Follow up - the best advertising there is

As small business owners, we have a tendency to chase after the next big idea to get people in our shop (Yellow Pages, Newspaper, Mailers, etc).  After all, the more people that come in, the better the chance of success, right.  Not necessarily!  After all, it's hard to be financially successful doing $25 oil changes.  So where do we find a good source of customers that trust us and are willing to spend money with us?

The answer is so simple, it's easy to overlook.  Our current customers are our best source of new business!  Especially households that have 2 or 3 vehicles.  The customers that have already trusted us to replace their brakes will also trust us to replace a muffler, or a water pump or a horn assembly.  It just makes sense.

The obvious difficulty in getting these customers back is how to reach them.  Sending out letters can be costly, though this is an effective method.  It's also time consuming.  We could pick up the phone and call them, but that can be one of the most difficult ways of getting in touch.  Imagine you pick up the phone to call John or Mary and let them know you apppreciate their business and would like to see them come back and 5 customers walk in the door.  Tricky to make good follow up calls during business hours.  So what's the alternative.  MAKE IT AUTOMATED!

With good shop management software, you can schedule automatic email follow up to all of your customers.  Include a special offer of 5% off on their next visit and they will love to hear from you.  Everybody likes to save money.  Also, don't follow up just once and then forget it.  Customers should hear from you every 90 days or so to remind them of regular maintenance.

Following up your existing customers is the best source of business.  If every customer that came into your shop once came back again two or three times a year imagine how busines would grow.

Good luck and keep the wheels spinning!

Chris Boshaw is the Owner of Shop Boss Pro, a web-based auto repair software package for non-dealer repair shops.  If your ready for the easiest to use shop management system, check it out at www.shopbosspro.com.