8 Ways To Drive Your Automotive Repair Business Forward

By Jay Khan, May 11, 2018

If you have an automotive business, the last thing you want it to do is come to a standstill. In order to get ahead in an extremely competitive industry, you need to to make sure you’re doing everything possible to drive your business forward (pardon the pun). Here are some pointers you can use to ensure you’re doing the right thing when it comes to ensuring your vehicle repair business is going in the right direction:

Stop Getting Your Hands Dirty

As the business owner, where are people most likely to find you? If the answer is under the hood of a car, you need to rethink how you’re running your business. You may have a passion for cars and fixing them up, but the business owner should be leaving this kind of thing to employees, and taking care of the important tasks like marketing – the business side of things. If you must fix the cars yourself, then you need to make sure you have a suitable team in place to take care of the business side of things for you, although this will cost you a lot more. Getting help with your marketing could help you to get ahead, but there are things you can do yourself, such as running social media channels (which we will discuss later).

Clearly Define Job Roles

If there’s one major source of confusion in a garage, it’s job roles. Many owners fail to clearly define job roles, and this can make life at work difficult. Make sure everybody knows what their role within the workplace is so that there are no crossed wires and fewer issues.

Focus On Online Marketing Techniques

Online marketing is key for any business to grow these days, even small, local businesses like repair shops. You’ll just need to make sure you’re targeting the right kind of customer and the areas that you cover. You can learn a lot about marketing on YouTube, but if you need help, look at it as an investment. Make sure you’re especially proficient at social media, as this is a great way to stay in touch with clients, answer queries, and share news. Don’t make the mistake of being one of the automotive business owners who don’t believe that they need this kind of thing.

Ensure You Have Everything You Need In Place

One thing that will hold you back is a fine from a governing body because you haven’t got the correct documentation in place, including not following regulations like motor trade insurance regulations. It is your duty as a business owner to ensure that everything stays above board and that you’re not going to get into trouble.

Reward Your Loyal Customers

You need to make sure your regular customers feel appreciated by rewarding them for being loyal to you. Ensure you send them coupons for any discounted work they could benefit from, and don’t be afraid to give them a free oil change from time to time. Yes, you may make a short loss in the short term, but this will end up paying out in the long run as you start to build up a client base who will only come to you for auto repairs and refuse to go anywhere else. Don’t forget about the referrals you’ll get either!

Make Use of An Automotive Appointment Scheduling Software

Another mistake plenty of automotive businesses make is not using modern software that could help to streamline processes. You don’t want a customer to be without their car for too long because you’ve overbooked. By using modern software you will reduce missed appointments and overbookings while also saving yourself valuable time. A consistent, reliable service is crucial and this will help you.

Reduce Your Employee Turnover Rate

A high turnover rate of employees will do nothing for your consistency and reliability. Treating your employees well will ensure you’re reducing the turnover rate, as well as paying them well. It’s hard for customers to trust an auto shop when they have a different mechanic working on their vehicle every single time they visit.

Stand Behind Your Work With Guarantees

If your customers know that you give a guarantee on your work for a certain amount of miles or time, they are going to trust you. Giving customers an incentive like this will mean they are more likely to come back later on. Will you use these 8 pointers to drive your automotive repair business forward? You should!