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Creating Your Q1 Marketing Outreach Calendar

How to plan your Q1 outreach with templates and targeting tips.

Q1 is a strong time to reconnect with customers, follow up on postponed work, and set the tone for the year ahead. Rather than starting from scratch, this guide gives you a set of ready-made campaign ideas you can use throughout the quarter. Each campaign includes suggested targeting and the thinking behind it, so you can choose the outreach that fits your shop’s goals, timing, and capacity.

Jump to:

February campaigns

March campaigns

April campaigns (looking ahead)

Adding Segments to a Campaign

February Campaigns

Valentine's Day Campaign #1

Valentines Day Campaign 1_Full

Let customers with deferred services know that acts of service is your shop's love language. Remind them that now's the time to tackle that oil change, brake service, or repair.

Best Practices for this campaign:

  • Start with an email, follow up with a text a few days later

  • Target customers with outstanding estimates or declined services from the past 3-6 months

  • Search "valentine" in the email or text library to snag this template.
Creating a customer list for deferred services from the past 3-6 moths:
  1. Login to Steer.
  2. From the Dashboard, click Customers.
  3. Click Filters, then select Advanced Filters.
  4. Select the Deferred Services filter.
  5. Enable the Days Since Deferred toggle.
  6. Enter a value range of 90 - 120.
  7. Click Show Results.
  8. Save the group (i.e. 3-6 Month Deferred Service).
  9. Save as a Dynamic Group by selecting Filters again after reviewing the list, then click New Dynamic Group. Add a group name from Step 8.
  10. Click Save.

Valentine's Day Campaign #2

Valentines Day Campaign 2_Full

 

Many households manage more than one vehicle, but may not think to bring them in together. This Valentine's season, make it easy for them to check car maintenance off the list for both vehicles in one visit, saving them time while increasing your bottom line.

Best Practices for this campaign:

  • Target customers with a lifetime visit value > $1,000 who haven't visited the shop in the last 6 months

  • Search "valentine" in the email or text library to snag this template
Creating a customer list for LTV >$1,000 who haven't visited in 6-9 months:
  1. Login to Steer.
  2. From the Dashboard, click Customers.
  3. Click Filters, then select Advanced Filters.
  4. Select the Days Since Last Visit filter.
  5. Enter a value range of 180 - 270. 
  6. Select the Customer Value filter.
  7. Enable the Lifetime Visit Value toggle.
  8. Enter a value range with $1000 as the minimum.
  9. Click Show Results.
  10. Save the group (i.e. > $1000 LTV and No Visit 6-9 Months).
  11. Save as a Dynamic Group by selecting Filters again after reviewing the list, then click New Dynamic Group. Add a group name from Step 10.
  12. Click Save.

Tax Season

Tax Return_Full

 

Tax refunds can change how customers think about spending. A refund makes it easier to prioritize vehicle maintenance that didn’t feel urgent before. Use the tax refund template in the campaign library to help you reach customers who now have the flexibility to move forward on vehicle maintenance.

Best Practices for this campaign:

  • Target customers with upcoming maintenance or deferred services for high ticket services like brake repair, tires, or suspension and steering repairs, and who haven't visited in 6-12 months 

  • Follow up with a text in 2 days to reach customers who haven't booked
  • Text and email templates are in the campaign library - search "tax" to get started.
Creating a customer list for customers with upcoming maintenance or deferred services for high ticket services:
  1. Login to Steer.
  2. From the Dashboard, click Customers.
  3. Click Filters, then select Advanced Filters.
  4. Select the Days Since Last Visit filter.
  5. Enter a value range of 180 - 365. 
  6. Select the Deferred Services filter.
  7. Enable to Deferred Service Search toggle.
  8. Enter high dollar services you'd like to include such as Brake Repair and Tire Services.
  9. Select the Maintenance Reminders filter.
  10. Enable the Maintenance Reminders Search toggle.
  11. Enter high dollar services you'd like to include such as Brake Repair and Tire Services.
  12. Click Show Results.
  13. Save the group (i.e. High RO Deferred Service and No Visit 6-12 Months).
  14. Save as a Dynamic Group by selecting Filters again after reviewing the list, then click New Dynamic Group. Add a group name from Step 13.
  15. Click Save.

