A Messenger bot sold tires for 14,300 PLN in one weekend
At Impuls Poznań Consulting, we don't believe in marketing magic; we believe in numbers. When a tire service owner from Komorniki near Poznań told us he was losing customers because he couldn't keep up with replying on Facebook, we knew the solution was simple. Instead of another employee, we implemented a robot that works 24 hours a day.
Problem: 42 missed inquiries every Friday evening
Marek has been running a tire service since March 2018. His company, Opony-Serwis Kwiatkowski, has great reviews, but at the peak of the season – around May – the phone rings every 4 minutes. However, the biggest problem appeared online. People wrote on Messenger at 9:00 PM, 11:00 PM, and even on Sunday morning. They always asked the same thing: 'Do you have 205/55 R16 tires?', 'How much does the replacement cost?', 'Are there slots for tomorrow?'. Marek tried to reply himself, but his average reaction time was 2 hours and 14 minutes. That's 2 hours too long.
The analysis we conducted at Impuls Poznań Consulting showed that 87% of customers who did not receive an answer within 15 minutes bought tires from competitors in Winogrady or Luboń. Marek was losing real money while sitting in front of the TV after a hard day's work. In just one weekend before our cooperation, we counted 42 missed messages. With an average cost of a set of tires at 1,450 PLN, the potential loss was huge. We knew that no more manual work was the only way to save these orders.
The service owner feared that automation would scare people away. They thought the bot would sound artificial and customers would feel ignored. We checked this on 423 clients in other industries and knew it was exactly the opposite. The customer wants information here and now. They don't care if Marek or a program is replying, as long as the price and availability data are true. So we focused on specific data pulled straight from the service's warehouse.
The customer doesn't want to wait 2 hours for an answer. He wants to buy tires at 10:00 PM while lying on the couch.
Solution: Mechanism connected to the inventory spreadsheet
Instead of building complicated systems, we based the bot on a simple connection between Messenger and a Google Sheet in which Marek updates inventory. We entered 345 different tire models available immediately. The bot was programmed to recognize tire sizes entered by users. When someone typed '225 45 r17', the robot searched the database in a fraction of a second and displayed three options: budget, mid-range, and premium. It simply works and requires no intervention from Marek during the day.
Implementation took us exactly 11 business days. We focused on making the purchase path as short as possible. The bot not only gave the price but immediately proposed a 'Reserve and schedule replacement' button. After clicking, the customer saw available dates taken from the service's calendar. Everything happened without a single phone call to the office. On Friday, May 17, 2024, at 5:00 PM, we launched the system at full speed, just as the weekend peak of inquiries began.
The most important element was eliminating errors. The bot was taught typos and different ways of writing sizes. Regardless of whether someone wrote 'R16' or '16 inches', the system understood the intent. This was a key change, because previously Marek often had to ask for details, which extended the conversation to a dozen messages. Now the entire interaction closed in 4-5 steps, ending with the generation of a payment link for a deposit or confirmation of the date reservation in the workshop.
Results: 14,300 PLN revenue in 48 hours
Saturday and Sunday were the test of truth. While Marek spent time with his family, the bot handled 184 unique conversations. From these conversations, 9 specific orders for full sets of tires were generated, along with 14 reservations for the tire change service itself. The total product sales value was exactly 14,300 PLN. The average shopping cart value was 1,588 PLN. All this happened while the workshop was physically closed and employees were resting before Monday.
Analyzing data from the panel, we noticed something interesting. Most transactions (as many as 37%) were finalized on Saturday between 9:00 PM and 11:30 PM. This is a time when no traditional salesperson would pick up the phone. Because the bot worked instantaneously, customers didn't have time to look for offers elsewhere. They bought where they got quick and specific information about the price. This shows that only numbers and reaction speed count, not long conversations about nothing.
After deducting the cost of configuring the bot and a small advertising budget (450 PLN for the whole weekend), the return on investment was immediate. Marek regained time that he previously wasted staring at a phone screen. On Monday morning, his team simply had a list of ready orders to process and tires prepared for installation. We shortened the handling time of one inquiry from a dozen minutes to zero on the office worker's side.
In one weekend, the bot earned as much as a medium-sized workshop does in a whole week of office work.
Why did it work? No more fluff
The success of this campaign did not result from beautiful graphics or catchy slogans. Pure pragmatism worked. People in Poznań and the surrounding area value their time. If someone is looking for tires, they want to know: are they there, for how much, and when can they come. Our bot gave those three answers in less than 60 seconds. We eliminated unnecessary pleasantries and focused on what generates profit. It simply works because it responds to a real market need, not imaginary image goals.
Additionally, the system collected contact data for every customer. Even if someone didn't buy tires immediately, Marek now has a database of 184 people to whom he can send a reminder about air conditioning service in June. This is building capital for the future that previously literally leaked through his fingers. At Impuls Poznań Consulting, we always repeat to our clients: if a process can be described with an algorithm, a machine must do it. Humans are for building relationships and solving difficult problems, not for giving the price of a winter tire.
Looking at these results, it's worth asking yourself: how much money is escaping from your company every weekend? If you run a service or trade business in Poznań and your phone is silent after 5:00 PM, it means you are giving the market to the competition. This case study from the tire industry is just one example. We have implemented similar mechanisms for 423 clients since 2016, always with the same attitude: specific results, zero fluff. Only the numbers in the account at the end of the month count.
