Auto Repair Shop Marketing Specialist
Customers are more willing to forgive service problems if they are recommended to your auto repair shop by a friend. Are you actively asking your customers for recommendations? RobMax has a number of tools to encourage personal recommendations and help build a loyal following of great customers.
Auto repair shops spend big bucks to dispose of waste generated from repairing vehicles and it is only fair business practice 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.
Traditional advertising has got it all backwards. It just doesn't work for small businesses who don't have ad budgets in the millions. Auto repair advertising needs to be very targeted and product specific.
Typical advertising spends huge amounts of largely wasted money attempting spreading your message to everyone. If your lucky you attract a few prospects who are possibly interested in what you are offering. Most times they forget who you are by the time they actually need you.
On-line Social Networking[1] is a phenomenon that has exploded in popularity. One outcome of this new virtual community is a collection of shared consumer experiences. Participants are using collective customer 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.
Are you worried by all the competition in the auto repair and service market? Are you losing customers to big chain stores, specialty shops, dealerships? 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?
To thrive in a price driven market you need to to be a HIGH VALUE 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?
The High Value LEADER offers the lowest price for highest quality products resulting in high consumer value.
In contrast the low price LOSER provides low pricing for low quality products. Think poor value. Consumers notice the difference and the High Value LEADER becomes the winner.
Customers Like Simple Websites
Simple, easy to use websites that provide answers for their questions are preferred by vehicle owners.
A pretty website may look good on the surface, but research[1] tells us that a fancy website doesn't necessarily produce new customers. If fact it can drive people away and leave you with an unproductive, expensive monument. Content and how your website is constructed is what your customers want and your bank account needs!
Often when business slows down the first expense to be cut is advertising. Bad idea. There is an old saying in the auto service business that you must advertise or you die!
Advertising doesn't mean you have to spend bags of money. There are many methods of auto repair advertising and not all cost big bucks. What you need to do is find something you can afford, fine tune it, and keep doing it! Consistency counts!
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