How to attract customers to a car service from the Internet. Effective car service advertising

Often, new car services operate at a loss for a long time, for months without recouping even a part of the money spent on their opening. Unfortunately, many owners simply close the enterprise or resell it, or continue to work at a loss or zero, gradually giving up. To prevent such a situation, you need to know how to advertise a car service, because proper promotion is one of the keys to success. This article describes the most and least effective methods of advertising - it is this information that can help entrepreneurs draw up the right and most thoughtful marketing plan.

Point decoration

Facade

Outdoor advertising

Billboards

pillars

It is also worth ordering a bright pavement sign and putting it in a well-visible place near the road. Make sure that the text is easy and quick to read - a motorist is unlikely to slow down to study it in more detail.

Advertising in elevators

If you work near a residential area with many potential customers, you can advertise in elevators. Order a large ad, because your task is to make a potential client see it against the backdrop of many other offers.

Pointers

Order signs, they will help motorists find their way to you. You can use the standard sign used to indicate a car service, or you can use brighter and more visible options.

Inflatable, three-dimensional figures

Inflatable figures are often installed at car services. Their main advantage is that they can be seen from afar, they attract the attention of all passers-by and drivers without exception, which means they can increase the flow of customers.

Internet advertising

Website

Currently, having your own website is a must have for almost any enterprise. Car services are no exception, and their promotion requires a page on the World Wide Web. However, you should not think that you can create a website, put the basic information there and forget about it with a very small amount of money. It will need to be promoted and optimized for search queries. To do this, it is better to hire a team of professionals, without knowledge of the specifics, you are unlikely to cope with the task on your own, plus it will take you a lot of time. You should also not expect instant results - it takes time to promote the resource.

If you decide to create a website on your own, be sure to read our articles:

Here we have laid out our experience and opinions on the use of various tools that you will simply need in your work. This will allow you to reduce the time to select the necessary resources to create it and get profit from the site as quickly as possible.

Ads on ad sites

No one can guarantee you that placing ads on specialized sites will bring you hundreds of customers. However, the main advantage of this method is that it does not require any material costs (as a rule, such sites place ads for free), but it may well give you visitors who will subsequently recommend you to their friends and acquaintances.

Sending emails

If you have your own website, you can find out the email addresses of your customers by offering, for example, a discount for registering on your resource. Having obtained addresses, you will be able to notify visitors about discounts and promotions, special offers, and this, in turn, will be a huge plus for your company.

Printable advertisement

Leaflets

Bright and informative leaflets can be distributed in the nearest parking lots and other places where cars accumulate. Order material and hire a person to stick a flyer on car windshields - even if you don’t attract hundreds of customers using this method, visitors who do respond to the brochure can become your regular guests in your service.

business cards

Distribute business cards to each of your clients - there is a chance that they will give them to a friend or acquaintance, moreover, the visitor himself will be able to call you or visit your site at any time convenient for him.

Print ads

Print tear-off ads (when the phone number comes off) and organize their posting at the entrances of the settlement. At the same time, the text should be concise and informative, if you have attractive prices, be sure to indicate them as well.

Advertising in newspapers and printed catalogs

Be sure to advertise in all newspapers that have a special section for various services and catalogs of the city. It is better if you post them as a private person, describing your most popular services.

TV ads

Running line or TV newspaper

Place your ad on local channels - this can greatly contribute to increasing the number of customers. However, remember that such advertising is expensive, which means that it is not worth giving it every day, but, for example, only on weekends.

Radio advertising

audio clip

Record an enticing audio clip and pay for it to be broadcast on local radio. Such advertising does not come cheap either, but the main advantage of this method is that it directly affects motorists, who are known to listen to the radio frequently on the road.

Other

Discount cards

In addition to discounts when presenting leaflets or when registering on the site, you can also enter the so-called "club" cards, according to which the client will be served cheaper. This will increase the loyalty of visitors and help keep them in the future.

Carrying out price promotions

Run seasonal promotions, offer free diagnostics, give customers small gifts - all this will attract visitors.

word of mouth

As in many other areas, word of mouth plays a huge role in this business. Carefully monitor the quality of your services and the work of your employees, because the success of your enterprise depends on this to a greater extent.

