How you present your auto repair shop is how people will think of it. Getting customers in the door means presenting a positive, professional image. You still need to provide exceptional service when servicing cars the technical side is extremely important but first and foremost you need customers and those customers need to be quality customers, who will come back for repeat business.
Online Marketing
Websites are very beneficial for providing information to your auto repair customers and potential customers. Many auto repair shop owners also assume that having a website will be the solution to all their marketing problems. After all, its the digital age and online marketing is a popular way to reach customers these days. However, online marketing should be executed with the same care as any other marketing strategy.
The Email Campaign
The email campaign is a great example of an online strategy that requires thought before executing. Similar to a direct mail campaign, sending out emails to any and everyone can be a big waste of your timem, says Ron Ipach, owner of CinRon Marketing Group. Only about 20% of promotional emails are opened. Of that 20% that are opening the email, maybe 10% are reading the contents. So you likely put in a good deal of time in composing and designing your email possibly you even paid a graphic designer to make an HTML version of your email and for all that work, maybe 10 people read it.
The subject line of your email is an essential aspect of whether people actually open your email or not. If you form your subject line to look like spam then most people will likely delete it without even opening it. You may even be offering something of value in your email, like a free oil change or 10% or 20% off a particular service, but if you do not make that clear in the subject line, chances are no one will even know.
First Impression
First impressions are everything. And when the first impression that a customer has of your auto repair shop is your marketing materials, it needs to portray the image of professionalism. If your mail snail or email looks like junk mail, then the only customers that you will attract into your auto repair shop are bottom feeders. Cater to the customers that will give you repeat business by creating pieces that appear to be of value.
If it looks like junk mail then it is going to get thrown away, says Ipach. Think about the details when sending out marketing and advertising pieces; what does your envelope look like? What image are you portraying with it?
Marketing is not simply the act of sending out information and ‘attempting’ to reach hundreds of potential clients; you need to actually make an impression and ensure that those potential clients eventually become your regular clients. You need to stop attracting those bottom feeders and start building a clientele that will see you as a trusted auto repair shop with talented technicians, which will keep them coming back for more.