cars, I’ve genuinely learned to appreciate other people’s appreciation for cars. So, while I may not be a true car guy, I’d consider myself a real car guy’s guy: a guy who respects and appreciates how passionate car guys are about their cars.

That’s because I love being around passionate people. Their enthusiasm interests me, even if that enthusiasm is rooted in something I’m not necessarily interested in. Dale Carnegie agrees: “You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you.” (FWIW, I’m generally not a fan of How To Win Friends And Influence People. Read this book and you’ll understand why).

Regardless, I believe if we spend enough time around people who are passionate about something, it becomes difficult not to understand their passion about that very thing. So if you’re having trouble understanding why someone is passionate about cars or unicycles or Chia pets, take some time to let them explain their passion. It may take weeks, months, or even 2 ½ years for you to get it, but the understanding and connection you’ll ultimately gain will be worth the investment of time. Be the car guy’s guy, whatever that means to you. It’ll introduce you to a whole new group of people who have passions and desires just like you do.

Marketing

Focus on their desires, not your own

When you buy tires, you’re not really paying for tires. You’re paying for what the tires will give you: safety, happiness, independence, among other things. From this perspective, marketing tires becomes much more complex than simply competing with other tire brands. It’s about competing with everyone else who claims their products will make people safer, happier, and more independent. Laptops, running shoes, umbrellas, watches and dishwashers all fit this bill. Now obviously if you need new tires you’re not heading to Lowe’s to buy a dishwasher. They’re not interchangeable in this regard. But when it comes time for you to buy a dishwasher, you have a decision to make. Pay up for the all-new ultra-high powered dishwasher, or go with a cheaper option.

Similarly, when it comes time to buy tires, you can either go with the cheapest option, or pay up for something you believe will make your life better in some way. You can pay extra for off-road tires that get you to the remote campground most people can’t reach. Spend $200 more to grab those ultra-high performance tires that grip the road like a sorority girl grips a White Claw. Or splurge for the very first crossover-specific all-terrain tire the world has ever seen, designed to take you from Mammoth’s icy roads to Joshua Tree’s rocky terrain all in one weekend. Talk about a sales pitch.

Let’s oversimplify things real quick and assume there are two groups of consumers:

Group 1 is comprised of true automotive enthusiasts who value tires enough to do their research and pay a premium for the ones they want.

Group 2 is comprised of everyone else. These people drive their cars because they have to. They hate buying new tires.

For those of you in Group 1, you already see the value in tires. You don’t need to be convinced that buying a new set will make your life better. It’s a different story for the members of Group 2. For these folks, going to the tire shop is like going to the dentist (sorry Dr. Denette). Before these people can be persuaded to upgrade their tire purchase, they must first be convinced that tires actually contribute to a better life. How is this achieved?

Companies must focus on their customers’ desires and understand what they truly want. That’s what happened with me. I love to snowboard, go outdoors, and make people think I’m slightly more adventurous than I really am. That’s why the A/T TRAILs stood to benefit me. They didn’t merely provide me with a new set of tires; they gave me a way to achieve the above with a single purchase. Now, I drive around knowing that I’m ready to head to Mammoth this winter. I’m good for a spontaneous road trip to Joshua Tree. And perhaps most importantly, my Instagram stands to benefit from a few slightly edited photos.

When companies strive to understand and meet the desires of their customers, everyone stands to benefit: the customers, the company, and subsequently the world.

---

"Max, of all the reasons you're a marketer, which is the most important?"

The most important reason is this: To leave this world better than I found it. The second is equally important: To help others be as content with their lives as I’d like to be with mine. No other reason is greater than these.