The second annual Mega Marketing Symposium provided automotive repair facility owners and managers with the latest marketing trends, best practices and real-world strategies to reach today's technology-driven customers. The symposium was hosted by Educational Seminars Institute (ESi) and took place May 4-5, in Buena Park, Calif.
Attendees learned how to effectively use e-mail and mobile marketing, local search marketing and network marketing, as well as how to create a searchable website. Sessions also covered search engine optimization, the "must have" marketing tools, building brand loyalty and creating valuable conversations with customers. An additional session showed attendees how to correctly use direct mail as a tool to eliminate the peaks and valleys in an auto repair facility.
"The symposium was a great mix of presentations. You [ESi] hit the mark with this event," said attendee Bryan Kelly, owner, Valley Auto Electric and Repair, Maple Valley, Wash.
The following sessions were offered at this year's marketing symposium: "Reinventing Word-of-Mouth with Social Media," "Google: Driving Your Business or Driving You Crazy™," "Marketing: What's Your Plan?" "Loyalty: It's About the Relationship," "Customers Showed Up, Now What?" and "The Magic of Mail."
Presenters included: Roger Bland, managing editor, GEARS magazine; ESi Automotive Coach Bill Haas, owner, Haas Performance Consulting LLC; Maylan Newton, CEO and senior instructor, ESi; Tim Ross, president, Mudlick Mail; Danny Sanchez, CEO, Autoshop Solutions Inc.; and David Tulkin, national sales manager, Demandforce.
"All of the presenters structured their presentations in a way that I have never experienced in my 23 years of attending conventions and seminars," said Lisa Timmons, owner, Timmons Auto and Truck Repair, Pleasant Hill, Calif. "The norm is that there's some education, but then a large push to 'buy our product' or 'sign-up today' to get the rest of what you need. This was totally the opposite. Instead, we received lots of how-to information that we could take home and put into place in our businesses to make improvements. There were no sales pitches."
The 2014 Mega Marketing Symposium will take place April 26-27 in northern California. For additional information, visit the symposium website www.fillthebays.com.
ESi was founded in 1984 and offers "Independent Solutions for Individual Needs" through its Professional Business Development training series, an In-Shop Training Support Program, a Phone Coaching Program, the Service Writer's School of America, the Mega Marketing Symposium and Customer Service Group Web Meetings. All ESi programs are taught by automotive professionals with at least 20 years of experience in the automotive industry. For information, visit www.esiseminars.com, email: [email protected], or call toll-free (888) 338-7296. For press information, visit www.esiseminars.com/press.php.
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