SO, YOU HAVE ALL THESE NEW CUSTOMERS FOR YOUR REPAIR SHOP… WHAT’S THE REAL MARKETING SECRET FOR KEEPING THEM?
By David Rogers
Many people say today that consumers just aren’t as loyal as they used to be. I tend to agree, at least to the point that I realize they are being lured, seduced, and confused with today’s advertising methods and promises of cheap or free goods and services…
Well, as we have studied and reported previously, it can cost a shop owner $450 to get a new customer…if they are just going to visit you once and then head off to the next shop when they offer something cheaper in the next coupon packet, what’s the point in spending all that money?
One of the most important things to understand is that GREAT advertising is only as good as the service received by the new customer who responds to your advertisement. Assuming your shop is already providing cutting-edge customer service, there is still more to accomplish!
How do I know? Well, my shop did $22,500.00 yesterday with only 5 technicians and two writers…
Want to know more?
The trick to making sure my shop is maxed-out month after month is making sure that the customer doesn’t get a chance to forget about us and why we’re special. We are different from other shops in the approach that we use…we educate customers, and never sell to them. But that is easily forgotten in today’s busy world…unless we make a POINT of keeping that information in front of them.
Are your customers excited as ours about their email newsletters?
That’s an important point: it has to be enjoyable and it can’t be annoying. Getting your message out there consistently can only work if people want to read it!
Now, this isn’t some sales pitch for OUR email newsletter…it’s my pitch for using one PERIOD. Ours increases visits from our best customers 1-2 per year each, and in this economy, you NEED a solution like that.
Here’s a way to narrow down your choices, no matter who you decide to use. Any newsletter you choose should be:
- Professionally designed. This is not the time for an artistically-inclined family member to take over your shop’s marketing (that time is never, by the way)
- Easy to read. I mean that two ways: it needs to sound professional and it can’t be overly technical.
- Full of UNIQUE articles. Copying and pasting articles from a website is more than illegal, it breaks the golden rule: be entertaining!
- About things people WANT to read…not filled with automotive info!
- Fast! Your newsletter shouldn’t TAKE AWAY time from your business, it should make your business EASIER to run!
- Inexpensive. (Ours costs $97 + a $25 art charge, no matter how many emails are sent.)
- Designed to further the trust and the relationship you worked so hard to create with the customer on their first visit.
- Something people find so valuable that they are compelled to forward it. What other kinds of marketing get passed along to their friends?
If you’re getting all of this from your current email newsletter provider, great! I hope you’re seeing the VALUE a great newsletter can produce for your shop, ESPECIALLY in a down economy. If you’re interested in learning a little more about what we provide, drop me a line in the comments or over on the contact page.
But most all, I hope that you’re finding success during these tough economic times. It’s hard for shop owners right now, but it’s still possible to survive and grow! (Wondering how? Hit me with those questions, comments and emails, too!)