First impressions matter

ehicle” is word we use to describe things with wheels that we cycle through the bays to make money. There’s a vehicle, however, that’s just as important to the bottom line, but gets nothing like enough thought from shop owners: marketing. Marketing isn’t an option for most shops. Word of mouth is great, but if you want growth, you can’t get it from your existing customer base. And the inability to effectively market your shop is as big a handicap as low productivity or sloppy bookkeeping.

There are many reasons for this. The main one is a lack of training around this vital function. Business management courses are everywhere, and good or bad, they rarely describe how to properly position your business for growth. Another is the belief that strong marketing is only for the big guys: expensive, complicated and too difficult to get right for independent shops. Wrong, on all counts. Not only is effective marketing possible for smaller independents, it’s necessary to compete with major chains and big box operations. How do you start? Begin inside your shop, by looking at it from your customer’s perspective. Get friends or family to do it if you can’t be impartial. Demand brutal honesty and begin with the basics. Can the customer find you? Can a prospective customer pick out your shop’s signage amongst a forest of other business signs? Is the name memorable? Jim’s Auto is simple, but isn’t Light Speed Auto Service more evocative of your capability?

Consider the approach to your facility. Is there adequate parking? Is the main entrance prominent and easily accessed from the parking area? Everything matters at this level. I’ve seen shops with a side entrance and a door with a return spring so stiff that customers have difficulty opening it — not the way to put them in a positive frame of mind as you hand them that invoice.

Naturally, the waiting area is clean and comfortable, and the service writer is friendly, right? One item missed frequently is the interaction between the service writer and customer. Somebody — writer, owner or tech — should greet a customer as they enter the building, always. If on the phone, pause and tell the customer you’ll be right with them. If the writer has to leave the desk, leave a little card or sign saying “We’ll be right back.”

This is basic stuff, but is too frequently overlooked. A very successful shop owner I’ve spoken with won’t hire anyone with a visible tattoo, because a major part of his customer base are women, who he feels can be intimidated by techs and service writers who look like bikers. It isn’t rocket science that you should make the customer comfortable. The next level is to add features like comfortable seating, coffee, free WiFi and a TV monitor, ideally containing loops of your techs doing great work in between a news/sports channel feed. So far I’ve just commented on the initial customer experience walking into your shop. There’s a lot more to marketing your business, but the bottom line is that profitable shops do it well, and unprofitable shops don’t. And that’s really all you need to know.