Building a community of customers
People who own a business in a small town often find that their company’s identity becomes inseparable from their own identity. In Godfrey, Ill., for example, many townspeople can’t think of Freer Auto Body without thinking of the Freer family—and that’s been a good thing for the business.
Freer Auto Body President David Freer started the company in 1991 when he was just 19, with his parents as financial backers. He was the third generation of Freer technicians in Godfrey, a town of 5,400 about 30 miles from St. Louis. David’s grandfather had owned and operated a shop in the 1970s, but closed it following a heart attack. David’s father, Mike, has worked at Freer Auto Body since he retired several years ago from his job as a technician with another local business. David’s brother, Tim, also joined the business, becoming a co-owner with his brother. As vice-president, Tim writes estimates while David manages the technicians. Their mother, Margaret Freer, also works in the business, handling advertising and making decisions about which of many local charities the company will support.
Close ties with the community helped Freer Auto Body establish itself. Several family members had done a lot of volunteer work—and those ties, along with a promise to donate $25 to a local food center for every repair, helped entice people to bring their business to the new company. “People in the community gave us their support. Word spread about what good work we did, and since then we have thrived,” says Margaret Freer. Although community ties continue to help attract business, the company now has a strong track record, too. For the last five years, it has been voted the best auto shop in the River Bend area of southwestern Illinois by readers of The Alton Telegraph, a local paper.
Freer Auto Body has continued to support the community in numerous ways. Each year, the company donates $1,500 toward food and toys to a local charity at Christmas. It hosts a fundraiser each year for the local business council and sponsors numerous local sports teams. It also supports the local Lions Club, the parks and recreation department and other community organizations. “We get requests on a daily basis,” says Margaret, who also serves on the board of several community groups. Although the company doesn’t support organizations that she considers inappropriate, Freer says she likes giving back to the community. “We have a roof over our head and food on the table, and we want to share in our wealth.”
The Freer family shows its appreciation for its customers in others ways, too. When a repair is completed, a rose and a thank you note are left in the vehicle—and each year the company invites customers to an open house where bratwurst and homemade pasta are served. “We like to express our gratitude not only to the community but to our customers,” says Freer, adding that about 400 people usually attend the event.
Freer spends about $20,000 a year on advertising, but that, too, is primarily community oriented. At Christmas, the company might take out an ad to express its appreciation to the community—or when the company sponsors a Parks and Recreation coloring contest, it might run an ad primarily to promote the contest, with the Freer Auto Body name secondary.
Freer Auto Body has expanded four times throughout the years. Originally measuring just
1,500 sq. ft., the shop now measures 12,000 sq. ft. The company plans to add 7,500 more square feet soon, featuring a new painting facility with two additional paint booths. The Freers also are looking even further out. “We’ll add a new metal shop within five years,” says Tim Freer. He expects the new metal shop to have three frame racks, a new cut-in booth and two new lifts.
Each expansion the Freer family has made has been self-funded. As business has grown, the company has reinvested a portion of its profits in capital improvements. The company’s strong performance is particularly impressive considering that Godfrey is an area of little or no population growth.
SNAPSHOP
Name: Freer Auto Body
Location: Godfrey, Ill.
Size: 12,000 sq. ft.
Volume: 30 repairs per week
Revenue: More than $2 million annually