Examples of slogans for car service advertising

1. Forward to the price and quality!
2. Everything for your car.
3. Car service with an impeccable reputation.
4. One problem, many solutions!
5. Modern car repair technologies.
6. instrumental approach. Successful result.
7. Fix your iron horse!
8. Quality is in the details!
9. Axiom of security.
10. With respect to you, with love for the car!
11. We work to keep your cars alive!
12. Your reliable partner.
13. Get the most out of your car.
14. We love motors! It will be like new!
15. Movement for joy. We have enough for everyone.
16. We greet like family - we do it like ourselves.
17. We will do what others cannot do.

What are the core values ​​of any business that specializes in providing services to the public? Of course, customers and their trust. However, attracting the first is sometimes difficult, and winning the second is even more difficult. After all, in order for a random person to want to look into this particular car service, and then also become its regular visitor, you need to try very hard. The success of activities to "lure" and retain vehicle owners depends on many factors. Let's consider them in more detail and give a detailed answer to the question of how to attract customers to a car service.

Advertising

Let's start with external means of attracting new customers. We are talking about bright signs and signs, especially useful for motorists looking for service "from the street". Information media should contain information about the services provided and the location of the maintenance station. One of the signs with an arrow should be placed along the road, the second - a little closer to the destination. When the visitor almost drives up to the service, his attention should be attracted by a catchy sign with the name of the enterprise. Outdoor advertising in this case is more of a necessity than a marketing tool. With its help, the location of the service for new visitors is indicated.

As for the print media, the question of their usefulness in terms of attracting customers is constantly being debated. Can a car service center benefit from placing ads in newspapers and magazines? The answer will be unambiguously positive. You just need to choose the right print media. It is quite obvious that information about a car service, flashing on the pages of glossy magazines, is unlikely to attract anyone's attention. The same can be said about newspapers with private advertisements for the sale or purchase of cars. Where better to bet on inexpensive or free specialized magazines with articles on automotive topics. However, before making a decision on the publication of advertising, it is necessary to find out the circulation and methods of distribution of the publication. As practice shows, free magazines offered to customers at gas stations have the greatest return.

In continuation of the answer to the question of how to promote a car service quickly and attract customers, it is worth mentioning Internet sources. Today own website is an obligatory part of formation of image of any company. To make the resource more in demand, you will have to show a little ingenuity. For example, you can offer site visitors to create a personal online account with a personal maintenance calendar. The presence of an electronic record to visit a particular master will be an additional plus. It should also be remembered that a Web user gets to a particular page either through search queries or through online advertising and external links. Therefore, if a site is ranked too low, you need to help potential customers find it. E-mailing also gives good results. However, it will be effective only if there is an actual base of the intended target audience.

It is impossible to ignore such advertising media as radio and television. However, in the case of a car service, they are ineffective due to the specific focus of the business. In addition, these channels for promoting services require a lot of expenses, which often simply do not justify themselves. It is much more appropriate to focus on the good old word of mouth, which works almost smoothly. After all, before contacting a particular car service, we first “interrogate” all our acquaintances with passion, after which we make a choice. Thus, a satisfied customer brings with him a few more new visitors interested in quality service. The main tools of word of mouth are reflected in the video:

Niche and specialization

Despite an active advertising policy, the nearest motorway remains the main source of customers for most services. Moreover, it is absolutely unimportant for the owner of the enterprise who will look “at the light”, because the masters are ready to take on any job. That is why underground garage repair points are a serious competitor to service stations. Both of them perform the same function, but in the second case, you can save a lot on paying for services. After all, the owner of the "garage" works unofficially and exclusively for himself, which cannot be said about registered enterprises. When all the efforts of the service owner are aimed at solving technical and organizational problems, he simply does not have time to “select” clients. The lion's share of the owners of the service station exists on the principle of "we will fix what comes." This is where their main mistake lies.

Being like everyone else means being content with little. It is worth trying to rise above the business in order to realize all the prospects for such a step. So, nicheing for a certain brand of car gives the owners of a car service a lot of tangible benefits. Among them:

Automatic separation from competitors

By focusing on a particular brand, the company not only distinguishes itself among similar ones, but also gains much more trust from potential customers. After all, the car owner reasonably believes that a specialized service will take care of his car much better than a universal one. And trust, as you know, is the most important factor in attracting customers.

