Auto repair management

Do you dare get your business into the social media arena? Are you afraid you will only expose yourself to complainers? You will be happy to know that by far the greater number of Yelp.com users who post reviews give businesses a thumbs up. While there are no guarantees of five star reviews, the feedback will allow you to improve your service quality. And besides, people are going to talk about you regardless so you might as well participate in the party. Social media may be the best free automobile service marketing idea available.

Bad economic conditions often force auto repair shop management to look for expenses to cut. Slashing auto repair shop marketing budgets is easy, offers an immediate solution to cash flow problems, but is the worst mistake possible. Outsmart your competition by continuing your marketing - just spend your dollars more wisely. Be primed and ready for economic recovery.

How to stabilize auto repair shop car counts through better management of marketing and advertising. Increase auto repair customer acquisition and retention throughout the year. Decrease marketing spending and increase results.

When auto repair shop repairs fail customers react in three basic ways. In all cases there is a very high likelihood you will lose the customer. With proactive follow up communications dissatisfied customers can be uncovered, problems fixed, prevent future service failures, and if you recover well, you can prevent losing the customer.

Should you charge environmental fees?

It's all in the presentation

Auto repair shops spend big bucks to dispose of waste generated from repairing vehicles and it is only fair business practise to pass this expense on to the customer. However shops need to be careful how the expense is presented to their customers. Using a separate environmental fee on invoices can have a serious negative impact on the shop's reputation. Instead of highlighting your shops concern for the environment, itemized fees may make your customers feel like they're being gouged.

Power of the collective voice

On-line Social Networking^[1] is a recent phenomenon that has exploded in popularity. One outcome of this new virtual community is a collection of shared consumer experiences. Participants are using these collective reviews of products and services to make informed buying decisions. Auto repair shop owners should be participating in these online communities to promote their businesses.

Be careful that uniqueness and service specialization doesn't put you out of business. If you become so specialized or unique there may not be enough customers to support your business. This may seem obvious but many operators seem to be unaware of the basics of marketing and business management.

Give them what they want

Are you worried by all the competition in the auto repair and service market? Are you losing customers to big chain and speciality shops? What is it that people are attracted to? The answer is uniqueness. Consumers are willing to pay more for what they can't get elsewhere. Are you providing what your customers want?

Are you a low price leader?

Leaders and losers

To thrive in a price driven market you need to to be a low price LEADER. Some auto repair shops know they're leaders. Some think they're leaders. Many don't know they're losers. Consumers know the difference and quickly find the leader. What are you?