Use Your Website to Make a Lasting Impression
Is your goal to get more business and grow your auto repair shop? For most auto repair shops, this is a common goal, but if every auto shop has the same goal, how does your shop differentiate itself from the competition? The answer is simple – online marketing.
In the auto repair industry, many businesses believe word-of-mouth is the best form of advertising. But with technology growing at a steady pace all around us, it is important for auto shops to invest time marketing their local business online in order to surpass the competition. Shops that master even the most basic tactics for online marketing will see their efforts pay dividends in a matter of weeks.
“But, I’m a mechanic, not a marketer.”
Hey, they both have eight letters and start with the letter “M,” right?
One of the most common excuses that we hear from auto repair shops is that they don’t know the first step to take when it comes to marketing. Lucky for you, CarCareCONNECT has created a series of blog posts to familiarize you with seven key marketing topics that you should be focused on as you move along in 2017. This guide is built on a foundation of hands-on experience helping thousands of auto repair shops market and grow their shops. We guarantee your shop will grow in by putting these insights into motion.
Stay tuned for the next few weeks for more information on how to grow your shop with the following marketing strategies:
- Websites
- Local Search Engine Optimization
- Online Directories + Review Sites
- Content
- Email Marketing
- Social Media
- Analytics
Part 1: WEBSITE
In many cases, your auto repair shop’s website is the first impression that is given to a potential customer. If your website has outdated contact information and no pictures of the shop, do you think that you will convert these website visitors into customers? Most likely, the potential customer will continue their research until they find a repair shop that they feel like they can trust.
In order to improve your conversion rate, the first step is to make sure that your website contains “the essentials.”
- Logo: Make sure your logo is prominently displayed on all pages of your website
- Images: Add personality, such as pictures of your shop, employees and customers
- Contact information and hours: Include your address, phone number and contact form
- Landing pages: Create pages that direct a customer to book an appointment or call you
- Social Media Links: Add buttons that direct to your social media profiles so users can easily follow you
Your Website Needs to be Mobile-Friendly
“Mobile-friendly” is a term that we are sure you have heard tossed around, but do you really know what it means? When a user opens up a mobile-friendly website on their smartphone, they will see a different website view than they would if they were on a desktop computer. Basically, this means that the website content adjusts to the dimensions of the mobile device, ensuring that the user is able to easily navigate the website. A responsive website will also rearrange the content so that the most relevant information is listed near the top of the site. That way, a user does not have to scroll for days to find what they are looking for.
Did you know…
In the United States, 94% of people with smartphones search for local information on their phones.
The number of people using smartphones for location-based searches has increased significantly, so it is crucial for your auto shop to be mobile optimized. Make sure that your contact information, hours of operation and offered services are easily displayed on your mobile site. If a user has difficulty navigating your website’s homepage on their smartphone, they will most likely leave your site and go to your competition’s mobile-friendly website.
EXPERT TIP: Stand out from the crowd by showcasing your auto repair shop’s unique brand on your website. Make sure that it conveys your company’s values, personality and strengths through the images and text that you’ve chosen to include.
Conclusion
Websites are an effective way to make a great impression on potential customers. Customers are drawn in by a visually appealing website. Make sure you have the essential five elements of a website: logo, images, contact information/hours, landing pages, and social media links. These key elements will turn your website from blah to brilliant! Online marketing is essential to a successful auto shop, so be sure to leave a lasting impression on customers with a killer website!