Possibility of price increase

Narrow specialists, in comparison with wide-profile ones, always remain worth their weight in gold. And finding a professional in a certain niche is much more difficult than a “jack of all trades”. Therefore, the client is ready to pay a higher price for the repair of his car in a specialized service.

Ease of attracting new visitors

The right advertising policy with a focus on a specific client will certainly bear fruit. Seeing the call in the newspaper "Attention to the owners of Nissan cars!", A person will start up and think: "This is for me." The more precisely the advertising message is formulated, the more targets it will hit.

No problems with auto parts

Specializing in a particular brand of machine makes it easy to find a reliable supplier of parts. And if you have your own warehouse, the number of necessary components will be significantly reduced.

Improving the quality of service

If the technician concentrates on a specific brand of vehicle, he will need much less time to study the technical manuals for that brand. He quickly becomes an ace in his field, able to determine the cause of a malfunction at a glance and eliminate it just as quickly. Accordingly, the quality and speed of work are significantly increased, and the demand for services is growing.

No staff turnover

It's no secret that multidisciplinary enterprises usually require "jack of all trades" able to fix any car. Whereas in narrowly focused services, the requirements are much lower, which means that finding a suitable employee is not a big problem. It is possible without any particular fear to employ a graduate of an automotive technical school and in the shortest possible time to teach him all the intricacies associated with servicing a particular brand of car.

Speaking about the disadvantages of specialization, it is worth highlighting the impossibility of attracting customers "from the street". After all, the likelihood that a car of the desired brand will pass by and its owner decides to look into this particular service is not too great. Thus, there is a need for a competent advertising policy that requires certain investments.

Secondly, the brand niche concept is not suitable for small towns, where the percentage of cars of a particular type can hardly be called high. In this case, it is worth trying to choose a different area of ​​​​specialization. This may be the repair of diesel engines or Japanese car brands. Some services rely on various parts of cars, whether it be automatic transmission or suspension, others are engaged in the maintenance of trailers, others are preparing vehicles for hunting, and others position themselves as service stations exclusively for women. The choice of niches is very large, and regardless of the size of the city, it will not be difficult to choose the right option. By the way, often it is the introduction of specialization that helps to attract corporate clients to a car service.

Offer additional goods and services

It is quite obvious that a successful service must be multifunctional. That is, able to satisfy the maximum number of customer needs, thus saving him time and money. However, the expansion of the list of services implies the purchase of additional equipment, training of personnel to work with it, an increase in the staff of masters, etc. All this requires serious costs from the owner of the service station, which not everyone is ready to pay. The purchase of equipment is often considered not from the standpoint of a profitable investment, but as out-of-pocket expenses. The reason for this is the lack of confidence in the quick return on investment.

When introducing a new service, the owner of a car service must clearly understand how, to whom and in what quantities to sell it. It is not enough just to add a new item to the company's price list, it is necessary to vividly demonstrate to the client the benefits of acquiring know-how. Let's take a simple example. Every motorist is familiar with the tire replacement service firsthand. Today, many people also know about seasonal wheel storage. However, most people prefer to store tires on the balcony, in the garage or country shed. If you convincingly tell customers about the consequences of such a rash step and offer them a more tempting alternative, some of them will readily give their wheels to the service station for storage. Thus, in order to successfully earn on additional services, it is necessary to convey their essence to customers and clearly demonstrate the benefits of the purchase.

In addition, a wide range of different offers is important not only from the position of increasing profits, it also acts as a serious competitive advantage for the enterprise. Indeed, as practice shows, new customers appear in a car service suddenly. And the more extensive the list of services provided, the higher the likelihood that the problem of the visitor will be in the competence of the enterprise. Obviously, the choice of additional options must be made based on their demand, the amount of investment in equipment and the amount of expected profit. From this we can draw a conclusion about the payback period. From the list of additional services useful for customers, we can distinguish:

• airbrushing;
• heated seats;
• tire inflation with nitrogen;
• installation of monitors in the salon;
• glass works;
• maintenance of air conditioners;
• soundproofing;
• headlight reservation, etc.

It would also be useful to develop several package offers at an attractive price. This can be preparing a car for winter, which includes such operations as changing oil, spark plugs, coolant and brake fluids, suspension and battery diagnostics, headlight adjustment, cleaning the ignition coil, etc. The customer’s benefit is that when purchasing he pays a smaller amount of a package of services than when buying them separately. So, for example, preparing a car for sale, a long trip or summer heat, as well as “re-preservation” of a car after winter, implies a number of different works. They can also be packaged and sold as a bundle. Such offers will certainly arouse the interest of motorists.

