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I'm a little unsure if this is normal business growth rate, especially given the niche market I am in and also being such a new business. I opened the shop doors to a Lexus and Toyota Specialty shop July 8th, 2013. I came armed with a list 3,752 names and addresses of Lexus and Toyota owners in the county my shop is located in. 1537 of those names belonging to Lexus owners (2010-2000 Year Model) and the remaining 2215 names being Toyota owners (2010-2008 Year Model). I also had an outrageous expectation of customer turn out from the mail outs. Here is the date ranges of mailouts I sent when I opened.

 

7/08/13 - Sent out the first 20!!!! Lexus mail outs (I know, go ahead and laugh, boy was I foolilsh!!!)

7/15/13 - Sent out the next 100 Lexus mailouts

7/22/13 - Sent out the next 100 Lexus mailouts

7/23/13 - 100 Lexus mail outs

7/24/13 - 100 Lexus mail outs
7/25/13 - 100 Lexus mail outs

7/26/13 - 100 Lexus mail outs

7/29/13 - 100 Lexus mail outs

7/30/13 - 200 Lexus mail outs

7/31/13 - 400 Lexus mail outs

8/1/13 - the last 237 mail outs

 

So far I have had 7 ROs, and the phone rings about once a day, with the exception of today (no calls or drive ups).

 

Today, 1000 of the Toyota mail outs should be going out. I'm just kind of curious as to what other's opinion might be on my business model. Obviously I expected a lot bigger response then I am getting (see where I only mailed out 20 :wacko: ) . Should I carry on as expected? Should I be worried at this point? I can purchase another list of Toyota owners, working my way down to 2000 YM.

 

I know I have heard people say that their father started their shop, and it took 18 years to get where they are today... But then I hear others talk about hitting close to $750k in sales by their second year... Any advice, suggestions, pep talk, tough love, whatever is greatly appreciated...

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If you haven't already done it make sure you have your google place page setup with all your information and pictures if possible. Also go through and make sure you also are listed on as many local search engines as possible. It will take time to start getting the phone to ring. I actually had already started a customer base out of my own personal garage before I "officially" started on my own. I get a lot of business from internet searches. Get your facebook page setup if you haven't already and do some advertizing there as well. You can target an area well that way.

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a. Welcome to the wonderful world of business management!

b. Sorry to hear this results from the direct mail.

You have about .5% closing rate on your mailings. The average response to a direct mail campaign should be around 3.4%

1. I think you are almost better off targeting the same names and addresses 3-4 times in the row rather than trying to blanket all the names on the list. In advertisement consistency is more important than almost anything else.

2. You must have a good online presence and reference it in your mailing to increase the "call rate"

c. Handwriting the name and address (can be done by hired school kid) increases the "open rate" about 75% from my experience.

 

Send me a PM with your email or paste your flyer in the PM, maybe I can give you some critique of the content.

Wish you luck!

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Thanks everyone for the replies! I really do appreciate everyone's input

 

CARMandP - I did list my business on google maps, but recently found out that IPhones do not use google maps...so I am in the process of adding myself to the Iphone map now. Also, I do have a facebook page, but I just kinda threw it together late one night. You're right, it wouldn't hurt to go back and touch it up during my down time and add some new pictures. I'll also look into advertising on there as well. Thanks

 

nmikmik - How do you figure the closing rate percentage? Specifically, how long from the time that you mail them out do you allow before calculating the percentage? I hadn't really thought about it, but since you mentioned it, I think your are 100% right in targeting the same names and addresses 3-4 times instead of moving on to a new list. When you mention 'good online presence' are you referring just to a professional looking website? Also, you can see on my mail outs that the name and addresses come pre-printed. However, my follow up 'thank you' letters are hand signed and the envelopes are hand addressed. Great suggestion though, some people have never heard that hand written (even if your hand writing isn't all the great looking) letters/thank you cards are great for the customer experience.

