It’s Your Business
- Author: Terry Greenhut, Business Editor
- Subject Matter: Management
- Issue: Building your business
In times of struggle many small-business owners, including automotive-shop owners, take the position that keeping the business alive until the economy (or whatever) gets better is all they should be focusing upon. This is not usually the best way to handle the problem. One of the hardest things for any business is to simply maintain the status quo. As customers drop out or spend less because of their economic situation not only must they be replaced but their numbers also must be increased to maintain positive cash flow.
No matter how competent the business or its employees are or how hard you work on customer relations, you will lose customers often through no fault of your own. People die, they move away, they develop other affiliations etc. For whatever reason, you lose and can’t get them back. When that happens the only avenue left is to replace them and try for others as a cushion. If you don’t create a steady stream of replacements, your customer base will continue to dwindle until there isn’t enough to sustain the business.
Sitting back and watching your business shrink into oblivion is no option, especially when you’ve devoted a good portion of your life to making it this far. When faced with this type of situation you need to ask yourself, “What did I do to build up this business when I first started it? How did I get it off the ground? If I just opened it today what would I do to promote it?” Then go and do those things. Don’t ever think that you’ve been in the business so long that you are now entitled to kick back and not have to work as hard at building the business. It’s a never-ending battle. Those who become “too good for it” fail in the long term.
- One of the hardest things for any business is to simply maintain the status quo.
It’s very hard on the ego to watch a business that you’ve spent a big part of your lifetime developing deteriorate. You can easily become depressed over it, causing you to want to do less to try to salvage it than more. The key is to never let that happen. Don’t fall victim to the “I think I’ve worked hard enough for long enough and advertised enough” syndrome. That’s the one where you believe that everyone within your realm already knows of your shop’s existence so you don’t need to promote or advertise anymore.
People who know of your business’s existence do so because they have previously had a need for your services, because someone they know spoke of you, or because they saw or heard some piece of promotion or advertising you did. That number is infinitesimal compared with the number of people who have no idea that you exist. A perfect example is youngsters who are now starting to drive. They would have had no need for your services until now, so now is when you need to appeal to them.
The same really goes for anyone if you’re in the transmission business. Although there are certain people who have had a transmission problem with every car they’ve ever owned, most have never had one and wouldn’t know how to recognize it if they did. Those are the people our advertising and promotion need to reach. They have to continually be made aware that we exist so that when they think they have a problem, maybe our name or address or something memorable about us will pop into their minds.
As I drive down the road I look at signs and store fronts constantly. I’m surprised I get from point “A” to point “B” without getting into an accident. I’m looking to see what’s new, what might be of use to me in the future, what my competitors are doing and how well other businesses project their image. But that’s just me. I don’t know whether it’s just my curiosity or because it’s my line of work, but I do know that most other people don’t do that. They drive around with tunnel vision, seeing only what they set out to get, buy or do. Something would have to really jump out at them to get their attention. They can pass your shop 100 times and never realize it’s there until they need your services. Then they seek you out and when they find you they say things like, “Oh! I never knew you were here.”
- Keeping your name and the type of services you perform in front of the public regularly is essential.
Keeping your name and the type of services you perform in front of the public regularly is essential. It’s not a question of “if” you should advertise; it’s more of a question of “when and how.”
Social media is the new advertising end-all to beat all. Everyone now wants to or should be represented on sites like Facebook and Twitter, and there are lots of teenagers who can tell you how to go about promoting your business on them or you can hire a professional to help you get on and make your presence known to the community.
Blogging is another popular way to get known, but you have to contribute articles and tidbits of information that people might want to read. It’s an ongoing process that you need to keep up with, and let’s face it: Most of you are not writers; you’re business people trying to make it work, so if you can find someone to write for you and maintain contact with the public that’s the way to go because you won’t do it yourself after a little while. You may have the intention but you just won’t have the time.
A good website is a must. Today it’s easier than ever to design and build your own, but be careful about telling too much and boring the customer to death. Viewers have a very short website attention span. If they don’t see what they need right away they move on to another site. Be careful about using technical terms as well. If they can’t understand what you’re trying to tell them they again click off the site. Remember that your goal is to get them to call you and that’s it. They aren’t going to buy your service on the site although they might be able to make an appointment there. After all, you’re not selling a product they can order with a credit card. They need a service or repair of some sort that must be diagnosed and properly recommended, so you need them there in person.
One thing customers have a rough time with is the prospect of having to pay to get their problem diagnosed. Although we would all like to get paid for diagnostics you might want to try a “Web Special” coupon for a free diagnosis if they mention the website so you can gauge how effective your site is at getting new customers to call.
Although a well-produced website is important for telling the story once you have the prospect’s attention, first you have to get it. Something has to prompt them to go to your site. That’s where advertising the site comes in. The name of the site and possibly a line that gets their attention should be on everything you can have it printed on, like your tow or utility truck, shop car, business cards, brochures and fliers, and any promotional materials you give away at events or shows. It should be on your billhead, billboard, letterhead and all your envelopes. Put it on postcards and service reminders as well. Treat it as if it were your address or phone number because it is both. Bottom line – it’s a way for people to contact you when they need your services, so you need to keep it in front of them all the time.
Leave something behind in every vehicle you service. Things like plastic trash bags you can hang somewhere or key fobs with your basic contact info printed on them, an ice scraper or anything else they might have a use for would be great. Why not even small customized bottles of Windex and a cloth in a little packet to clean the insides of their windshields, which are usually filthy. Print right on the label “For your safety” along with your logo and contact info.
- Never go anywhere without having a stack of business cards on you.
Never go anywhere without having a stack of business cards on you. Everyone you meet should be handed one. Don’t be shy about it. What’s the worst they can do? Throw it in the street. They won’t, but even if your handing out a card offends a few people, many will keep them and some will use them; and the best we can ever hope for is that a decent percentage of our promotional material will take hold and be productive.
If you were just starting out or just opening your shop for the first time in a new location, if you were all excited about the new opportunity and had all your money invested in it, what would you do to promote it?
Along with traditional forms of advertising and the latest electronic means, I would do the same thing I did in 1975 when I started my first shop: I’d hit the streets. I would do it myself. I wouldn’t hire anyone to do it for me. I’d visit every business in my area, offering my services. I wouldn’t undercut prices but I would offer fast service and quality work. I’d pick up and deliver cars for free and show business owners how much I could save them by providing that service. I would offer a longer warranty than the competition because I have to believe my work can stand up to it. I would even throw in a “freebie” here and there if I thought it could get a relationship started.
Most of all I would be enthusiastic and talk about how good things are to show my potential customers that I’m excited by the prospect of becoming their service provider. I would do all these things as if my business’s life depended on it, because it does.
It’s Your Business by Terry Greenhut. visit www.TerryGreenhut.com