How to promote a car service is only of interest to those entrepreneurs who look to the future and take care of their business. Today, all business on the Internet and even small firms or even private craftsmen have their own websites, who do not even have such an opportunity, they register in various directories, open groups on social networks. But this approach is ineffective, if you are engaged in car repair and additionally sell spare parts, then you should get an online store with good functionality.

But we have a question : "How to promote a car service?". To do this, in our article we will highlight a few highlights and mandatory activities that will help you have a constant influx of new customers. Based on our own experience in the promotion of auto parts stores and car services, we can distinguish two main rules of our own, which are listed below.

How to promote a car service - rule number 1

Material base, human resources.

If you, for example, are engaged in Nissan repair, you need to provide a full range of services only in this area, to become the best in your specialization. To do this, you need to have the right tools, the right craftsmen, i.e. fully prepare the material base and human resources. Perhaps you are a universal car service and take on everything in a row, this happens most often. But not always, customers are satisfied with such car services, firstly, car repairs can drag on for many weeks, and secondly, the quality of service leaves much to be desired.

So, the rule is - be experts in your field, do not spread yourself, find a niche in the car service market, do not dilute your car service to all car brands.

Geographical location and internal space of the car service.

It is very important when you are going to open a car service to decide on a place, because your profit depends on how conveniently and quickly you can get to you. Otherwise, it will be difficult promote a car service. Have you ever wondered why official dealers, take at least Volkswagen or Ford always queue. Yes, many complain about their expensive service, but this does not make them less customers. Yes, because it is simply pleasant to be with them: here you are treated with respect, smile and help; all neatly dressed; there are waiting rooms; here you can follow the progress of the repair through special monitors; as well as such auto centers are conveniently located, the buildings are modern, and the interior inside envelops with high service and comfort.

So, the rule - if you are just starting out, find a box in the center where you can get there without traffic jams, at least paint the walls inside white, dress your masters in branded overalls, organize a leisure room for your clients.

How to promote a car service

Car service automation.

This implies the use of information technology, special programs for business automation, as well as the website of an online store. Promote a car service– today it is possible only through the Internet. Give up notebooks, notepads and Excel.

No computer can hold so much information, and not all entrepreneurs can afford to buy a server and spend a lot of money on its maintenance. And here “cloud technologies” come to the rescue, which, by the way, are implemented in our program.(LINK TO THE PAGE). Here you can store unlimited amounts of information, unlimited time.

There are ups and downs in any business, so if suddenly the flow of customers is reduced, which incurs losses, you open your chest with the numbers of your customers and make a mass mailing, which, by the way, is also implemented in our program. But you shouldn’t abuse this, it’s easier to establish a trusting relationship with the client and make sure that he always comes to your car service.

How to promote a car service - rule number 2

The main points on the promotion of a car service and attracting customers:

Smart marketing.
There are many definitions of the word marketing. In simple terms, marketing is all about attracting and retaining customers. How to promote a car service, and not lose your grip. Our three must-have events are your base. Your customers should attract customers so that rumors about your car service are passed from mouth to mouth, this is called a reputation and you need to develop it with the quality of the services provided.

Online advertising and the Internet.
If you have a website, then you can use contextual advertising services from Yandex Direct and Google, promote a car service, so much easier. If you do not have a website, then your competitors will soon force you out, who not only have a page on the Internet, but also services such as pre-registration for services.

Advertising for a car service

By the way, with our program, you can connect the online store option so that your customers sign up for your services - and you will get a functional website with high conversion.(LINK TO THE PAGE) It is important that your site be indexed by search engines, for this you need to register the site in thematic directories such as Double Gis, etc. It also does not hurt to create groups on social networks, where you must specify a link to your site.

Off-line advertising.
Some sources advise you to advertise in free newspapers, which naturally cost money to advertise. A dubious undertaking. Answer yourself the question, how often do you personally turn to such sources. As a rule, free newspapers with ads are several pages, where a bunch of ads are printed in a not always readable font and there is not even an empty square centimeter. So think about whether it is worth spending time and money, albeit small, on such advertising. An effective way to promote a car service is to distribute your own printed materials: business cards to the traffic police (where car owners apply after an accident), distribution of coupons with discounts in traffic jams (your entire target audience is in traffic jams).

