Marketing ideas for car dealerships

A few marketing ideas for auto repair shops that not only keep customers coming back, but also expand your clientele:

• Car Tips Blog

In 2018, creating a website for your business is a given. Maintaining and updating this website is a challenge that auto shop owners face. One way to attract traffic to your website is to start a blog with automotive tips. 

If the content you create provides direct value to your most likely customers, consumers will revisit your site and maybe even subscribe. This gives you the opportunity to inform them of special offers and remind them of the services their cars need.

• Social media

Just as your website is a standard part of marketing your auto shop, so is building your social media presence. Consistent Facebook posting is essential to show those who hear about you that you are open and willing to help your customers.

Choose a schedule and stick to it so that your subscribers (who are most likely also your customers) can know when to expect new content from you. While you can post at specific times each day or each week, the possibilities for the type of content you post are endless: 

1. coupons and special offers
2. links to your blog
3. customer reviews
4. useful tips and service recommendations

• Coupon Advertising

Coupons are a low-cost, high-impact option that attracts new customers and reminds existing customers of the great services you provide. Suggestions you can use include:

1. Half oil change
2. Free Oil Change With Purchase of Emissions/Safety Test
3. Free oil changes on any repair over a certain dollar amount.
4. Free/discounted tire replacement when purchasing another service
5. A specific dollar amount from a specific service
6. A certain percentage of the total bill value

The key to making coupons work is getting them into the hands of the right people. Registration tape promotions, which appear on the back of grocery store receipts, offer an ideal and cost-effective means of delivery.

• Customer Recommendations

Another smart marketing strategy for auto shop owners is to encourage existing customers to do some marketing for you.

Referral programs encourage customers to tell their friends and family about your excellent service and reward them with a free oil change or discounted service—an offer they can't get anywhere else. 

An exclusive incentive is a powerful motivator for customers who simply need to praise others in order to receive a reward.

• Customer loyalty programs

People like free things. Offering a loyalty program that allows customers to receive free oil changes or other repair services is a great way to show appreciation to existing customers.

This can be as simple and low-tech as a punch card that promises free oil changes after five paid oil changes, or as complex as a points program in which customers receive a bonus after a certain amount of money is spent on services.

Loyalty programs encourage customers to continue visiting your auto shop and completing repairs they can keep.