Technology has made the world better. Unfortunately, it’s also made certain things more complicated – and one of those things is marketing.
Gone are the days of driving traffic to your store by just putting an ad or insert in the Sunday paper. Now, you have to worry about brand awareness and content marketing.
If those words scare you, don’t fret – there’s good news.
The other side of the coin is technology can make modern marketing relatively simple for automotive repair shops.
Consider these five easy and effective ways to market your automotive repair shop for 2016.
Traditional Marketing Isn’t Dead
Despite the technology boom, people still check their mail, watch cable television, and listen to the radio. Some people still buy a newspaper.
If you’ve had success in past advertising on one or more of these platforms, there’s no need to stop. Few things get a potential customer to your store like a coupon or promotion. And if you’re customers respond to these ads, there is no need to stop.
Technology doesn’t need to replace older methods, but it does allow you to diversify them. So now that we’ve looked at the old, let’s see what’s new.
Invest in 1:1 Relationships
Today’s consumers crave authenticity. Most marketing tries to achieve a one-to-many approach. But automotive dealers can win by focusing on the one-to-one relationships.
Establishing trust with your customer is especially important in the automotive industry because of the complexity of car care. By educating the customer, and thoroughly answering their questions, you pull back the curtain of mystery that shrouds the operation and maintenance of their vehicle.
Now, instead of a mechanic, you’re a trusted advisor. And that trust can be the difference between the customer saying yes or no, between them coming back for their next oil change, or going somewhere else.
10 Foot Wave’s Vehicle on Demand tool helps excel those one-on-one relationships with animated visuals. Instead of just taking you at your word for it, customers can see what you’re talking about and learn about their vehicle.
Word of Mouth
Another tried and true method for marketing your repair shop’s brand is through word of mouth. And in fact, 92% of consumers trust the recommendation from a friend over all other forms of advertising. And if you take the time to build trust with your customers, they’re likely going to recommend you to others.
That’s great, you may think, but isn’t it out of my hands, and up to the people who leave my store? In some ways, yes. But there are still ways to use word of mouth to market your shop.
Online reviews take one person’s word of mouth recommendation about your shop and publish it for everyone on the Internet. Accumulate enough reviews and a strong rating, and you’ve got a powerful trust tool just waiting to be unleashed.
Digital displays in your store can take those reviews from the Internet, and broadcast them at the point of sale. Remember how we spoke about trust a moment ago? Reading a quality five-star review about your shop at the point of purchase will go along way towards reinforcing your credibility and reliability to the customer.
Focus on In-Store Advertising
Most people think the objective of marketing is to drive traffic to your store. And it is… but that’s not all there is to it. Once you get a prospect in the door, what message are they seeing, what is their experience? You only get one chance at a first impression
Digital signage takes the hassle out of in-store marketing. Compared to static signs or posters, digital signage grabs about 4x more attention [1].
With static signage, you have to:
- Remove outdated signs and posters
- Print and purchase new ones
- Place it back on your walls
- Limit your advertising to one message per poster
- Clutter your walls with clutter
With digital signage, just update your content online, and rotate in any messages or promotions you want.
From educational uses like digital menu boards, to entertainment purposes like waiting room television, digital signage informs customers about your business, and helps to promote your products, services, specials, and anything else that’s important to you.
Take a look at how 10 Foot Wave leverages digital signage for your automotive repair shop and drives more revenue:
The truth is, nearly 1 in 5 consumers make an unplanned purchase after seeing a digital video ad [2]. Digital signage allows you to educate, build trust and influence the purchase behavior of the customers in your shop.
Get Going With Social
Social media is one of the easiest way to engage with prospects and your customers. While coupons and promotional posts get noticed, social media is about making your posts enticing to viewers – so enticing that they’re compelled call or visit your shop.
Everything we’ve covered so far – educating, informing, building trust, positive word of mouth – can be accomplished on social media, making it a must for automotive repair shops.
With no budget required, you can drive traffic to your store with promotions, inform customers about their vehicles through text, pictures, and video, or even just share a joke or meme (you know, those photos with witty captions at the top and bottom of the image).
We’ve already talked about how 10 Foot Wave’s content helps build trust by using detailed animations to explain car care. Did you know you can also use that some content, and post it on your social media?
You can start doing just about everything listed above today. Getting started with digital signage is easier and less expensive than you might think. And digital displays come loaded with some pretty cool perks that make educating and entertaining customers seamless.
Interested in what Digital Signage can do for your business? Take the next step by requesting more information today.