All articles What equipment is needed for a car service

How to advertise your car service

The main wealth of any service is customers and their trust. But in order for a client to come to your service, stay yours for a long time, and even better, forever, you will have to work hard. The success of attracting and retaining customers consists of many components. Ignoring at least one of them reduces many times the overall effectiveness of the struggle for the client. Car service advertising in the media is one such component.

All car service customers can be divided into three categories:

1. Loyal customers - those who keep the client base, those who talk about your service to others in enthusiastic colors, those whom you need to cherish and cherish.

2. Clients who contacted you for the first time through a recommendation or an advertisement; their trust must be won and flattering recommendations confirmed.

3 . Clients who come to you by accident. Perhaps they will also replenish your permanent client base.

It is believed (at least, so they write in clever articles and books) that advertising, like customers, does not happen much. The manager or owner must constantly promote their service. At the same time, various types are listed, starting with "word of mouth" (stopping on it, albeit enthusiastically, but in passing), and ending with advertising in external sources - as a rule, in the media. Let me agree with them only partially.

Not to say that there are a lot of questions about advertising. These questions that come to me, among all consultations, are far inferior to questions on taxes, service management, personnel, and even labor protection and fire safety. But there are quite a lot of requests to place an advertisement for a car service in the magazine. Obviously, most of the owners or managers of the service either believe that placing ads somewhere, without analysis, is already enough, or do not pay due attention to this issue. In a series of articles on this topic, I will try to tell you the basics of advertising that a manager needs and consider typical mistakes made when conducting an advertising campaign.

I will not describe the basics of advertising - enough articles and books have been written on this topic. Obviously, a director who decides to deal with this issue deeply and seriously should stock up on literature or contact an appropriate specialist. True, there is a difficulty here. Personally, I have met, unfortunately, very, very few who understand the car service specifics well. Moreover, this applies both to the provision of services by the station itself, and sales of spare parts, materials, and services to car services.

I’ll make a reservation right away: talking about advertising, I will not talk about a sign over a car service or a roadside sign about finding a service. The conversation will be about advertising in various newspapers, magazines, radio or on big boards, i.e. about the advertising that is costly for any organization.

So. Does the number of clients on your service leave much to be desired? Have you decided to advertise your service to attract customers? Good deed. But… You may have already made the first mistake. Lack of customers is not a reason to immediately spend money on advertising. Let's consider several situations.

Reopened car service

If you have just opened a car service, then analyze several factors:

— types of work performed;

— location of the station;

— qualification of personnel and climate in the team;

- financial opportunities.

For example, if the service is located in a busy place, is well visible and performs tire fitting and oil and other consumables services, then you should not spend money on advertising at all - a bright sign is enough. If the team has not yet formed (high probability of turnover), its qualifications are not clear, then attracting a large number of customers that you will not satisfy will do more harm than good. And no one will return your money and time. You should not immediately start an advertising campaign if a new service has opened in place of the old one. Here you have to find out the "pluses" and "minuses" of the previous service, and preferably not so much from the words of the landlord or others, but from the words of the client. In my practice, there was a case when the negative attitude of customers towards the previous service forced new tenants to move out. In this case, neither the high qualification of the staff nor the advertising company helped.

Car service with history

– a new service is provided that will be of interest not only to old, but also to new customers;

- lack of customers on the service.

Usually, it is the introduction of a new service that aims to better satisfy existing customers and attract new ones. But, let's first consider whether our service is able to pass through itself a sharply increased number of customers (hereinafter, I conventionally believe that advertising increases the flow of customers), or is it enough that the old ones, using this service, will increase the profitability of the service and download new area of ​​work.

For example. You have a fully loaded undercarriage repair shop (your regular customers) and an engine and fuel diagnostics shop (your clients, clients of other small services and casual visitors). You are introducing a new service — wheel alignment. It is clear that at the initial stage this post will not need advertising, since it will be provided with work at the expense of all these cars.

Car service promotion: how to quickly attract customers and promote service stations

Moreover, the rest of the posts will be loaded at the expense of other services.

The case of no customers is more complex. A number of factors need to be analyzed here.

