4 Marketing Strategies for Your Auto Repair Shop
Like most other industries, the auto repair industry is competitive. In addition, every auto repair business owner wants more customers in order to grow and thrive. The key is to have foolproof marketing strategies. This hinges on understanding your audience.
Before designing a marketing strategy, you ought to know what makes your audience tick. This will enable you to tailor a marketing strategy whose message will resonate with them.
That’s the first thing to do before designing any marketing plan. There are unique characteristics of your customers that drive their buying decisions. An auto repair customer thinks differently to someone in the market for purchasing a car.
Once you know your audience well, you’re all set to design specific marketing strategies. Read on below for a further discussion on these marketing strategies. We will start with an emphasis on the importance of attracting customers.
So How Do You Attract Customers?
You really need to stand out from the competition. It may take a lot of time and effort but it’s worth it in the end! Here are 3 ways you can attract customers to your auto repair shop:
1. Partnering with insurance agencies. These companies can promote your auto repair as their go-to shop in your area.
2. Joining networking groups like chambers of commerce, lead generation groups, and business masterminds.
3. Ask for reviews and referrals. Customer reviews are very powerful marketing. You can’t go wrong with customers speaking highly of your service.
Specific Marketing Strategies for Consistent Customers
1. Email Marketing
This is a very effective way to reach out to customers. A lot of people have emails and you can use this to your advantage. Emails give you a direct line of communication and they can allow you to stay in touch with customers.
Finding someone’s email is a crucial step in this strategy. You obviously can’t send emails to your customers if you don’t have their email addresses. This is where email lookup tools come in. An email lookup enables you to find someone’s email and also to gather background information about them. This will be especially useful when you’re trying to reach out to new clientele.
You can ask your customers to join your email list so you can send them information about personalized service reminders and new offers and deals. Be sure, however, to ask for permission before adding a customer to your email list. You can use email marketing:
1. To welcome new customers.
2. To spread the word on new services.
3. To follow up with customers.
To make your emails more personalized you can also use alternative tools like public records. Remember that personalized emails have a 29.95% open rate, so be sure to include persons first name to your emails.
2. Social Media Marketing
Social media has become one of the best digital marketing strategy to market businesses. This is true for auto repair businesses as well. It would be a huge mistake if you didn’t use this to your advantage.
Social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube can be useful in promoting customer engagement. You should make sure you have a functional account for these platforms.
Post regular, informative, and engaging content to your social media pages and don’t forget to make good use of a hashtag generator — it will significantly simplify the process.
For instance, your posts could include:
· Driver safety tips.
· Car maintenance tips.
· Photos of your staff and shop.
· Customer stories and reviews.
· Offers and deals that you offer.
Pay attention to what your target customers say about their problems and how they feel about your brand. Use this information to make the customer experience better.
Some of these social platforms offer advertising services such as Facebook Ads and YouTube Ads. Using these can go a long way in helping you expand your customer base.
3. Connect with Local Shoppers Online
Most people normally view the internet as a way of connecting with people all over the world. It is also an effective tool for connecting with people locally. You can target people searching for local auto shops or mechanic shops.
This can be a crucial way for you to unlock the local market potential. Always begin marketing your auto repair locally first. Build your local customer base so you have a steady stream of clients.
Consider doing the following:
· Using Facebook and Google Ads to specifically target prospective customers in your area.
· Creating a google local search site, connected to your google business listing.
· Creating a Yelp site.
· Optimizing your site for local Search Engine Optimization. Use keywords in your site which will increase the chances of your site ranking high on google.
· Optimizing your site to be more user friendly. You can do this by
1. Ensuring your site loads at high speeds even on mobile phones.
2. Providing in-depth information on your site so that visitors can make an informed decision when they land on your page.
3. Choosing your site colors carefully, with a balance of beauty and clarity. You can also customize your navigation bar so visitors can use it to orient themselves within your site
4. Publish Informative Content & Videos
Offering informative content is a great way to keep customers coming back for more. Always aim to provide value. You’d be surprised at the number of people in search of reliable information about their vehicles.
Establishing yourself as the go-to business for all things auto will go a long way in earning you more customers. Try and use publishing tools such as blogs and social media to regularly offer useful information to prospective clients.
This creates a feeling of trust in your brand and will help you build a loyal customer base.
You can also publish explanatory videos on online sites such as YouTube and Facebook, or embed them directly into your website. In fact, video on websites is great for SEO. Google loves video content! Providing visual information leaves a lasting impression. It helps keep your brand top of mind, and that’s always a good thing for your bottom line.
Conclusion
The above tips will help you crack the marketing code and bring in a steady stream of customers. Use a combination of the strategies for optimal results. So take your time and carefully analyze what would work best for you. You will be astounded by the results!
Author’s Bio
Emily Andrews is a writer at Assignyourwriter and marketing communications specialist at RecordsFinder, an online public records search company. Communications specialist by day and community volunteer at night, she believes in compassion and defending the defenseless.