Pit Stop

Pit Stop is one of New Zealand's most recognised automotive service brands, with franchise stores from Kerikeri to Dunedin. When they needed an email marketing partner in 2017, they came to Spike with a modest database and a simple brief: stay in touch with customers and drive bookings.

Eight years later, Spike had built and managed one of the most operationally complex email programmes we've ever run.

Pit Stop's franchise model created a unique set of requirements that most email platforms aren't designed to handle. Customers belong to specific stores. Service reminders need to come from that store, with the store's reply-to address, sent on behalf of the local owner. A WOF reminder for a Hastings customer looks different to one for a Grey Lynn customer - and both need to feel personal.

On top of that, Pit Stop was uploading fresh customer data daily, running a monthly re-engagement campaign for lapsed customers, sending quarterly newsletters to their full national list, and responding to one-off requests from individual franchise owners who wanted to talk to their local database.

This wasn't a set-and-forget account. It was a live, evolving programme that touched thousands of customers every month.

Starting with a list of around 16,000 contacts, Spike established:

• A daily data upload process that filtered customer types and added new subscribers to the correct store segment automatically
• A welcome automation for new subscribers
• A quarterly newsletter programme covering motoring tips, franchisee profiles, seasonal content, and national promotions
• A monthly re-marketing campaign targeting customers who hadn't visited in 24 months, personalised with store details and a discount offer
• A monthly service reminder programme covering five reminder types - WOF, service, recheck, WOF + service, and safety check - each sent from the relevant store's email address

At peak, the reminder programme reached customers across more than 40 stores in a single month, with each email personalised to the store name, phone number, owner, and booking link.

Over eight years, the programme faced every kind of disruption. Spike handled all of it.

Database incident: A single automated upload error deactivated 28,000 subscribers overnight. Spike identified the issue, diagnosed the cause, and restored the list the same day.

COVID response: When stores closed overnight, Spike turned around a lockdown communication email within hours, followed by a re-opening campaign as restrictions lifted.

Platform migrations: The programme migrated platforms twice over its lifetime without losing data, programme continuity, or subscriber trust.

Template redesign: When Pit Stop wanted a fresh look, Spike redesigned their newsletter from scratch - animated GIFs, multi-column layouts, and personalised store CTAs linking directly to each franchise's booking page.

A national franchise brand with consistent, professional customer communication at every store level. Customers received relevant, timely emails that felt local - not generic. Franchise owners could request store-specific campaigns and get them built and sent within days.

Pit Stop eventually moved its email programme in-house as part of a broader technology transition. They left with a clean list, documented processes, and eight years of campaign data.

We know how to build email programmes that work at scale - and keep them running. Book a free 20-minute call with Glenn to talk about what's possible for your business.