Seasonality. If the absence is due to the New Year holidays (which is approximately from December 15 to February 1, depending on the level of service, specialization, etc.), May holidays (from approximately April 25 to May 15, depending on Easter and memorial days) or holiday season (approximately from July 20 to September 10), then you should not be upset. On the contrary, use this time to improve your skills (your own and your employees), to expand the provided

services, purchasing equipment, restoring order or repairing a service.

Here we are also dealing with deferred repairs. That is, with those works that car owners have postponed to a later date (for example, replacing shock absorbers from winter to spring).

Based on the foregoing, it becomes clear that advertising in the "off season" is a disastrous business. The response, if any, is minimal. But advertising placed on the eve or during the season is most effective. It is at this moment that customers are looking for where to service their iron horse.

Personnel qualification. The most painful topic for the leader. It is considered in the "Management" section of the "Auto-Master" magazine and at seminars held by the Association of Car Service and Tuning Specialists. It is clear that without putting things in order with personnel (training, attracting specialists or poaching them), there is no point in spending money on advertising.

station specialization. To understand this point, consider an example. You specialize in servicing inexpensive domestically produced vehicles. The financial situation in the country has deteriorated - customers have no money, gasoline is becoming more expensive. The client, in order to save money, does some of the work himself. In the above case, this applies not only to changing the oil or brake pads, but also to more complex repairs on the chassis or engine. Add to this the extended service interval for replacing consumables. Thus, the focus of the service on this fleet of vehicles has led to a decrease in the number of visitors. And if not from

You have analyzed your situation and decided to advertise. Let's think about where to do it. Let's start with a typical situation not only for a car service, but also for companies selling spare parts, equipment, etc.

In the editorial office, a reader calls: "I have been reading your magazine with interest for a long time. Now I want to advertise my station with you!" It would seem something easier. If I read this publication, I like it, so others will read and see my ad. This is the main mistake. If you like a magazine or newspaper, this does not guarantee that your potential customers will read it.

In the example above, the reader wanted to place an advertisement in "Auto-Master" aimed at attracting customers to his universal car service specializing in car maintenance. At the same time, it was not taken into account that the audience of the magazine is services similar to it, and not motorists or corporate clients.

Another example. Placement of advertising in an automobile magazine or magazine "Buy-sell a car". Here it is somewhat more complicated. The main audience of such a publication is people looking for a new car. Naturally, today they are far from interested in repair or maintenance. The rest of the readers of such a publication, of course, will pay attention to your ad, but the question is whether the investment in advertising will pay off.

Here we need to make a small digression and talk about a very important parameter for assessing the cost of investments in advertising. I call it "call cost". Let me explain with an example. The cost of an advertisement in edition X is 100 rubles. We received a call from 2 people. Thus, the cost of their call for you is 50 rubles. In publication Y, the cost of an ad is 200 rubles, and 10 people called on the ad. In this case, the cost of the call is 20 rubles.

Very often, the advertiser chooses a publication with either a low ad cost or a very high ad cost. In both cases, we either have an incorrect definition of the readership as potential customers (this is most often), or the choice of publications on the basis of the "I like" principle.

Therefore, before deciding to advertise, it is necessary to understand exactly who we want to attract and what they read or at least view. Agree that a client who has a two-three-year-old Mercedes, most likely, will not pay attention to a piece of bad paper with various advertisements thrown into the mailbox.

Conversely, the owner of an inexpensive car is more likely to take a publication distributed free of charge through gas stations, mailboxes, or read a newspaper that is distributed at intersections.

Before engaging in advertising (not only in the media, but in general), one must be clearly aware that what suits large companies, for example, those selling auto parts, often does not suit a car service - a car service sells services. And in selling services, the main thing is to build confidence in yourself. Therefore, ideally, it is necessary to advertise the quality of the services provided. But this is extremely difficult to do. And I do not have a ready-made universal solution. Usually, services set a simpler task - to get the client to come.

Smart books advise finding a "unique selling proposition." For most universal service leaders, this is a daunting task. If you find a "unique selling proposition" in your car service - honor and praise to you, it may be worth changing your qualifications and going into advertising. Another thing is if your service has a narrow specialization - for example, repair of fuel equipment for diesel engines. Narrow specialization allows not only to have highly qualified personnel, but also a "unique selling proposition".

