Pre-Event Recommendations

•  On the day of your event, you might want to set up a small table with giveaways and handouts, including information and services about your shop. It is also a good idea to provide car care awareness materials for your customers. The Car Care Council has "Be Car Care Aware" brochures and Car Care Guides for you to purchase online.

•  Document your event through photography. Take plenty of photos of motorists, volunteers, children and others involved with or attending your event. Photos are a great addition to press releases, and can also be used on Web sites and in online marketing. They are also nice to include in your scrapbook and in thank-you notes to sponsors and volunteers. A well-organized scrapbook will be a priceless resource for next year’s event planners and can become a powerful sales tool when seeking sponsors for subsequent car care events.

Post-Event Recommendations

Congratulations! Your car care event is over and hopefully many motorists came by to have their vehicles checked. Give yourself a short break, but don’t wait too long before taking care of a few post-event details:

•  Use the inspection forms to gain new customers. Data from the form you keep should be entered into your database. The people who came by your event are all potential customers. You may wish to do a follow-up telephone call or e-mail to attendees, thanking them for stopping by and offering to be their partner in car care awareness.

•  Send thank-you notes to everyone involved in making your car care event a success. This includes volunteers, sponsors and anyone who helped promote your event. A hand-written note will make people feel appreciated and will pave the way for their help with future events.

•  Have a follow-up meeting to evaluate your event and what worked and didn’t work. Take a moment to jot down some key facts about your event. For example, the number of vehicles checked; the number of volunteers who helped; the activities and displays you included; etc. It’s also helpful to note what you might do differently so you have this information for your next event.

•  Don’t forget to send your inspection forms to the Car Care Council. The yellow page of the triplicate inspection form from April events should be submitted by June 1, and for fall events by Dec. 1. It is very important to submit forms to the Car Care Council as the data is then compiled, summarized and distributed in our annual car care statistics. Please return forms to: Marcella Tilli, Car Care Council, 7101 Wisconsin Ave., Suite 1300, Bethesda, MD 20814.

•  As a thank you for submitting your forms, you’ll receive a “Certificate of Participation” to proudly display in your business.

•  Start thinking about Fall Car Care Month. It is never too early to start planning for Fall Car Care Month in October!

For more information on April Tips, download the Car Care Months Event Planner.