zed
Forum Replies Created
-
It is time to remove the rumors and look at the facts about the DMV Mailing List.
There is a DMV Mailing List and it has been available for 11 years.Yes it is the real thing. How can this be done?Because of the Privacy Act, you cannot give out any personal information about the vehicle your lead is driving.So when you go to buy the DMV List, all you get is a name and address.You will not know what car they have, but everyone on the list will have the cars you selected by car make, year and even model if you like.If you are getting a list that the supplier says is DMV, but it also has all personal information available like car make, model and year, phone number, age, income level ETC. IT IS EITHER NOT A DMV LIST OR IT IS ILLEGAL.
-
Auto Repair
Advertising? What can I do to seriously increase, even double my RO Averages?BUT EVEN MORE IMPORTANT! HOW CAN I CREATE MUCH HIGHER NUMBERS FOR “FULL PRICE
RETENTION”?What does auto repair advertising have to do with Full Price Retention. In
fact, WHAT IS FULL PRICE RETENTION? I’ve never even heard that phrase
before. (That is only because it was just created 3 days ago.)Full Price Retention is simply this. When you send out your auto repair
advertising direct mail marketing, you skip over the needy, low income
customers who you are actually losing money on. Needy customers who never come back at full
price because they can’t afford to.How can I do that. Simple – you target only the PRIME CUSTOMERS who have nice cars (cars that they love enough to keep it running to perfection) and have the money to pay you well for your services. It is these customers alone who will come back to your shop as loyal, full price customers. It is these customers that you would call “FULL PRICE RETENTION” Customers.
But why am I not getting more Prime customers and Full Price Retention with the
auto repair advertising direct mail I am currently using.IT IS BECAUSE MOST AUTO REPAIR ADVERITING PROGRAMS ATTRACT THE WRONG RAW
MATERIAL. YOU CANNOT BUILD
HIGH INCOME PROFITS – IF YOU ARE WORKING WITH LOW INCOME RAW MATERIAL!
What does the phrase Raw Material mean? Just like putting up a building, you
need to go out and purchase raw materials to build it. Cheap raw materials
build a cheap building! Higher quality raw materials build a strong, classy,
long enduring building.
Auto repair advertising direct mail success is built the same way. Cheap mass mailings that target everyone and every type of car is almost always a guaranteed a low
level payoff.
Highly targeted mailings sent to car owners (selected by car make and year) is massively more successful in delivering significantly higher RO
averages. And 70% to 80% higher Full Price Retention Levels!
Needy, low
income, customers who drive old vehicles, or simply basic transportation vehicles, will
never become loyal, full price customers. They either can’t afford you, or are just not willing to pay
full price for anything.MOST WASTED TIME CAN BE DIRECTLY BLAMED ON NEEDY CUSTOMERS WHO NEVER BRING IN ENOUGH BUSINESS TO MAKE IT WORTH YOUR WHILE.
On The Other Hand – Prime
Customers (who decide they like you after the first visit) will come back over
and over again, becoming part of your permanent data base. Only Prime customers will come back as FULL PRICE RETENTION CUSTOMERS – because they have the money to pay you well
for your service! THIS IS WHERE HIGHER RO AVERAGES COME FROM!
Customer
Retention is nice. But FULL
PRICE RETENTION is Paradise!How do you find large numbers of the right raw materials?
1- Carrier
route saturation?
2- Median
income zip codes or mailing lists?Absolutely
not. Car Count is meaningless. Price per card mailed is meaningless.
Both of these methods still hit and attract primarily low income, basic transportation
customers looking for the deal. And both of these methods typically use the “Shop Appeal” postcard design to attract every car make you work on. This strategy has lost most of its attraction power over the last 5 to 7 years. But shops still use it because it is cheap. Even though it doesn’t drive enough Prime Customers to your shop.
If you want to seriously increase your income with your Auto Repair Advertising Direct Mail – Car Make Marketing is the only way to reach the right customers, with the right
cars, who have the right income levels, to pay you well for your services.
How is that
done? Getting a list of your favorite vehicles. The cars you make the most
money on. The cars you can repair the quickest and have the least come-backs
on. THAT IS WHERE HIGH INCOME COMES FROM! How is this done? By getting the perfect mailing list by car make and year.
There is a
DMV List available in 16 States. And what is called a Comp-A list that has the very best compiled list counts (the closest to DMV List accuracy) in states that do not have the DMV List Available.
When you do
your auto repair advertising direct mail marketing this way, you are 90% sure
that the customer who rolls onto your lot, will be the right customer, with the
right car and the right income to pay you handsomely.