 

xrac - thanks for the advice. Here are the mail outs

 

Mail outs measure 8.5" X 5.5" and are card stock (thick card, not just flimsy paper)

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xrac, thanks for the advice and I definitely do not take it as critical. I think you are completely right. Very few people know what ASE certs are and most just want their cars fixed right and fixed fast. Also, I love the map idea also and using well known reference points to describe your location. Great advice, no feelings hurt, and I think I will probably apply your advice to my next set of mailers. Thank you very much

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Xrac, thanks for the examples!!! I've started working craigslist, leaving stacks of business cards at the auto parts stores, and have touched base with a large used car lot that carries a lot of Toyota and Lexus vehicles. They said they would send their customers to me and also contact me on auction days for possible cars to inspect/repair that they get from the auction... I guess maybe I needed a little kick in the butt to get me out and pushing my business a little. I just assumed the mailer I designed was 'good enough' and that customers would just show up. I've also started updating my Facebook page and adding some pictures and will start on my G+ page tomorrow. Might even advertise on Facebook for a week to see how it goes since it will be local and not that expensive.

 

However, I am definitely going with a different mail out design next time. Also, when I order the new mail outs, I'll probably order some fliers to stuff under windshield wipers and stuff in windows. And a customer referral program sounds like a good idea too.

 

Thanks again guys, and I'll keep everyone updated on progress.

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If you're sending out postcard, you've got to have 3 things MINIMUM.

 

You MUST include:

1) A Headline with a benefit

2) A good offer - the better the offer - the better the response

3) A reason to respond NOW - not tomorrow - not next week - NOW!

 

I didn't see a sample of your card. If you want some free help - pm me and I will be glad to look at your card and give you some pointers. It may be a lot cheaper to change the card now as opposed to spending money on postage that's going down the drain.

 

The other thing that you may not be thinking of is this. Don't worry about the response. You don't bank response. You bank ROI. So what did it cost you - what is the total RO's you wrote? That's how you tell if it's working.

 

Hope this helps!

Matthew Lee

Author - Auto Service Marketing Specialist

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  • Have you checked out Joe's Latest Blog?

         0 comments
      Auto shop owners are always looking for ways to improve production levels. They focus their attention on their technicians and require certain expectations of performance in billable labor hours. While technicians must know what is expected of them, they have a limited amount of control over production levels. When all factors are considered, the only thing a well-trained technician has control over is his or her actual efficiency.
      As a review, technician efficiency is the amount of labor time it takes a technician to complete a job compared to the labor time being billed to the customer. Productivity is the time the technician is billing labor hours compared to the time the technician is physically at the shop. The reality is that a technician can be very efficient, but not productive if the technician has a lot of downtime waiting for parts, waiting too long between jobs, or poor workflow systems.
      But let’s go deeper into what affects production in the typical auto repair shop. As a business coach, one of the biggest reasons for low shop production is not charging the correct labor time. Labor for extensive jobs is often not being billed accurately. Rust, seized bolts, and wrong published labor times are just a few reasons for lost labor dollars.
      Another common problem is not understanding how to bill for jobs that require extensive diagnostic testing, and complicated procedures to arrive at the root cause for an onboard computer problem, electrical issue, or drivability issue. These jobs usually take time to analyze, using sophisticated tools, and by the shop’s top technician. Typically, these jobs are billed at a standard menu labor charge, instead of at a higher labor rate. This results in less billed labor hours than the actual labor time spent. The amount of lost labor hours here can cripple a shop’s overall profit.
      Many shop owners do a great job at calculating their labor rate but may not understand what their true effective labor is, which is their labor sales divided by the total labor hours sold. In many cases, I have seen a shop that has a shop labor rate of over $150.00 per hour, but the actual effective labor rate is around $100. Not good.
      Lastly, technician production can suffer when the service advisors are too busy or not motivated to build relationships with customers, which results in a low sales closing ratio. And let’s not forget that to be productive, a shop needs to have the right systems, the right tools and equipment, an extensive information system, and of course, great leadership.
      The bottom line is this; many factors need to be considered when looking to increase production levels. While it does start with the technician, it doesn’t end there. Consider all the factors above when looking for ways to improve your shop’s labor production.
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