Connect With Me or Lose Me! (Lesson 7)
Following on from my last article, I have another great example of how a streamlined system helped turn potential revenue into real, measurable business growth.
Todd owns and runs an auto workshop that had struggled to turn a profit for the last three years. He was working hard, the shop was busy enough, but it wasn’t bringing in as many customers as he needed to generate the sort of revenue he wanted. He knew he had to change something or the hard work seemed like it just wasn’t worth it.
Now his workshop is expanding quite rapidly and is generating more profits than it ever had before. This has happened because he decided to get organised and now he is reaping the benefits.
His shop was fully booked a few weeks in advance and he was turning over a nice profit. He wanted more though. Christmas was coming up and he would only be open a few days between Christmas and New Year. However, he didn’t have any bookings for that week and he wanted them.
Because he now had a streamlined database and a promotions template he was able to set up and send out a promotion in a matter of minutes. He decided to run an oil change promotion because he had been able to see, through his new system, that one of his suppliers was offering a significant discount on oil. He could discount his oil change service without losing any money because of the saving available on the oil from the supplier.
This information and promotion ability was all inside the same system. Quick. Simple. Effective. It generated the bookings that he wanted. He connected with his clients, he offered them something of value and they accepted his offer. Todd kept his workshop busy at a time when many others were struggling to do the same.
The kind of regular communication customers appreciate most includes service reminders, safety check reminders, or a message to point out their vehicle registration is due soon.
You might also like to let your clients know that some other type of repair or replacement is due, based on previous work or checks.
As you can see by the examples above, communication is a simple and powerful way to assist your business processes. A basic text message reminder can save you from under booking. A simple email promotion can generate more business with minimal effort and no cost.
You can’t run an advertisement in any traditional media for free, but with his database and communication system Todd, in the story above, was able to advertise his promotion without it costing him anything more than a half hour of his time.
The ability to communicate with your customers in this way provides you with unlimited opportunities to promote services, maintain relationships and strengthen your business across the board. There has never been an easier way to grow your business than with this new communication, and it is critical to your business success that your auto workshop learns to take full advantage of this new opportunity.
I’m really interested to hear your thoughts on this – does a communication system like the one Todd uses sound like it could work in your business?
To your success,
Australia’s #1 Automotive Business Growth Expert