The right strategy and the right raw material can make changes in your profits
you never knew could be possible. -
This is one beautiful shop makeover! With the 2 tone paint job, yellow awnings and trim, you can’t help but look at this stunning building from a block away. Wonderful job on the remodeling. The picture too is absolutely great. Good exposure, well cropped. It is a great photo if you are going to hang it on the wall at home or in your office. But it is a lousy photo to use for your direct mail or web site marketing. It is creating the wrong assumptions for people who don’t know you.
People looking for a new shop want to feel the comfort zone of seeing other cars at your shop. If they see no cars, their first response is – the fear of being the only person standing at the counter, with all the sales pressure directed toward them. “The assumption you are creating with this photo (if you are using it for advertising purposes) is: “Gee! If this guy was a great shop, the lot would be filled with fine cars.”Re-shoot this on a nice day, no water on the driveway, and fill the place up with the cars you love to work on. The cars you make the most money on. Have a car sticking out each door about 2 to 3 feet (so you can see it) (definitely NOT on the lift. They get hidden by the lower light level inside!) Face these cars forward so your prospective customer can see what kind of cars they are. (Do not open the hoods).The identity of all cars is best displayed by the grill. Also have cars parked in the lined spaces. Once again facing forward. Again, select your favorite cars. Shoot again from this same angle you used here. Maybe try stepping up a few rungs on a ladder for a few shots so you can see the cars in the doors as well as the cars in the lot. Then select the angle you like best.
A photo staged like that, with such a beautiful building and a small array of nice cars, will build credibility, confidence and attract the fine car high income customer. And that is what your main goal is anyway. To deliver the the customer, who has purchased a fine car, who loves their car, is willing to keep it in perfect condition – and will pay you well to do it. This is also the new customer who will give you a higher first visit sale and is about 3 to 4 times more likely to come back as a loyal, full price paying customer.
If you have any questions about shop photography, feel free to call me. I can send you some shop photos that I have taken over the last 30 years that will immediately show you what I am talking about. I have been a professional photographer for 45 years as well as an advertising/marketing professional. You can reach me at 800-428-0286.
Or find out more about auto service marketing direct mail at:Zed Daniels -
Internet marketing is great and necessary. AND there are things you can do other than a web site to attract good customers. But direct mail marketing is still the very best way to bring in exactly the right customer for you. The customer with the right car, the right income and the desire to keep it in top condition. In other words – willing to spend money with you. Targeting by car make is far more accurate than income level targeting.For those of you who are not aware that the ability to attract cars by make, model and year is available, even using the DMV List in 22 states, click below to find out what this strategy can do for you income. What you are looking for is a way to find the customer with the propensity and enough love for his car, to spend as a priority (without fear of cost) on his car. This is the only guy you will make serious money on. How can you bring in large numbers of this car owner? Click below for some ideas.
-
Gentlemen – what we are talking about here is customer loyalty. But I have yet, in almost any discussion of customer loyalty to hear the number one reason most people don’t come back.
Let us first assume that those of you who are coming to a great forum like this – really care about your customers and give exceptional customer service. The Royal Treatment. With that as a foundation, putting all shops on an even keel, let us now look at the number one reason that only 30% of your new customers come back.First – let’s take a look at why the new customer came in. Probably because they got a postcard in the mail promoting your shop. It had a nice oil change price and a free car inspection. You looked nice so they came in with your card.Everything went well. They got their $19.95 oil change and found 5 things that needed additional service, but they said no to all of them. Even the cheap ones. So you collect your $20 and send them on their way telling them that at least one of the things needed should be tended to very soon for safety sake.Why did they not come back? Because they are a low income customer – who knows very well that if and when they come back they will have to pay full price for your services. And they cannot afford it. They will never come back at full price. (Which is the real goal of bringing them in – in the first place.).What is the failure. Auto repair marketing that delivers a majority of low income customers actually guarantees that your retention rates will be low.After 30 years of front lines auto repair marketing I have come to realize that – CAR COUNT IS MEANINGLESS. HIGH INCOME CAR COUNT MEANS EVERYTHING!Here is an article that goes into some detail about how to solve this problem – and to keep your eye on the real goal of auto service marketing. HIGHER INCOME. Copy and paste the link below. -
NO! Don’t Do It. That wheel was invented long ago and it is square – not round. You won’t get anywhere with it.
Movie theater advertising is one of those forms of “so called” promotion that makes money for the theater – not the auto repair shop. In my 30 years of auto service marketing, I have had many clients ask me about movie theater and major league scoreboard advertising. The problem? The frame of mind of the customer is wrong. They are out for a good time, talking with friends before the movie or on their cell phones. The last thing on their mind is auto repair – unless their car broke down on the way to the theater.Most business owners do movie theater advertising for their own ego. They like seeing their picture on the big screen.The only thing that would be successful in a movie theater, ball park, or grocery store cart is something they are selling at that location.Save your money.Zed Daniels – President – Motor Service Marketing