Such a "unique selling proposition" can, of course, be the price. But think about whether such advertising will play a cruel joke on you. During the winter dead season, a large Kiev station placed on the radio an offer to paint a car with fashionable materials for a fairly low price. I don’t know how many customers they managed to attract, but the talk that the company has problems spread among customers, among fellow competitors, and among suppliers. I would like to hope that their advertising has given at least some effect, although I doubt it.

Thus, before engaging in advertising, and anyone, and not just in the media, the manager must clearly understand how much he needs it, what consequences the increase in the number of customers will lead to, for which categories of customers it will be intended, where to advertise, how it should look, in what terms to carry it out.

We have already considered some of these issues, the rest will be considered in future publications.

To be continued…

Andrey Deceivers
Auto-Master

Promotion service station for body repair

Good day! I continue a series of articles about the STO business plan and as I promised earlier, today I will write an article about how to advertise a service station.

How to advertise service stations

As a rule, an advertising company is one of the most expensive items, especially when opening a service station, while quite often novice entrepreneurs spend a lot of money on advertising and everything would be fine, BUT most of the money is simply wasted.

What advertising attracts customers to the service station

Let's look at where the owner of the service station should advertise:

1. business cards. I already mentioned them in the business plan. Be sure to order business cards, but not cheap pieces of paper for 2 rubles, order colorful laminated business cards.

   Car service as a business and personal success

   You can place these business cards in auto parts stores, and you can negotiate with the owners of auto stores so that they place your business cards at their place, and you, in turn, place their business cards at your place;

2. Printing colorful booklets. These booklets are ordered at the printing house, and business cards can also be ordered there. Booklets are distributed free of charge to mailboxes of city residents. The booklet must contain the name of your service station (if you have not done this yet, then it's time to think about it, the name should also be on business cards), the address and telephone number of the service station. If you cannot come up with an interesting name for the service station on your own, then just google the Internet and take it from there. Just try to make the name of your service station unique in the city (that is, only for you). And of course, on booklets, you can describe in detail the types of services provided;
3. Advertising in elevators. This type of advertising works well for the entire service sector, including service stations. The size of the layout should not be too small, because in this case it will simply be a waste of money;
4. Radio advertising. This is where advertising is a must. Only the radio should be promoted and broadcast in the local category. Many car enthusiasts listen to just the radio. But before you advertise on the radio, you need to determine the competitive advantage over other service stations, that is, the reason why the car enthusiast should go to you;
5. Car magazine. Almost all major cities have auto magazines, I myself live in a small town and we do not have such a magazine. If a car magazine is published in your city, then advertising of your service station should be there on a permanent basis. However, pay attention to the circulation of the publication and the method of its distribution. In journals with a circulation of less than 5,000 copies. there is no point in advertising. Also, some publishers simply cheat and indicate the wrong circulation of the publication. Therefore, for the first time, it is worth coming to the publishing house and seeing how many magazines go into distribution;
6. City newspaper with ads. Almost every city has such a newspaper. There are two ways to advertise in such a newspaper. The first is in the form of an advertising module in the section on car sales (list the types of services provided by your service station in the module) and additionally place an ad in the section “Services” as from a private person about car repairs. If there are several such newspapers in the city, then, of course, advertise your service station in the most promoted one with a large circulation;
7. TV station advertising. In general, the cost of such advertising is quite high, but in every city there is a so-called TV newspaper in which the prices are not so high and the effect is much better (advertising in the form of videos and a ticker should not be given, as it is very expensive);
8. Internet advertising. Do not neglect this type of advertising, the most effective is Yandex Direct contextual advertising, as well as advertising in social networks. In order to give such advertising, it is worth ordering a business card website for a service station with a list and cost of services, as well as contact details and address;
9. word of mouth. With quality service and the performance of the work itself at a high level, people themselves will begin to advise your service station to each other. This type of advertising can be influenced only by high quality of service and low prices.

