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Automotive Technical Articles - Effective Business Marketing |
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We are delivering a series of free seminars at MechanEx 2008 covering the business of diagnostics. |
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Effective
Business Marketing Let’s be realistic. Most people running a smallish business just don’t have the time to devote much attention to formal learning of management skills. Lessons are delivered by the 'school of hard knocks'. Trial and error can be the best teacher of all, but can also be very expensive, time-consuming and, in some cases, terminal. So, the fact that you haven’t got an MBA from Warwick doesn’t mean that general business management principles should be ignored. In this article, we will investigate key areas within your business that you can work on simply and cost effectively to drive the performance of your business in the direction you want it to go. Here, we look at effective workshop marketing. Market Led. Effective marketing is the means by which a business can sustain and improve its performance. It involves attracting the maximum number of potentially profitable, prospective customers to the products and services it supplies rather than those of its competitors, and to ensure that the products and services it supplies meet the needs of its customers. It is important to remember that marketing is not a one-way communication It involves listening to what your customers tell you, or even asking directly for their opinion. Word of mouth is, of course, a simple and high effective method. One garage owner who has tracked referrals over the past few years reports that they have grown from 25 per cent to nearly 80 per cent. He says that often new customers can't even recall who referred them, only that his garage came highly recommended. The problem with word of mouth, however, is that it cannot be managed to meet the needs of the business in the same way as other marketing communications. Based on data. A customer database is a vital tool for both maintaining current customer levels and generating new business. Service and MOT reminders, special offers (such as winter and summer checks), promoting new services and ‘introduce a friend’ initiatives are useful business generation programmes. Most garage management packages are able to perform these functions; otherwise, standard office productivity software such as Microsoft Access contain customer databases. It should be obvious – but out-of-date mailshots arriving daily through the post suggest otherwise – that databases need to be diligently maintained. Profitable Work. If you analyse the work you do, chances are that it is made up of several distinct groups. The type of customers that you attract to your business will drive the products and services that you offer. For example, if you concentrate on the lower end of the market, price will be a major factor, whereas if your customer base consists predominantly of professionals, then quality of service, in-car entertainment accessories, valet services and courtesy vehicles may be in demand. The type of customer and the cars they drive will also have an influence on the type of equipment you need to be able to service their vehicles. It is important to establish which source of work is overall the most profitable and sustainable and concentrate your efforts on attracting more of it to your workshop. For example, fleet work can offer a regular volume of business. It may mean opening early and closing late, or weekend working to suit the needs of the fleet manager, but a fleet of vehicles that cover high mileages will provide a regular stream of service and repair work. Specialist services also warrant investigation. High margin work like styling accessories and in-car entertainment to cash rich, car proud youngsters, and paintless dent removal to public and trade alike are revenue opportunities worth investigating, as well as the opportunity to capitalise on the boom in diesel cars and motorcycles. But it is important not to over-stretch the business and risk losing focus. From small acorns grow…. Other forms of direct marketing can involve flyers enclosed in local ‘free’ papers, or delivered by hand. You can target your market by specific postcode area to ensure that you reach the type of customer that you want. A good tip is to look at one of the online neighbourhood guides (such as upmystreet.com) and obtain an ACORN 'A Classification Of Residential Neighbourhoods' profile. The profile will highlight details such as household income, number of cars owned, typical car age and cost, average age of householder, typical employment, and general attitude to life. This is a good tool to enable you to attract and keep the right sort of customers coming to your business. To raise general market awareness, indirect marketing such as advertising on local radio and in the local press could be beneficial. However, attracting customers is only part of the story. Profitable businesses succeed through their ability to convert the greatest possible number of customer enquiries into actual sales, to process the work efficiently through the shop, to charge a fair price for the work they do, and do a quality job. A friend of mine has a business slogan that hangs on the wall behind the reception desk The sign reads: “GOOD - FAST - CHEAP We will happily provide any two that you choose”. His explanation is simple: if you want the job good and fast it, won't be cheap; if you want fast and cheap, it probably won’t be very good; if you want it good and cheap, it won't be very fast. © James Dillon. Date of article MMII |
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