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Letter to the Editor

To Market,To Market

Our feature this month looks at some creative ways to market your collision repair facility in a difficult economic time. No matter how tight your budget, you absolutely must market your business services or your company will not survive.

You should look at your entire financial picture with a shrewd eye toward getting the most value for the least amount of money. This involves keeping careful track of where your marketing dollars go and how many customers those dollars pull into your shop. Every customer should be asked the simple question, “How did you hear about us?” Your office staff must report responses to you. Evaluate changes that should be made. For example, if advertizing on cable television drives customers to your door, the expense is justified.

Work on low-cost strategies that get your facility’s name out there in your community. Is there a good cause that needs a sponsor? Is your local high school sports team looking for a car wash site? Be creative and you will find ways to network within your neighborhood. Be sure to get your employees to catch your enthusiasm. Good teamwork is an excellent marketing device.

Spring is traditionally the season for cleaning up and organizing our spaces. Sprucing up the exterior and customer areas of your facility can be done on a shoestring. A pot of bright flowers at the entrance and a fresh coat of paint inside can instantly make your customers feel welcome, and a friendly attitude is, of course, priceless. Do not ever forget that word-of-mouth referrals from satisfied customers is still your best marketing tool!

Another marketing tool that we at INSIGHT always reccomend is customer satisfaction indexing. Our TrendLine survey this month takes a look at shop users’ opinions about their CSI providers. I am relieved to note that the percentage of shops that believe CSI tracking has improved their performance has jumped back up to 92 percent after a freaky 50 percent score in 2008.

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