Get involved with your community to invest in your current, future customers

June 5, 2019
What we have to remember in the automotive repair industry is that trust and loyalty have to be on a higher level than other industries.

It is mind-blowing to think you can post a video online, and within minutes you can have thousands of views from all around the world. With social media growing more and more every second, anything can go viral. There are many great things I can do with my cell phone to keep our customer up to date with what is going on in our repair shop. We are addicted to social media, and we pick up our phones over 50 times a day to check in with the world. If you are not using social media to grow your customer base, you should. You can use many different platforms to build customer trust form free vehicle inspection in your community to a call-in radio show or Facebook Live. It is also just as important to communicate with our customers face to face.

Getting your shop involved in your local community is a great way to build trust in your current and future customers. For example, I perform free car inspections for our local YMCA during their Heath and Wellness Festival. I found this was a great opportunity to meet future customers and introduce them to our shop. This off-site inspection creates a no-pressure environment where potential customer can get to know about our shop and also have their car inspected in the process. When performing these inspections, I get a lot question pertaining to their vehicle. I  make sure to take extra time when answering these questions, and show them examples on their car so they can understand. In an off-site environment I have the time to answer the customer questions and show them examples on their vehicle. A customer is more likely to approve repairs once they fully understand the need for the repair. This can be done through pictures, video, or actually showing them on their vehicle. This will also help the service writers sell the repairs with little resistance or doubt. During the inspection I talk to the customers as I would in a job interview. In reality you are being interviewed for future business. There are many repair shops in our town, and I use this opportunity to introduce them to our shop.

Performing free vehicle inspections at public events and festivals is a great way to connect with potential customers in your community.

I also volunteer my time at our high school vocational school. During car care month the vocational school provides auto inspection at no charge to the community. The students perform the inspections, and I make sure the students are being safe. I am also there to answer any questions the students or customers have. The students really look up and respect the time I volunteer to the school. I was once a student at the school and know how important the program is to the growth of the automotive industry. In order to protect and prolong our industry, it is important to help educate the future technicians. In three years these students will be graduating, and we want our shop to be the first shop they apply to.

During these free car inspections I don't check every single part or fluid on the car. I just do a basic under the hood inspection of the fluids and filters. In addition, I like to check the cranking battery voltage, tire pressure, and tire wear. The local YMCA is just over one mile from our shop, so I use this opportunity to invite customer to stop by our shop to visit after the inspection is completed. If your shop wants to start a free vehicle inspection day it does not take much — just a few hand tools and a location. I like to bring some screw drivers, voltmeter, tire gauge, and a tire depth gauge. If it is going to be sunny day or chance of rain it is nice to have a pop up tent. I can perform these inspections by myself, but it is a lot faster to have a helper. When finding a location I would recommend finding a location in your community that is close to your business. You want the people that are going to stop by to be in your target customers. The first year doing inspections at the YMCA with no advertising I only had six cars in three hours. The up side was four out of the six are now returning customers. This year with advertising and promotions our goal is to have around 50 vehicles.

I also teach a women's automotive class. I talk about the basics when it comes to car repair and maintenance. The one topic everyone enjoys is what to do when you are having a car problem. For example, battery light comes on or smoke from under the hood. I like these classes because it is a small group, and no one feels pressured or embarrassed to ask any question. Most customers are afraid to ask questions at the shop because they feel the answer might cost them more money. I also talk about how they can maintain their cars so they will last years longer. I will go into detail on how to change a flat tire, change your own oil, and what to do if your vehicle breaks down while traveling. It is always a fun time, and we all walk out of the class with a better understanding of our vehicle.

In 1998 our shop started a call-in radio show called Under The Hood on Saturday afternoons. In the two-hour programing I would answer car questions live. I would also have a topic to talk about if we didn't have a lot of calls. As our families and the shop have grown after eight years, I had to stop the radio show. Last year we brought back Under The Hood using Facebook Live. With Facebook Live we are able to answer our viewers question and give them real-world visual examples.

Utilize digital platforms, such as Facebook Live, to keep customers in the loop.

If your shop is wanting to start a Facebook Live, I would recommend a weekly show. When starting a live event it is not how many people watch it live, but the total views that week. I had a week when only two people watched the show live but had over 600 views of the video at the end of the week. You don't need any video editing skills or acting classes; you just need your smartphone. I find a topic to talk about for that week, and then at the end of the live cast answer any commented questions. I like to keep the videos around 15-20 minutes long. If you would like to up your video quality you can pick up a phone stand, camera light, and microphone for all under $50 online. What we have experienced is that Facebook shares are just as effective as customer's word of mouth referral.

If you are nervous about posting live online don't worry. It is just like talking to a customer over the phone. I like to have an outline of that day’s topic just in case I lose my train of thought. Make sure when filming to always look at the camera, and not the screen.  I will try to post one video or picture a week on our Facebook page. I will post anything from failing water pumps to major engine repair. Some of most popular videos are the funny ones. For example, if you find a dead animal in the blower motor, or a gas tank held on by a ratchet strap. I always try to use our social media post to show examples of real-world problems. Most customers don't know how a shop is run or what we see in a week.

In today’s world you are most likely to get a text response back from a customer rather than a phone call. What we have to remember in the automotive repair industry is that trust and loyalty have to be on a higher level than other industries. Technology is changing the way we run, manage, and market our shop. We can't only focus on the new trends and forget about the personal connection face-to-face with our customers.

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