Some Tips to Make Your Auto Repair Business More Profitable
Establish a great reputation. People are protective of their cars - they don’t want just anyone working on them. A solid reputation as an honest, quality repair shop is, possibly, the most important factor in building and maintaining long-term success. You’ll find that the more that customers come to trust you, the more profitable your business will be over the long haul. Not only will customers return, but they will recommend your services to others.
Interact with existing customers. So many auto repair shops lose sight of what’s important – their existing customers. Your existing customer base is a gold mine of sales opportunities. Unfortunately, many small business owners spend too much time trying to get new customers with flashy advertisements that are too expensive and just don’t work. You need to appreciate the customers you have and maintain those relationships. If you could get each of your existing customers to regularly frequent your business, just think how much sales would increase. Make a commitment to your existing customer base.
Network. It’s really important to get your name out there when you run a small business, and even if just a few other local businesses see the message you’re trying to get across and learn about your products and services, then you’ve succeeded in growing your business network. The more people talking about your business the better. Word of mouth, especially in this industry, is critical.
Charge enough to make enough. You don’t need to be the lowest priced auto service business. In fact, low prices are often perceived as low-quality service. If you do quality work, customers will willingly pay a fair price. Charging too little may create the false impression that you do not do quality work. It’s one thing to be in a position to help people, it’s quite another to make a business out of it. You can only be profitable when your revenues exceed your expenses. Your only revenue comes from what you charge for parts and labor, so make sure that what you charge accurately reflects the quality of your work.
Manage your appointments. One of the latest and greatest tools being promoted to auto repair businesses today is online scheduling, which allows customers to see your calendar and schedule an appointment at their convenience. Online scheduling has tremendous advantages, both for you and your customers. For starters, automotive scheduling software frees you from the tedious, time consuming chore of scheduling appointments over the phone, allowing you to spend more time working on cars. It is also convenient for the customer as they can sign on and schedule an appointment at any time. In addition, an online system can be configured to prioritize certain repairs over routine maintenance.
Push yourself to learn. You don’t need a business background in order to succeed. While this can help, the key thing is having a willingness to learn, even if at first it might seem daunting. There are free seminars you can attend. You can find these by doing a quick internet search for seminars in your area or find an online seminar. Talking to other small business owners is another great tool, you can learn so much from them. It may be out of your comfort zone, but if you don’t push yourself then you won’t learn.
Utilize social media. Every small business knows social media is an important tool, but sometimes it is hard to see why. Social media allows us to not only promote exactly what we do, it helps us keep our name out there in the public’s face. It’s a great tool for engaging with customers, making them aware that we’re here to help and deal with any problems they may have. Customers of all ages and backgrounds are online these days.
Talk less about you and more about customer needs and wants. Many auto repair shops give their customers a history lesson on how long they’ve been in businesses but that isn’t really the most important thing. Talk less about your business and start addressing the needs of your customers. Once you start helping your customers, they will start to appreciate and respect your business. Give your customers what they want. It doesn’t matter if you’ve been in business for 50 years or five years. What matters is that you start helping your customers. That’s what grows sales ultimately.
Analyze everything about customers. There are no more excuses on why you shouldn’t know a lot about your customers. In today’s online era, small businesses have more free tools than ever before to help analyze customers. Use online survey websites to find out about your customers’ needs and wants. Use Google’s free website analytical tools to see who’s coming to your website. There are plenty of CRM and auto repair shop software that will help grow your business. Take some time to research all of these tools. It will pay off big in the long run.
Links to sources:
http://www.fasttrakauto.com/free_reports/ten_steps_to_grow_auto_repair_shop_sales/