Over the span of time, cars have moved from being a luxury item to becoming a necessary commodity in most households. Owning a car means having greater accessibility and flexibility in your daily routine which is why you see most households having at least one car in their homes. This is great news for not only the car manufacturers but also all types of subsidiary businesses associated with this industry.
As we all know, every type of machinery needs to be taken care of, maintained, and repaired quite regularly. Just like people, they require regular check-ups and sustenance. With regular wear and tear, these automobiles must be taken for car repair services after regular intervals.
Running a car repair service is no easy feat. You might have the best car repair service out there but you’re not going to get the footfall you deserve if you’re not putting your business out there like you should. To make things easier, we’ve outlined some simple but effective tips for you that’ll help you promote your car repair service effectively.
1. Hand out flyers and put up posters in your neighborhood
First thing’s first. Get the word out and let people know about your service. Every car owner in your vicinity should be aware of your services. Map out a radius around your car repair business, up until it is feasible for these car owners to visit your shop.
Once you’ve roughly mapped out all these locations, go all out. Put up posters in all the public places in the established vicinity and hand out flyers to the people so that they know about your service and where you operate.
An important prerequisite here is to ensure that your posters and flyers are eye-catching, they should grab the attention of your potential customers and not have them just walk past your advertisement. Worry not about designing your flyers as you can get a great variety of flyer templates for professional services that you can personalize for your own business. Pick your favorite template and you are good to go!
2. Set up an SEO optimized website
Set up an engaging website with attractive visuals and an easy-to-use user interface. Make sure it covers all important details about your business including your location, all the products and services you offer, contact details, and customer testimonials.
A good website can go a long way in converting potential customers so pay close attention here. Remember to ensure that your website is just as responsive on mobiles as it is for computer screens as research shows mobiles are the gadget most used to access the internet.
Now, we’ve talked about the outlook of your website and how it helps convert customers who visit your website. But an important part of this customer funnel is getting more traffic to your website in the first place. This is where Search Engine Optimization comes into play. The more SEO optimized your website is, the higher it is likely to rank on search engines and the more traffic you’ll receive on your website. Be as active as you can on the website, include trending keywords related to cars, and use them wherever naturally possible. Do this to increase your website’s ranking in search engines.
Pay close attention to both on-page and off-page SEO as both will play an integral role in building your website’s credibility and improving its ranking.
3. Treat your customer like a king
A lot has changed over the last decades but the one thing that’s remained constant is the importance of good customer service and the role it plays in promoting your business. While this is true for all businesses, it’s a crucial factor for all service businesses like your car repair service business.
Make sure you set up a good waiting area with an ambiance that’s soothing and comfortable. Give them the time of your day and listen to their queries. Don’t indulge in hard selling, rather share your technical expertise and help them understand the importance of car maintenance.
Make all your customers feel welcome and special when they come to you so that you leave a lasting impact on them & so they look forward to visiting you again. A satisfied customer will indulge in positive word of mouth which is one of the most effective ways of gaining new customers and building a good reputation in the market.
4. Build a social media presence
In today’s time and age, having a social media presence is a no-brainer. We know that it might be difficult to have an active presence on all social media platforms, so just focus on the ones your target audience is most active on.
Make sure you post regularly and use more visual posts as compared to text-only posts as these get higher engagement. You can use tools like PosterMyWall to make things easier for you as they’ll not only provide an array of social media post templates for you to choose from but also offer features like free resizing and scheduling directly on different social media platforms right from the designing interface. By working smart like this, your job is more than half done already.
Make use of Instagram and Tiktok reels as well as YouTube videos by making explanatory videos regarding automobiles and their maintenance and repair. Then, link these to some of the car repair services you offer instead of hard-selling your products and services.
To build your social media following, try out small things like offering small discounts if the customer checks in at your service area on their social media website. You can offer a relatively higher percentage of discount if the customer writes a positive review too. It’s a win-win for both you and the customer.
5. Encourage reviews & start a referral program
Encourage all customers to share their feedback with you. This will help you identify the loopholes in your service and improve them. This will also help establish goodwill between you and the customers.
You can then also post the good reviews as testimonials on your website and social media handles, or maybe even display them as posters in your store.
Another great marketing strategy would be to initiate a referral program and provide bonus points or discounts to every customer who refers a friend to your service. This benefits both parties in obvious yet simple ways.
We hope these strategies help you set your car repair service business apart and increase its footfall in 2022. Happy marketing!
Author name: Raahim Jamshed
