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I'm also interested in this and had a live demo. I'm not really interested in the email advertising (see Gmail and their new filter system) or their mail outs (Hand addressed envelopes seem to work better and are comparative in cost). But I do like the way they break down your customer database into categories with details, maintain your social media accounts, and actively pursue positive online reviews. They also let you see how you compare to other local shops in advertising and other numbers.

 

Joe, I can tell you this. I have spoke with a customer who used to go to another shop and I asked for her opinion on mail outs (thank you notes and reminder cards). She said she had gotten a reminder card from the other local shop and said it looked cheesy/mass production/not personal at all. She said my hand addressed thank you letter and reminder letters that I personally sign looked way better and came off a lot more personal (she kept it and showed it to her friends). I'm 99% sure the other shop was using customerlink.

Edited by mmotley
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Hi Joe,

I have been with DemandForce, MechanicNet, and now CustomerLink. I also considered the new Alldata offering.

 

All are fairly similar, what I liked about CustomerLink is the fact that they only deal with Auto Repair. MechanicNet...when I needed things changed, it was impossible to get anything done. Everything was very quick to sign me up, but afterwards it was lagging. DemandForce was working fairly well, although CustomerLink was a little cheaper, and I really liked what they did with the mailers. I am not sure if our customers were ready with text messages, but I had a huge fallout with text messages through DemandForce and perhaps that's what made me change.

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I am not sure if our customers were ready with text messages, but I had a huge fallout with text messages through DemandForce and perhaps that's what made me change.

 

Was CustomerLink recommending sending a text message ad to all your customers? If so, I can see this having a negative impression. Curious if they have success with this anywhere.

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Wow I had a demo with CustomerLink too. Haven't had any issues with DemandForce but CustomerLink had a great setup as well. Cheaper and no contract.....

 

P.S. I have customers who love the text messages and some who could care less. All they need to do is opt out at the first text and they will never receive one again.

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CustomerLink doesn't have the text message option. DemandForce does, I had it setup that I sent a preliminary text to acquire approval. I wouldn't ask for permission, sometimes I'd forget...I had one guy in particular throw a 3 minute tantrum on the phone about privacy and then ask me which service that is since he's a lawyer and his company could use something like that...great guy. :rolleyes:

 

 

Otherwise, the lack of contract was really easy to switch. If you're ever with DemandForce, prepare to get a call from a professional bully at the end that will try dissuade you by any means necessary to not cancel. I told him that I would consider coming back if CustomerLink wasn't working but by the nature of his phonecall, I won't be back. He didn't care, he lost his commission and was pissed...he also offered a lower monthly price.

Edited by Big_K
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I just did a 4 month deal with Customer Link and used a tracking number to report any calls from the flyers. The only phone calls I received were 2 wrong numbers, one looking for a plumber and the other asking for their "Uncle Steve" and one person asking if we were hiring. I have started simply passing out flyers myself and using the post office and their route delivery option to target people around my shop and received much better results. Not to mention when I asked if I could change anything about the program to get better results all I was offered was a free month of mailers if I didn't receive any calls. However since I received 3 calls (the first of which came before the mailers were even mailed out) this was also not an option. After cancelling service I was also charged a $90 fee the next month and could not be told why. In my opinion their professionalism disappears once you start the service.

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  • 1 month later...

 

Was CustomerLink recommending sending a text message ad to all your customers? If so, I can see this having a negative impression. Curious if they have success with this anywhere.

Law requires that if you are sending something for promotional services, you're required that the customer opts in themselves. So no sending a text message without consent.

 

We're probably going to move away from customer link soon. Their postcards were useless, and their review system stays..on their review system. Its nice to have all the reviews, but they aren't in the most effective place - like they would be on bing and google (I'm looking at going with overdrive strategies maybe, for reputation stuff. they were recommended to me by a friend). But i've moved our email marketing off, over to just mail chimp, I think the demographic photos are a bit cheesy, and I doubt their effectiveness. Looks cool from shop owners perspective, but that may be the extent. Looking into replacing all they do to save $300.

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Could you guys elaborate on the usps services? Thanks.

Basically you take your own flyers, postcards, etc. to the post office and buy a route and every address on that route gets one of your pieces. They have all the info as far as how many houses and businesses are on each route. It is very reasonably priced (I am just north of Atlanta and can buy most routes for under $50) and the main hassle is getting the flyers printed. I do all of my own but you can also farm it out to companies like Vistaprint.

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  • 5 months later...

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  • Have you checked out Joe's Latest Blog?

         2 comments
      I recently spoke with a friend of mine who owns a large general repair shop in the Midwest. His father founded the business in 1975. He was telling me that although he’s busy, he’s also very frustrated. When I probed him more about his frustrations, he said that it’s hard to find qualified technicians. My friend employs four technicians and is looking to hire two more. I then asked him, “How long does a technician last working for you.” He looked puzzled and replied, “I never really thought about that, but I can tell that except for one tech, most technicians don’t last working for me longer than a few years.”
      Judging from personal experience as a shop owner and from what I know about the auto repair industry, I can tell you that other than a few exceptions, the turnover rate for technicians in our industry is too high. This makes me think, do we have a technician shortage or a retention problem? Have we done the best we can over the decades to provide great pay plans, benefits packages, great work environments, and the right culture to ensure that the techs we have stay with us?
      Finding and hiring qualified automotive technicians is not a new phenomenon. This problem has been around for as long as I can remember. While we do need to attract people to our industry and provide the necessary training and mentorship, we also need to focus on retention. Having a revolving door and needing to hire techs every few years or so costs your company money. Big money! And that revolving door may be a sign of an even bigger issue: poor leadership, and poor employee management skills.
      Here’s one more thing to consider, for the most part, technicians don’t leave one job to start a new career, they leave one shop as a technician to become a technician at another shop. The reasons why they leave can be debated, but there is one fact that we cannot deny, people don’t quit the company they work for, they usually leave because of the boss or manager they work for.
      Put yourselves in the shoes of your employees. Do you have a workplace that communicates, “We appreciate you and want you to stay!”
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