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Marketing plan and roi


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Hi,

I own 2 shops in a rural community in AZ. Up until now I have not had a formal marketing plan. A Year round plan that that builds up to our slow times and is relevant to the seasons. Does anyone know of any good resources for drafting yearly marketing plans and also from a process and procedures stand point how to track roi. I am not in the shop daily so it seems next to impossible to get a good grasp on our Roi on marketing campaigns. HOW many customers are coming in because of this facebook ad, mailer ect...

 

Thanks so much!

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Hi Brittney! Good questions you pose here! I want to make a couple of suggestions... and they are in NO WAY attempting to criticize you, okay?

I think the first thing most shop owners miss is the very basic process of getting COMPLETE CONTACT INFORMATION. That list becomes your "List" - and the money is always in the list. Besides, you can't get a tire repaired at a big-box auto repair shop without giving them everything. You've got to do the same thing - if not, it's a "deal breaker"

From there, you've got to thing in terms of "direct response" marketing. That means that no matter what you "put out there", it's designed with a call to action (CTA) to get this - do that -or whatever. Also know that your CTA may not always be a sale. It may be to get a customer to sign up to a list (so you create a funnel) Now that's a little beyond the scope of this response - and I could write for days on that topic alone. But you've got to get your business on doing JUST DIRECT RESPONSE marketing. 

When it comes to Facebook, Google Adwords and all that - I've found that most shop owners get frustrated quickly. As an example, it could take hours - any usually days or weeks - to get everything set up for stuff like that. Then when they don't make a sale or get a new customer in the first day - they give up. But with that said - they won't make videos, create simple reports, coupons, or even a sign up form on their website (if they've got a website at all!) Yeah, can you believe that - shop owner's don't need a website (or think that anyways) but the first place they turn to when THEY are looking for something is... you guessed it... they turn to the internet. Go figure!

I've posted a couple of links below that you may want to check out for some help. If you have a specific problem or question, you're welcome to post it here - PM my on this form - or email me direct or call me. 

I also noticed you mentioned "slow times". I find that a little funny. So I am thinking that if your shop is slow - the streets were rolled up and nobody is driving, right? Okay, I am poking fun here... and please excuse me... but really. Customers are still driving cars... they still need service... but you're not getting the jobs.

You also asked about ROI. When you do direct response, you can easily track ROI. So let's say you create an offer or coupon this month - and it expires in one month. At the end, you create a real simple spreadsheet that shows ONE LINE per response. Therefore, you have an RO#, amount, and any other details (customer name, etc.)

Total that up - and compare that to your TOTAL COST - and that's your ROI. 

In addition to that, do you have a customer referral program?? I don't mean a "lame offer" like "get 10% off your next visit when you send your friends" - because that doesn't work. You need a complete program that turns all your customers in to a little "sales force" that sends you customers. Easy to do - but you've got to put it in place. 

Then there's direct mail... NO, direct mail isn't dead. Well, if you send out 5,000 postcards with a FREE OIL CHANGE OFFER, it may "kill" your business - but that's not using direct mail the right way. The only people making money are those selling you the postcards. 

Look, this is getting a little long - so if you've got questions, let me know. 

 

Hope this helps!

Matthew Lee
"The Car Count Fixer"

Get "The Official Guide to Auto Service Marketing"

The Shop Owner's Unfair Advantage FREE Access

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  • Have you checked out Joe's Latest Blog?

         5 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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