While exhibiting at ATRA Powertrain Expo this year, more than one transmission shop customer of ETE REMAN’s asked, “How do I get the customer to choose me?” Or “How do I market my business?” There are common sense rules, most of which haven’t changed in the last decade, and today there are some must-dos to respond to the way customers find the businesses they want to work with.
THE HUNT
When a vehicle owner’s transmission goes out, one of the first things they are going to do, assuming they aren’t already loyal to a specialty shop, is Google something like, “transmission repair near me”. If you don’t appear, your odds of getting that customer today are slim to none. While word of mouth and luck can get you so far, when it comes to your technical expertise, you need your business to show up. The way to do this is to pepper your online representation with keywords that will associate a customer with your business. Make sure in the name, titles, and description of your business on your website, Google, and social media, you are using the keywords “transmission repair”, “automatic transmission”, “transmission expert”, “transmission parts”, and all other key words that are unique to your business and the services you offer customers — especially those that other general repair shops or your competition don’t.
Note: Don’t have a website, Google page, or Facebook page? Get them; that’s step one.
THE EVALUATION
Even if the vehicle owner can find you, before they will choose you, they’re going to do a few things to ensure your shop is fit for the job – and no, this isn’t a deep evaluation of your ASE certifications, it’s a review of your reviews and testimonials. In the e-commerce age, a consumer bases a lot of their decisions on the experience of others. If you have no reviews, solicit them from current and previous customers. If you’re concerned about customers finding you, they are not going to trust a business that has no visible reputation.
If you have bad reviews (they happen), make sure that your shop has a timely response visible along with explanations of how situations were resolved. It’s not always about the number of stars; people actually read reviews and can evaluate the circumstances around a bad review. For example: a complaint about the length of time it took to get a vehicle back on the road with your explanation that the unit wasn’t available from a vendor is a reasonable way to respond to that review. From the vendor perspective, we understand the impact our availability and shipping has on YOUR customer, so helping educate them educates your future customers, too.
Share positive reviews and testimonials on your website and social media. The more you post and share, the more visibility your shop has and the more likely a vehicle owner is to choose you for their major repair.
THE DEEP DIVE:
You need to appear (Google search). You need to appear to your best advantage (reviews and testimonials). And you need to appear active and engaged (social media). Love it, hate it, the ROI on social media is immeasurable. Your customers are already there and they’re ready to talk about you — or your competition.
According to Jason Falls, author of No BS Social Media, there are a lot of things social media can do for your business: enhance brand awareness, protect your reputation, enhance public relations, build your community, extend your customer service, facilitate research and development, and drive sales — to start.
The good news is that you don’t need to be a whiz and social media marketing doesn’t need to take up half your job. Pick the platforms you’re comfortable with, choose those non-controversial niche topics of interest to share (your football team, community events, testimonials of course, and, heck, even food,) and post every once in a while. This keeps your business’s presence fresh and alive and increases your chances of being found and selected by the discerning modern consumer. And, when in doubt? Find a business similar to yours or one you like and copy what they do. Really!
There’s a lot about marketing that’s common sense, but a few strategic decisions with regular web maintenance can be the difference between a sale or not.
Interested in more tips and tricks to market your business and improve relationships with customers? Follow and subscribe to @remanuniversity today!