March Campaigns

Winter-to-Spring

Spring to Winter Campaign_Full

 

Recent winter storms, including Fern, put extra stress on vehicles. Potholes, temperature swings, and winter road conditions can lead to alignment issues, uneven tire wear, and suspension damage that isn’t always obvious right away.

Best Practices for this campaign:

  • Target customers who declined alignment, suspension, or tire-related services during the winter

  • Target customers with upcoming maintenance for alignment, suspension, or tire-related services
Creating a customer list for customers who declined tire-related services during the previous winter:
  1. Login to Steer.
  2. From the Dashboard, click Customers.
  3. Click Filters, then select Advanced Filters.
  4. Select the Days Since Last Visit filter.
  5. Enter a value range of 90 - 180. 
  6. Select the Deferred Services filter.
  7. Enable to Deferred Service Search toggle.
  8. Enter high dollar services you'd like to include such as Tire Services.
  9. Select the Maintenance Reminders filter.
  10. Enable the Maintenance Reminders Search toggle.
  11. Enter high dollar services you'd like to include such as Tire Services.
  12. Click Show Results.
  13. Save the group (i.e. Winter 2025 Deferred and Upcoming Tire Services).
  14. Save as a Static Group. Check the box at the Top Left of your filtered list, then click New Static Group. Add a group name (i.e. Winter 2025 Deferred Services).
  15. Click Save.

St. Patrick's Day

St Patricks Day Campaign_Full

 

Bring a little luck of the Irish to your customers' inboxes. Our St. Patrick’s Day campaign is designed to help fill schedule gaps in March by giving you a timely reason to follow up with customers who haven't been in for awhile.

Best Practices for this campaign:

  • Target customers who visited once in the last 12 months but ghosted. Time to lure them back with a little Irish luck.
  • Pair with a text 2-3 days later for customers who haven't booked 
Creating a customer list for customers who haven't been in for the last 12 months:
  1. Login to Steer.
  2. From the Dashboard, click Customers.
  3. Click Filters, then select Advanced Filters.
  4. Select the Deferred Services filter.
  5. Enable the Days Since Deferred toggle.
  6. Enter a value range of 365 - 400.
  7. Click Show Results.
  8. Save the group (i.e. 12 Month Deferred Service).
  9. Save as a Dynamic Group by selecting Filters again after reviewing the list, then click New Dynamic Group. Add a group name from Step 8.
  10. Click Save.

April Campaigns (Looking Ahead)

Car Care Month

Car Care Month Campaign_Full

 

As you may know, April is Car Care Month! It's also a great time to help customers reset maintenance habits after winter driving. A proactive check-in helps catch hidden wear early and reinforces your shop as a trusted partner in their vehicle’s care.

Best practices for this campaign:

  • Target customers whose last service was 6+ months or 3,000+ miles ago

  • Target customers with vehicles 5+ years old

  • Promote seasonal needs like AC check, tire rotation, or spring fluid flushing
Targeting customers based on time or mileage:

Learn about sending maintenance reminders in our article here.

Target customers based on vehicle age:
  1. Login to Steer.
  2. From the Dashboard, click Customers.
  3. Click Filters, then select Advanced Filters.
  4. Select the Vehicle Data filter.
  5. Enable the Search Vehicles By toggle.
  6. Enter a year range of 2000 - 2020 to target vehicles older than 5 years.
  7. Click Show Results.
  8. Save the group (i.e. 12 Month Deferred Service).
  9. Save as a Dynamic Group by selecting Filters again after reviewing the list, then click New Dynamic Group. Add a group name from Step 8.
  10. Click Save.

Adding Segments to Your Campaign

Ready to build your campaign? Once you've created segments for your campaign, you can get your campaign out the door and into your customers' inboxes. Here's how to add the segment to a campaign:

  1. Click Campaigns, then select Active.
  2. Choose the Campaign Category for your campaign (i.e. Outreach), click New Segment.
  3. Add a name for your campaign segment (i.e. Lifetime Visit Value $500+).
  4. Select the Select Customer Group tab to choose one of your newly created segments.
  5. Click Save.

More info on creating customer groups, campaigns, and segments can be found here.