How to get more customers to your auto repair shop?

Starting your own auto repair shop is probably one of the hardest but most fulfilling things you can do in your life. However, it will quickly humble you and make you realize that you need to wear many hats. One of those hats is of the marketing guru.

I know, I know, you got into the business because you love cars and want to work on your own projects and build some bad ass hot rods, but first, we need to get you some clients through the door first.

If you are like most people, you probably don’t have a big marketing budget to start out with. So, what you want to do is some good old reliable grass roots marketing and hustle as much as you can to get your auto repair shop name everywhere in your town.

Don’t be afraid to market yourself to everyone and anyone you know. Remember, this is your dream, and no one is going to do it except for you.

Here are some good tips that will get you some people through your auto repair shop.

• Prior to you starting your shop, you will want to start telling as many people as possible about what you are doing. So, talk to all your friends and family and let them know what you are doing. This can potentially bring some people through the door and they will also let everyone know about your shop as well.

• Make sure you print out quality flyers and go to the local businesses and place those flyers in every car that is in the parking lot of those businesses. You be surprised how many people you get from that, but make sure they are quality flyers that way people don’t throw those out.

• Also, make sure you meet the business owners of those same businesses. Let them know about your shop and try to create a relationship where both of you will send clients to each other. As business owners, you will meet a lot of people and you will be able to send clients to the business that are around you.

• Do you have Facebook? Then use it your advantage. Come up with a short standard message that you can send all your friends letting them know that you are opening a shop. The key thing is let as many people know what you are doing, the more people hear about it, the more and more people are going to come to your shop.

• Join your local chamber of commerce or your local BNI. This can potentially get a lot of business through your door. The members of the BNI and/or local chamber of commerce will send you clients and you will do the same. I have spoken to several business owners about the potential that this venue can do for you and it is amazing.

These tips as simple as they are do WORK. I personally have tried them in JMC and have also recommended these same tips to our clients and we have seen the difference. And the best thing is that they cost next to nothing. All they cost is time, so make sure you hustle and get your name and the name of your shop out there to as many people as you can.

Remember, this is your dream so make sure you hustle because no one will do it for you.

What do you think of these tips? Do you have anything else that has worked for you that we may have missed? Let us know in the comments below.