As with any business, your customers are your most valuable asset. Unfortunately, there are too many auto shop companies who don’t understand this principle, statistics provides the evidence required to back up this statement. Approximately 55 percent of car owners have had a negative experience with an auto shop. Therefore, those customers have all had to go and look for other auto repair stores for their car maintenance. That auto repair store then has to spend more money on marketing to bring in additional customers. A bad experience doesn’t necessarily have to be a shoddy job, it could be a number of issues; whatever the case may be, it is essential that you put your customers first so that they become loyal and bring in repeat business. Here is how the shop management system can help you retain customers.
Customer follow ups
When customers feel that they are appreciated and valued, they are more likely to return to your store. One way of achieving this is to provide customer follow ups. This means that whenever a customer uses your services, you contact them afterwards to make sure everything is still ok with their vehicle. The shop management system builds customer profiles; therefore, it will automatically contact customers on your behalf.
Repair and Maintenance Reminders
The majority of people don’t come into an auto repair shop until there is a major problem with their car. This can lead to costly repairs, and in some cases having to purchase a new vehicle. Maintenance is essential to keep a vehicle in good running order; a good auto repair shop will send their customers reminders when their vehicle is due for a service. Doing this manually is virtually impossible, but a shop management system will send messages to your customers automatically to remind them that a service is due.
Relationship building
This is an important element of customer retention, when a person feels that they have a strong relationship with their auto repair shop, they are more likely to return. Building a business relationship is not the same as building a personal relationship, so you are not going to be calling customers and asking about their children. It can be as simple as knowing what parts your customer needs when they come into your store, or sending them targeted marketing messages instead of generic information that they are not interested in. The shop management system will compile a profile about your customers buying behaviour to assist with this.
If a shop management system is something that you might be interested in, you can try out the Tekmetric software for free, they are offering a trial until the end of 2018. You are not obligated to sign a contract, meaning there is no small print to read, there are no hidden costs and if you decide that it is not for you at the end of the year, you can opt out without having to pay a cancellation fee.
