Effective Auto Workshop Business Strategies for Workshop Owners and Independent Mechanics
All businesses revolve around a few primary rules which among them include customer satisfaction and retention, cost effectiveness and a branding strategy that creates awareness about the existence of the business.
Most seasoned auto repair workshops neglect the marketing component of the business and almost entirely depend on traditional word of mouth marketing which is good, but far from optimal. Similarly, the approach to repairing automobiles leans towards the ‘trial and error’ approach which is time consuming and cost ineffective.
This article examines some of the new strategies that modern successful workshops utilise and apply towards enhancing their workshop business.
Marketing & Customer Service
Workshops often neglect marketing as traditionally; it is a business that ‘markets on its own’ due to the fact that the business is brick and mortar and it usually caters for local communities or limited areas. Few traditional workshops open up branches which impedes a good workshop’s potential to grow as a business and increase revenue.
However, things are changing and the introduction of various car repair workshops such as franchises are becoming more common. Due to this reason, workshops must look into new strategies towards not just increasing customers, but also retaining existing customers to the best of their ability using marketing and customer service tactics.
Online marketing and social media is the way to go these days and by creating an online presence using a Google Business Profile and having an account on Facebook or Instagram could go a long way in bringing in new customers to the workshop’s doorstep.
Customers having car trouble these days would instantly type keywords such as “car workshops near me” and Google would point them directly to the nearest workshop which would naturally increase the customer base without any additional marketing cost.
Similarly, a Facebook or Instagram profile could be used as a customer service platform where customers could communicate directly with the workshop which in turn would enhance loyalty to the workshop which goes a long way in retaining existing customers.
Cost Effectiveness via Car Repair Manuals
Apart from the cost of tools, utilities and spare parts, another significant cost for automobile repair workshops is the cost of troubleshooting time due to the trial-and-error approach. This scenario could be completely avoided if you download car repair manuals, otherwise also known as car workshop manuals, which contain all the information a mechanic would ever need to repair a car.
These manuals are readily available in PDF format on many websites, such as the Workshop Service Manual archives, some manufacturers even offer them for free, while third party publishers provide them usually at a fairly low cost.
The manuals will enable mechanics to get to the bottom of things much more quickly using these guides that offer complete diagnostics of issues and step by step repair guides that would save precious time.
When cars are repaired faster, they do not only make customers happy, but they also make room in the workshop for other cars that require the mechanic’s attention.