Advertising that does not work for service stations

1. Free newspapers. With a huge circulation and almost zero efficiency. Such newspapers have zero value for the citizens and are very annoying, such newspapers are a relic of the past. And if we take into account that the cost of advertising in such publications is simply prohibitive if we compare price and quality, then it is better to refuse it;
2. Advertising on and in transport. This type of advertising does not work well because there are quite a few potential customers in public transport, and if they exist, then your advertisement will either not be noticed or simply ignored;
3. Plasma panels. It doesn’t matter which ones, on the street, indoors, at payment terminals, wherever they are trying to stick them. This advertisement does not work for almost any activity;
4. billboards. Advertising on billboards is image advertising and is not suitable for attracting potential customers;
5. Outdoor advertising.Requires coordination with the architecture of the city, but it’s not scary, the cost of such advertising is quite high, you won’t hang this banner in one place, for the effect you need to place it at least 5 places where there is a major traffic intersection (then it will make sense);
6. Posting ads. Despite the fact that the service station belongs to the service sector, posting simple ads does not have a strong effect.

This is where I will end my review, if you have any questions, ask them in the comments, or in my VK group “Business Secrets for a Beginner”.

Successful business!

Is your car service going through hard times? Have you invested a lot of money in a business, but it is in no hurry to pay off? Don't know how to promote a car service? We have prepared an answer to this question.

Read the material to learn how to attract customers to a car service and increase its profits.

Tell clients about yourself

However, remember that the specifics of the business is such that customers need car service services only if there are certain problems. Make sure that the advertising of the service is memorable. This does not mean that you need to generate fun slogans and use crazy designs. It will be much more effective if you stand out from the competition by emphasizing your own advantages. Tell us why yours is better, more profitable, faster.

Car service promotion on the Internet

Create your own website with up-to-date information about current promotions and discounts. Arm yourself with contextual advertising and direct mail. Post an ad on thematic forums. With the help of these tools, potential customers will find out about you.

Engage Internet marketers who will help you promote your site with the help of SEO optimization. If the site registers in the TOP-10 of search results, customers will find you themselves.

Outdoor advertising

Do not forget about leaflets that will tell you about current promotions. They can be laid under the wipers of cars standing in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bcar service.

word of mouth

Take advantage of the special trick of experienced Chekists when a group of professional agents infiltrate the companies of car enthusiasts and casually spread information about a new super service.

Your clients may well become such agents. How to achieve this? Everything depends on you. Provide good service, lower prices, expand the range of services. In a word, do everything so that the client not only returns to the car service, but also recommends it to his friend / colleague / traffic jam neighbor.

Help from partners

Give customers a reason to visit you right now

A person whose car is in good condition will not call in a car service just out of curiosity.

To lure a client, play on two factors: profit and urgency. Run a short term promotion. The car owner must understand: you need to urgently visit the service station in order to save money.

The action should not be of a highly specialized nature. Take the service that all cars need in theory. For example, spend a day of free diagnostics. Or offer a 10 percent discount on all services. Or set a super price for an oil change. In a word, attract as many visitors as possible to the car service. And provide them with services at such a level that their visit does not turn out to be a one-time visit.

Make customers come back

How much a car service earns depends on how often it is visited. A one-time promotion, of course, will provide you with an influx of customers, but there is no guarantee that they will return again.

Make your customers an offer they can't refuse. Develop a loyalty program. Discount cards, bonuses or gifts - please your customers and show how interested you are in them.

Open more opportunities for customers to get promoted even faster

A fashionable, but not yet fully promoted chip is its own mobile application.

Create a mobile app that lets customers know about pricing and promotions. Make a special offer for those who have installed the application: a discount on the service or a few liters of anti-freeze as a gift.

The development of a mobile application does not require a lot of money, but it will immediately set you apart from your competitors.

An additional measure for effective promotion

All of the above methods are effective to one degree or another. But their effectiveness depends not only on you. Even the coolest and most profitable loyalty program will not help if there is a car service next door that has been operating for 15 years. It will be difficult to compete with established service stations. Similarly, it is unlikely that someone will take advantage of the action if they cannot find you right away.

What to do? It remains to hope for luck. Or become the owner of a service with a good location.

There is an even better solution! The Altera Invest company is engaged in the sale of a ready-made business in large cities of Russia: you can buy a ready-made car service in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg and a number of other federal cities.

Problems with "skillful" neighbors and inconvenient check-in will be resolved in your favor. You will only have to apply the above methods and continue to promote an existing business.

Summarizing

To effectively promote your service station, do not spare money on an advertising campaign. Ensure high quality of services provided and develop a loyalty program so that visitors come back to you and bring new customers.

Don't forget about promotions and consider your own mobile app to stand out from the competition.