When it comes to running a busy auto repair shop, you know you have to prioritize. If you’re lucky, you’re dealing with tons of customers and handling the bustling ins-and-outs of every single day. If you’re just starting out, you’re probably hustling to figure out where to begin and learning to manage employees.

No matter what stage you are in your business, marketing shouldn’t fall by the wayside. In fact, it should be much higher up on your priority list than many shop-owners realize.

Word-of-mouth is great - but it’s also not always the most effective way to grow your business, depending on the location of your shop and the size of the town.

Automotive marketing is important because:

• It sustains your shop’s presence in the community and in the minds of customers

• It engages with your surrounding community and invites people to bring their cars for servicing

• It helps you to drive more sales and customers to your auto repair shop

• It’s a good strategy to help you grow your business overall

However, there’s a right way and a wrong way to manage your marketing strategies once you’ve decided to implement them for your auto shop. Here are four tips for handling your automotive marketing strategies like a pro.

4 Tips for Effectively Managing Your Automotive Marketing Strategies

1) Set your goals.

First, you need to set your goals for your marketing campaigns. And be specific - goals won’t do you any good if you aren’t sure if your marketing campaigns have accomplished them.

Ask yourself the following:

• Are you trying to increase visit spend?

• Are you trying to increase your number of customers?

• Do you have a profit margin you’d like to hit?

• Do you want to increase the number of visits to your shop’s website?

No matter what your goals are, write them down and attach a number to them. For example, if your goal is to increase the number of customers in a month, write down that you’d like to increase from 50 to 100 customers.

2) Create a plan.

Next, create a plan for achieving your set goals and let it run its course. For example, if your goal is to increase the number of customer return visits, then make a plan to create a retargeting campaign for previous customers. To do this, you might send direct mail to remind them that it’s time for a tire rotation or oil change. Or, you might send discounts on an upcoming service to your customers’ inbox.

No matter what your plan is, make sure to stick with it until its completion. Quitting halfway through doesn’t allow you to really see if your marketing plan worked or what you should improve/change for next time.

Pro tip: If you need help creating a campaign using a platform like BAYiQ, this video can show you what to do.

3) Always (always) track your campaigns.

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: always make sure to track your campaigns. If you aren’t tracking your marketing metrics, you aren’t effectively managing your automotive marketing strategies. You’ll have no way of knowing if you’ve reached your goals, if your campaign worked or didn’t, or if you got a return on your investment.

If you need assistance in automatic tracking for your marketing campaigns, BAYiQ can help.

BAYiQ gives you real-time analytics so you always know how everything is performing at all of your shops. Whether you’re interested in managing your reviews online, your direct mail campaign, your social media campaign, or how many customers came into any given shop, BAYiQ can tell you everything you need to know in one simple platform.

4) Be targeted and consistent.

When we say “be targeted and consistent” in your marketing, what we really mean is to focus on targeting potential customers in your shops’ locale and show up consistently, whether that be in their mailbox, their email inbox, or their social media account.

It’s difficult to remember to do this, so let a system like BAYiQ do it for you. BAYiQ is fully automated and allows you to essentially “set it, and forget it” when it comes to customer reminders, rewards, social media, and more.

Use these tips combined with BAYiQ’s auto-oriented platform to take your marketing strategies to the next level.

Running marketing campaigns for your shop is important for the health and growth of your business. And the good news? It doesn’t have to be stressful. Lean on these tips for effectively managing your automotive marketing strategies and be sure to check out how BAYiQ can ease your burden and help take your marketing to the next level.

BAYiQ continues to expand their qualified and talented team, and their integrations with current shop management systems. Click to schedule a demo today to learn more about the expansive benefits and features auto repair shops are getting with BAYiQ.

Resources:

https://movingtargets.com/blog/business-marketing/why-marketing-is-so-important/