Blog

How to use social media to promote your auto shop: a refresher course

By now you know that using social media for business purposes isn’t all fun and games. It takes a little bit of effort to convert your social media presence into sales at your auto shop, but don’t worry: you are not alone. Social selling is as common a challenge in the auto repair industry as... Read More

Borrow ideas from other industries to help your auto repair shop

It the auto shop business, it’s not always easy to come up with a different kind of marketing idea that will bring new customers into your business and keep others loyal. Fortunately, the auto repair business isn’t the only type out there, and you can draw your inspiration from other businesses and types of businesses.... Read More

Mistakes to avoid with your auto shop’s website

Your website is the online anchor of your business and it may be the first thing your customers or potential customers see. With all the free tools out there, it’s relatively easy to design your own, but it’s also relatively easy to make some mistakes along the way. Here are a few common errors to... Read More

How to give your auto shop’s email a fighting chance

Your email list is one of your most important marketing tools, but having a large list doesn’t guarantee success. From the moment you request a customer’s email to the moment you sent out your first—and second, and third—email of the month, there are plenty of pratfalls that can trip you up. Here’s how you can... Read More

How to increase customer loyalty for your auto repair shop

As an auto shop owner, you have to split your time between operating and maintaining your shop, attracting new customers and taking care of the ones you already have. Of the three, ensuring customer loyalty is probably the most important—keeping a satisfied customer loyal is cheaper, in the long run, than attracting new ones and... Read More

What to include in your auto shop blog

Maintaining a blog is one of the best things you can do for your business. Blogs are easy to create and maintain and relatively inexpensive—with sites like WordPress or Blogger, you can get started for free—and they will help you reach new customers through improved search engine rankings and general word of mouth. The concept... Read More

Mobility matters: impress your customers no matter where they are

Many companies optimize their web pages for computer users, but it’s important to remember that that’s not the only way people surf the web these days. In fact, according to Kissmetrics, most people are more likely to surf the web through a mobile device–either a smart phone or tablet–than at their own PC or laptop. Consider this:... Read More

How auto shops use Twitter (and how you can do it better)

There are several ways you can use Twitter to attract and keep customers, improve your bottom line and make your other social media feeds and advertising dollars work more efficiently for you. You certainly don’t want to use Twitter as a base for your social media advertising or presence—you need your own website, Facebook page,... Read More

Six customer retention strategies

Ben Franklin once said: A penny saved is a penny earned. The same applies to customer: keeping them is just like earning them. You know how important customer retention is, but here are a few things to consider: According to the Harvard Business School, increasing customer retention rates by five percent increases profits by 25... Read More

How to build relationships and retain customers

Attracting customers is only half the battle. Once you win them over, you have to keep them and that isn’t easy. With a little perseverance and some proactive thinking, you can keep your customers by reminding them what brought them through your doors to begin with—superior customer service. Before we get to some tips about... Read More

Marketing ideas for auto shops: earn their trust to earn their business

Auto repair shops are unique in the business world because, more often than not, in order to earn new business they have to do something their retail counter parts don’t have to do: earn the trust of prospective clients. It’s not as simple as opening your doors, throwing up a sign and announcing your hours... Read More

Why is text marketing so important?

Short message service (SMS) or text message marketing has advantages over other types of direct marketing. It’s fast, it’s cheap and it’s effective. It also encourages interaction between your brand and your consumers and, for that reason alone, it’s increasing in popularity. There are about 4.55 billion people worldwide that regularly use mobile phones, and... Read More

Where should you put your online advertising dollars?

One of the most important decisions you’ll make as a business owner is where to put your advertising dollars. It’s often the most frustrating, too, because it can be difficult to track the return on your investment (ROI) and, with all the various forms of marketing out there and the number of places available out... Read More

Quick tips to grow your customer email list

Business is competitive today. In order to reach potential customers and build a relationship, you’ll have to meet them where they’re at. More often than not, that’s the internet. More than 82 percent of consumers surf the Internet looking for goods and services and a few quick tips will help you get their attention, no... Read More

There is a time for every social media platform under the sun

One of Pete Seeger’s most recognizable songs reminds us that there is a proper time for everything. He put it this way: To Everything (Turn, Turn, Turn) There is a season (Turn, Turn, Turn) And a time to every purpose, under Heaven You probably know the rest or, at the very least, can hum along... Read More

Ten rules for email marketing campaigns

Email marketing remains one of the best ways to get your message across to your customers. Your email messages are one thing you still have complete control over—not only the content, but who gets to see them. You don’t have to worry about some new twitch in the Facebook algorithm or getting lost in a... Read More

Five types of social media posts that will boost engagement

With ongoing changes to the Facebook algorithm resulting in fewer and fewer of your friends and fans seeing your content, it’s more important than ever to increase your own organic reach Paying to boost ads is the way the market is going, but you don’t need to do that every day—or even every week. There... Read More

How to stay current with Search Engine Optimization changes

The internet isn’t getting any smaller or less crowded, and it’s easy to get lost in the crowd of web surfers and business sites. Whether you choose to advertise on social media sites like Twitter, Facebook and some of the newer ones—and you will probably need to, eventually—you still want people who have no interest... Read More

How to handle negative reviews

Try as you might, you just can’t please all of the people all of the time. No matter what type of business you own or operate or what service you provide, chances are you’ll rub someone the wrong way or fail to meet his or her expectations and have a dissatisfied customer to deal with.... Read More

Have your employees help grow your email database

There are more than four billion email addresses world wide, and chances are your customers own some of them. That’s just one reason to build and maintain a quality email marketing list. Remember, it is also the most effective form of marketing and, at a time with unpredictable Facebook algorithm changes and tweaks to the... Read More