Auto repair marketing has changed significantly over the years, and today word of mouth is no longer the only way to grow your business. You need to focus on building a solid online presence in addition to your offline marketing tactics if you are going to find – or sustain – success. Here are some proven strategies for marketing for auto repair shops.
Auto Repair Digital Marketing Company
Is your auto repair shop looking for a way to stay relevant? In today's competitive market, you need to know how to get your name out there so potential customers know that you offer service with integrity.
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1. Build Your Online Presence
An online presence is critical because today’s car owner is going online – often on a phone – to find a repair shop nearby. An online presence starts with a carefully crafted, mobile-friendly website. Proper web design makes it easy for customers to find your contact information and service offerings, so they can call to schedule repairs for their vehicles. An auto repair marketing agency that focuses on Internet marketing can help with this.
Once your website is built, it needs to employ search engine optimization (SEO) techniques. SEO utilizes strategies both on and off your website to ensure it is listed when people search for “auto repair” in your city. An auto repair marketing company can help you tweak your site so that it is properly optimized for the search engines. After optimizing your site, it’s recommended that your shop is listed on Yelp, Google and similar sites with proper contact information.
2. Paid Online Advertising
Once you have an optimized website, it’s time to look at paid online advertising options. Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising is one of the most cost-effective options. PPC advertising allows you to pay for advertisements that show up on search results based on your chosen keyword strand. This advertising method is cost effective because you pay only when someone clicks on your ad. This means you will drive highly targeted traffic to your site, paying only for people who are interested in your auto repair services.
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3. Reach Customers Through Email
Consider adding email marketing to your overall Internet marketing strategy. Email marketing allows you to send information to your potential customers through email. It may seem like this would not be effective marketing for auto repair shops, but it can be when done properly.
Consider requesting email addresses from customers for your VIP email newsletter, then using the newsletter to tell your customer base about your upcoming promotions or to offer exclusive discounts on maintenance services – such as oil changes – that get cars into your shop and provide the opportunity to upsell other services. An auto repair marketing agency can help you create and manage an email marketing campaign that is an effective marketing tool.
4. Use Interest Marketing to Complement Offline Marketing
Offline and word-of-mouth marketing is still critical to your auto repair shop’s success, but Internet marketing should be woven into the mix. When customers are happy with repairs, offer them an incentive to refer people to your shop, then request that they place a review on Google, Yelp and Facebook. When you send paper mailings to your customers inviting them back, include the same wording and offers in your email marketing campaign to reach even more current customers. Talk to an auto repair marketing firm about additional ways you can merge these two advertising strategies.