Marketing

Monday Marketing Tips for Auto Body Repair and Glass Shops
By
Feb 28, 2007 - 8:38:49 AM

Article courtesy of Tom Hughes HUGHES Advertising, LLC

Monday Marketing Tips is a collection of short informative articles designed to help auto repair businesses connect with consumers and increase the power of their brand These insightful articles are provided free of charge by HUGHES Advertising, LLC. Tom Hughes, owner of the Columbus, Ohio based business consulting company calls his work "Performance Marketing." "For shops," he adds, "it's not just a way of doing, but a way of being."

The Monday Marketing Tips Index

Dealing With Angry Customers
Did you ever wish you had a plan for dealing with disgruntled customers? Well, here it is - a step-by-step guide that auto repair businesses can use to smooth things over when customers are upset.  This easy to use approach is laced with common sense and some proven methods that are relied upon everyday in retail establishments where the frequency of complaints, due to a higher volume of customers, are more numerous than in the auto service businesses, many of which only process a handful of jobs in any given week.  Is it really necessary to have a plan in place to deal with angry customers?  Yes, because in almost all states auto repair is among the top generators of complaints presented to Attorneys General and Departments of Insurance.  Grasp this information before you are confronted, and when the red-faced customer enters your office you'll be prepared to not only diffuse the situation, but also to make them an advocate for your business.

Educating Customers Means Bigger Profits
Auto repair shops are often haphazard in educating consumers about the need to purchase safe, high quality auto repairs. "It's as if we expect our customers to know about features of safety, reliability and convenience in auto parts and auto repair services we provide without ever taking the time and effort to educate them," says auto marketing guru, Tom Hughes, HUGHES Advertising, LLC. In this article, author Thom Winninger, reminds auto repair shops that they have every reason to invest in teaching their customers about the safety, reliability and value they build into their products.  Why?  Because in the end, educating customers means bigger profits!

Integrity: The Heart of a Business
Marketing guru, Tom Hughes, recently asked this question of several businessmen and businesswomen in the auto repair industry: "Give me one good reason why I should buy from you."  Mike Ognibene of Benny and Sons Body Shop in Rockford, Illinois answered briefly with only one word - integrity.   It's a small word full of meaning that reveals in daily practice the heart of every business.  Is the foundation of your auto repair business built on integrity?

Perception is Your Customer's Reality
Customers, more often than not, follow their gut in making buying decisions. If their perception is that your business provides good value and can be trusted, congratulations - you've made it to first base in convincing them to do business with you. In this Monday Marketing Tip, author and marketing guru Tom Hughes, states, "perception is far more important in marketing than reality." The best part is that with the right message repeated over and over again a business can create the perception it desires in the minds of its customers and potential customers. What do consumers in your market perceive of your business?

Fact V Fiction: People Will Behave Realistically
In the world of marketing, perception takes prescidence over almost everything else.  Therefore, as auto repair shop marketing whiz Tom Hughes says, "A trusted and credible service isn't a success until it is believed to be trustworthy and credible by prospects."  Getting the message of your ability and credibility into the minds of prospects comes through repitition.  Learn more about successfully marketing your auto repair business in this article.

How To Build Referral Business With Word Of Mouth Marketing
In this article provided by auto repair marketing guru, Tom Hughes, business owners learn strategic ways to optimize word of mouth marketing. Most business owners talk about the importance of referral business. Unfortunately, many do not have marketing plans that include a section on word of mouth. Word of mouth marketing should be as organized, thoughtful and systematic as other forms of marketing.  By reading this article you will gain an understanding about what it takes to get your customers involved in spreading the word about your business to their friends and relatives.

Is Your Customer Experience Deliberate?
Auto collision repair business owners need to ensure that their companies can define the customer experience they desire for consumers, and that their employees can clearly articulate the customer experience the business wants them to deliver. In other words, the customer experience must be deliberate from the shop's end to be effective on the consumer's end. When businesses leave the treatment of customers to chance the haphazard and inconsistent treatment can, at times, leave them feeling that they have been treated fairly, and at other times unfairly depending on the mannerisms and beliefs of employees that assisted them. Marketing expert, Tom Hughes teaches us that a good customer experience is one that is planned at every moment of contact with the customer. In this article, he urges us to be consistent in training employees so the customer exerience will be deliberately great!

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About Safe Collision Repairs

For more than ten years, David Williams of Wheelersburg, Ohio's Safe Collision Repairs has worked with consumers and attorneys in the tri-states of Ohio, Kentucky and West Virginia to expose unsafe auto repairs and maximize recovery on auto insurance claims. Some of the company's services include Post-Repair Inspections, Prepurchase Inspections, Auto Damage Assessments, Lemon Law Investigations, Expert Court Testimony and Diminished Value Calculations using an advanced version of Network Information Communication's WreckCheck program.

Inquiries can be directed to: Safe Collision Repairs David A. Williams Post Office Box 70 Wheelersburg, Ohio 45694 (740) 456-1111 (740) 355-4056

Disclaimer

The content expressed on this website and in the article above represents the opinions of David A. Williams. Williams is neither an attorney nor public insurance adjuster, but is an expert, consultant, and writer specializing in the field of automotive collision repair and valuations. The information provided herein is not intended to be a substitute for legal or insurance advice. Because collision repair is a continually evolving science, any text, materials or links found herein are provided without claim or guarantee to their accuracy or completeness.