The marketing game has changed for the auto repair industry over the last decade as television and radio ads have given way to social media ads, direct mailers into email and Google has to know who you are for customers to even know you exist. In the auto repair world, many competitors are still implementing the same marketing tactics, but there are ways for you to stand out from your competition and show customers that you truly care about them, and it involves meeting them with new tools. Here we will discuss 4 important principles that could be utilized in order to have your auto repair shop rise above the competition:
Turn Mailer Discounts Into Social Ads
If you happen to send a lot of direct mail, you should reconsider your marketing budget allocation. Akavit.com advises that on average we receive 41 pounds of junk mail every year and throw away about 44% of it without even reading it. A great idea would be to take the discounts included in the direct mailers and turn them into email coupons or social media ads! You need to provide special content that your customer sees as useful and will entertain them since customers spend at least 40 minutes a day on Facebook and over 6 hours a day on email.
Build A Review Base
Over 70% of Americans will hold off on making purchasing decisions until they have read reviews about the business. Even if you are not on social media or may not even have a website, your customers may still be talking about you, only you don’t have a way of tracking what is being said. You should utilize customer online review sites and if you see bad reviews, ask the customer to contact you directly to discuss the issues and open that dialogue. Do not delete the review as customers may see this as dishonesty. You should never hesitate to get customers feedback whether it is good or bad since this can indirectly act as a word-of-mouth referral.
Be Social
Be active and visible in the community via local events and media relations. People like to patronize businesses that they have not only heard of, but who are an active part in their communities. You should network at any and all community events in order to get your name out and start to build your brand as a community partner and expert. This will help establish trust and open countless opportunities for you and your shop in terms of referrals. You can take it to the next level by hosting some promotional events or making yourself available as a resource or expert for events that happen in the area.
Seek To Educate
Being in the automotive world usually means that you know cars in a way that many people don’t. People then tend to have unfortunate experiences with mechanics that charge too much or diagnose the problem incorrectly so you could show your customers that you know your stuff, but will be fair and honest in your business. Sharing information on social media and in email about regular car service for example will allow customers to feel empowered when making decisions. By educating them on what you know, they will feel empowered enough to know that they can’t do it themselves and will be happy going to the person who taught them!
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