There are ups and downs in any sort of business, follow these five marketing strategies to keep a steady flow of business. I have been in the auto body repair business for over 16 years, and have done countless studies on the marketing of this type of business. I have formulated five steps plan that costs less than $100 a year to run.
Step one, build a website. Have a functioning website. I hope that a majority of shop owners have completed this step years ago. But if not, do not worry, technology costs have dropped. You can use a simple premade template site, add photos, contact information, and have it up and running in less than a few hours. You can buy a domain (example.com) from numerous providers. I would recommend GoDaddy.com; they offer great customer service and numerous website templates. You can buy a domain for as little as $7.00. Please, refrain from any domain not a dot com; avoid .net, .us, etc. These tried hard to work, but dot com is the easiest and most recognized. You can host a simple site for as little as $4.00 a month. Studies show that consumers are not using the phone book anymore that is history. People go onto the internet and type in a search engine what they are looking for. An example is as follows, I need some auto body repair work done, I am new to this area, go to www.google.com and type "auto body repair"; it would pop up numerous ads in the surrounding area. If your ad is not there, you are not going to get that call. So step one, get a good looking website.
Step two, list with major search engines. Now that you have your auto body repair site up and running, list it with some major search engines. This is free, takes less than a minute, and will get you great results. I would list with Google, Yahoo, MSN; these are probably all you need. Just type in the search box, list url on Google, Yahoo, and MSN. That should bring up the submission pages. Submit your site and wait. It can take up to three months for your site to be indexed. No need to be disappointed, it all takes time.
Step three, list with directories or classifieds. Every heard of CraigsList.com ? This is one of the highest traffic sites on the internet. Will work wonders for your shop, and is free. Takes less than three minutes to post an add. You obviously would post your shop information under, services - automotive. Cragislist is meant for local areas, so best to only list in your areas, if you attempt to list all over the country, your account will be deleted. Another great local site is www.LaborTrader.com This site has numerous areas for your listings, listings are by county. You could list all of your services, auto glass, body repair, towing, mechanical, etc. Labortrader.com also has a great contract system, you are able to get all your work in writing, and a rating system, LaborTrader.com also is completely free. Make sure when you list on these sites to also list your website, it will be linked to your listing page. This will direct interested customers to your site if they desire more information.
Step four, get connected via message boards. There are message boards and forums for pretty much every industry. CrashChat.com was just started and is strictly for the networking and discussion of the auto body repair industry. Get talking and connect with others in the auto body repair field. Keep in mind; we are all in this together. Let's help each other out. Spread our knowledge. There will also be a directory soon, to where you will be able to list your body shop, towing facility, etc. When using forums and message boards, make sure to list your website address. Let your address get spread around, get people interested.
Step five, start an email campaign. This is not nearly as hard as it sounds. What you need to do is start collecting customer's emails. If the customer or user gives you permission, that is called "opt in" and you will be able to send them information pertaining to your business. You could collect emails from customers visiting your shop, or put a sign up list on your website. Again, as long as the email addresses you are sending information to are "opt in" this is not considered spam, and you have a great marketing tool. I would not bombard customers with random information, but send them a monthly email with all your specials, changes, updates, etc. A great email marketing campaign is offered through GoDaddy. Again, Godaddy is easy to use and there customer service is stellar.
Please follow these five steps, see if it can help your auto body repair business advertising campaign. Consistent marketing is needed to stay afloat in any business. Rome was not built in one day, give a try and do not give up.
Please also share your stories and anything to do with the auto body repair industry at http://www.CrashChat.com
CrashChat - Networking and discussion for the auto body repair industry. Body shops, technicians, appraisers, estimators, adjusters, and anyone involved in the industry is welcome.
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