A large marketing focus for most businesses is acquiring customers–getting them in the door. But that’s just the beginning. Once they leave, it’s your job to make sure they come back. In fact, loyal customers spend 67% more than new customers. And creating loyalty takes a combination of providing a positive experience with your auto shop and your ability to maintain communication afterward. That’s where the follow-up comes in.
With that said, there are critical do’s and don’ts of follow-up marketing to keep in mind.
The Don’ts of Auto Shop Follow-Up Marketing
Before you can optimize your follow-up strategy, there are several pitfalls you should be aware of. When following up with customers, make sure that you:
Don’t Get Spammy
How often do you ignore emails and text messages that are blatantly designed to promote a product or service? Chances are, your clients feel the same way about messages like these. And with over 46% of all email traffic consisting of spam, you don’t want your shop falling into the same category.
Make it a rule of thumb to only follow up when you have a good reason for doing so. If you bombard your clients with low-value content, they could feel like you’re taking advantage of the information they trusted you with increasing your shop’s chances of getting blocked.
Don’t Ignore Responses
In today’s online marketplace, customer reviews are more important than ever. Incredibly, 89% of shoppers read reviews before making a purchase decision. That means having a positive response is crucial.
Responding to positive reviews is a natural opportunity to improve your relationships with satisfied customers. And the same is true for negative reviews if done right. By replying to every customer personally, you’re building your shop’s credibility proving that you take their feedback seriously.
Don’t Wait
Once a customer leaves your auto-shop, the challenge remains top of mind. Getting in touch with clients right after their visit will reinforce your relationship with them. At the same time, it will encourage them to pick you the next time they need car repair services.
The Do’s of Auto Shop Follow-Up Marketing
At this point, you should understand what to avoid in your follow-up marketing strategy. Let’s switch gears and focus on what you should do:
Do Meet People Where They Are
Today, digital marketing is where it’s at - and where your clients are at. When you’re following up with customers, the marketing platforms you should focus on include:
- Social media
- Text messages
These are all platforms that the average person will use on a daily basis. As of last year, more than 2 billion people a month actively used Facebook, while over 500 million people used Instagram daily in 2021. Moreover, nearly 4.5 billion people are forecasted to use email by 2024. As a result, you’re nearly guaranteed to reach your customers by utilizing these forms of digital communication.
Do Get Personal
While creating generic follow up messages may sound like a smart way to save time there’s a catch: the less specific your copy is, the more it’ll read like spam. And you’ve already read about why that’s not a good thing.
Instead, personalizing your followup emails and texts is more than worth the effort. When your customers get messages that mention the service they received, the car they own, and other personal information, they’ll be much more likely to take your message seriously.
Do Ask For A Review
Nearly 90% of consumers consult reviews before making a purchase. Even more astonishing, bad reviews increase conversions by 67%! Since reviews play a key role in today’s digital marketing landscape, the process of soliciting reviews is incredibly important for your auto shop. It may sound obvious, but people are more likely to leave a review if you ask them to do so.
By asking your customers for reviews, you’ll increase the odds of getting a steady flow of feedback to work with. In turn, that will allow you to maximize the impact of your reviews. Just try not to come off as pushy when making your request!
Make Follow Up Marketing Easy
Following up with customers can help you build lasting connections with them. With that said, if you manage your own auto shop, this can take up a big chunk of your time and money.
Instead, consider automated marketing software to take their promotional efforts to the next level while minimizing your workload.
BayIQ is a marketing solution built specifically for small auto shops. With this software, you can:
- Send emails/texts to customers with ease
- Set reminder messages for upcoming appointments
- Automatically ask clients for reviews
- Post reviews to Facebook and Google
- Closely track your shop’s performance metrics
Thanks to these features and BayIQ’s other capabilities, you’ll find it easier than ever to follow up with your valued clients. To get a taste of what this software can do for you, try requesting a demo!
