jrendem

How many of those leads turn into customers for you?

Sorry, I really don't have an answer here but I have been researching lead generation for shop owners and discussing in the the thread next to this one.

I am baffled at these responses . . . I can only assume that these shops bashing the idea of a lead are at 95% capacity each and every day. That is the only logical reason you would not be willing to pay to acquire a customer. EVERY business model has a customer acquisition/ retention cost to grow or maintain the business.

 

The internet is here to stay and as younger generations who prefer to do things online age, the need to be online becomes more and more relevant to the success of a business. Shop owners have one of three choices.

1. Build their own online platform to engage customers online and on their mobile devices
2. Join an online platform (openbay, repairpal, automd)
3. Close up shop

How is the music CD market doing these days? Adapt or die.

 

Jrendem - You have a great value proposition. But the challenge will be finding shop owners that have a good business sense to understand that.

 

My sense is that as more and more online platforms become available this will bring healthy competition and customer awareness to the market that will start flushing out crappy shops that don't know how to run a good business. BTW it is these crappy shops that are driving the our prices down and giving the industry a bad rap.

 

As far as the customers coming to you and telling you what is wrong issue. Well if you as a professional mechanic can not effectively explain to the customer standing in your shop that the $8/ hr AutoZone CASHIER did not know what they were talking about . . . Then that probably means you suck as well. There will continue to be a growth in platforms sending work to our shops. It is on our shoulders as shop owners to uphold the value proposition ($$$$$) to our customers.

Thanks for the great response. I agree with what you are saying here.

It is possible that at least 1 shop per area would be interested in growing their business through purchasing leads so it could be a successful venture for myself and these savvy business owners that want to grow their business without dumping a ton of cash into failed marketing programs. Finding these few shops per area might be a bit more difficult than first considered though due to many refusing to consider or already being at max capacity.

What market are you trying to get? The majority of people dont care how a car works, they just dont want to pay allot to fix it and i cant imagine there would be such a giant list of people wanting to learn how there car works. Targeted adds on facebook and google would seem to be a better market, cause so many are already on the website.

The users on the site are consumers that need an auto repair, now. The target market to sell leads to is shop owners.

How much are you paying per click on facebook and google? And what is your conversion rates on those clicks? If it costs you $50 to get one person to call your shop asking about a problem that they aren't sure of, wouldn't you prefer to buy the same thing for $10 guaranteed when you need some work? (and you will already know what they think is wrong with their car)

Thats all Im asking for thanks :-) but I'm not sure consumers trying to learn more about a repair and the costs associated with it prior to making a purchase should be categorized as not having money. I would say they are more of an educated consumer trying not to get ripped off.

Maybe they are new car owners and don't have a go to shop yet, and you could get a lifelong customer for $5 because you called them and helped them with this service.

I'm also thinking that many have paid much more for way less in regards to marketing. Maybe I'm wrong though.

Appreciate the responses Imcca. I would not charge a monthly fee or take a cut. This would simply be flat fee for the lead. The manager would be able to see the users locations, vehicle, service requested and any notes, and be able to purchase their contact information. Upon purchase the lead is removed from the marketplace and the lead is emailed the shops information, and the shop is provided with the users information to schedule an appointment. I believe they will convert very well since these users are requesting to be contacted to schedule an appointment on the website.

Might I ask what a lead would be worth to you? I would need to discuss this with a few shop owners to get a better idea of what a reasonable fee would be.

Sorry I should have been more specific. My website can collect leads from consumers that are looking for a specific repair such as an alignment, and I am looking to sell these leads to repair shops across the US. I was considering creating a marketplace where local shop owners can get notified when new leads are available in their area and purchase them one at a time whenever they would like (no idea what pricing would be, but it would be X$ per lead) The information provided would be their contact info, vehicle and service requested. I'm not sure if this would be something of interest to shop managers, but I thought it could help keep the schedule full.

The purchasing of leads seems to be fairly common in many industries, but I haven't seen anything for auto repair.

If there was someone in your area looking for a specific service, would you pay for a lead like this?

I own a website where I provide information related to searches by people that are trying to learn more about a specific automotive service including what they need to know about it, what questions to ask, what costs they can expect, etc. I am considering capturing leads from this site which would be consumers ready to have a specific service done so I think they would have a great conversion rate.

Is this something that repair shops would be interested in? Or is there any place that currently provides leads like these? Let me know your thoughts. Thanks