3 Customer Focused Ways to Increase Your Shop's Sales By $50,000 in 2014

How do you plan to increase your shop's sales next year? In this email I am going to show you how a shop with $1.5 million in annual sales can increase its sales by $50,000 in 2014.

Many shops focus on insurance company DRP's and other third parties like agents, dealerships and fleets when they want to grow their businesses.

While I agree third party companies are an important part of growing your business I also believe focusing on consumers that already know, like and trust your business can be a simple, inexpensive and effective way to grow your company's sales and profits in 2014 and beyond. 

Below are 3 ways a shop with $1.5 million in annual sales can increase its sales by $50,000 for an investment of about $200 per month and 15 minutes per day.

1. Implement an unsold estimate follow up and sales system 
2. Market and sell additional services to your existing customer base
3. Ask your existing customers for a referral 2-4 times per year.

Let's review each of these opportunities.

1. Implement an unsold estimate follow up and sales system. The industry's closing ratio average is approximately 65%. Secondly a vast majority of shops do not have a formal unsold estimate follow up and sales process. Finally, shops must ask for the sale if they expect to earn the customer's business.

A shop with $1.5 million in annual sales and a 65% closing ratio has more than 360 consumers walk away from their shop without agreeing to have their car repaired at that time.

If this shop were to implement a system that followed up and asked that customer for their business and provided them reasons why they should have their car repaired at that shop we have seen conversion ratios that range from 1% to 5%.

By converting 2.5% of their unsold estimates this shop could add 9 RO's or approximately $20,000 in additional revenues

How does a shop implement an unsold estimate follow up and sales system? In today's world where a majority of consumers own a smart phone, follow up phone calls are becoming less effective because many consumers don't answer calls from numbers they don't recognize.

We recommend an email and text based system that automatically sends follow up text messages and emails to the consumer 2-4 times with 10 days after they visited the shop. The messages should be short, focused on why the consumer should bring their car to your shop and mention the importance of safety. You can even use special promotions to incentivize them to come back.

Here is a short video on our eMarketPlace Unsold Estimate Follow Up and Sales System.




2. Market and sell additional services to your existing customer base. Industry statistics tell us the typical consumer spends $500.00 per year on their vehicle for mechanical and appearance related services. 75% or $375.00 per year is spent on mechanical repairs and 25% or $125.00 is spent on appearance related services.

We know that that a typical shop with $1.5 million in annual sales repairs approximately 68 RO's per month or 818 per year. Based on these numbers the customers that had their vehicles repaired at this shop in 2013 will spend approximately $400,000 on their vehicles in 2014! That's right....$400,000!!!!

OK, let's say your shop may not have the capability to perform mechanical services but can do detailing, PDR, bumper repair, headlight restoration, etc. 25% of $400,000 is $100,000! If you want to increase your shop's sales in this area why not market appearance related services to your existing customer base.

For example, let's say you offer a $200 detail, bumper repair, glass service, paint sealant or other service to last year's 818 customers and 5% take you up on your offer. That equates to 41 RO's or more than $8000.00 in additional revenues in 2014!

What if you have been in business for 10 years and you have 8000 customers in your database and you get 5%? That equals 400 RO's or $80,000!




How can a shop market and sell additional services to its exiting customer base? We recommend email and social media. Email is inexpensive, generates a $44 dollar return on every dollar invested and is preferred by more than 77% of consumers when it comes to receiving offers and promotions. The shop can also use social media if it has a large enough following.

3. Ask your existing customers for a referral 2-4 times per year. Did you know that the typical consumer has influence over 4.2 vehicles? What is influence? They refer or have influence on where their family, friends and associates vehicles get repaired.

As we have mentioned earlier, a shop with $1.5 Million in annual sales repairs approximately 818 vehicles per year. Based on referral influence those 818 consumers actually have "influence" over 3,434 vehicles.

Statistically we know that approximately 2.25% of vehicles on the road will be involved in an accident every year. This means approximately 77 of the 3434 "influenced vehicles" will be involved in an accident in 2014.  Again, if this shop has been in business for 10 years and has 8000 customers in their database, the "influence factor" increases to 33,600 vehicles or 756 potential accidents!

By asking a shop's existing customer base for a referral 2-4 times per year they can expect a 10% referral rate. If 10% of the 77 "influenced vehicle" accidents are referred to the shop that equates to 8 RO's or $18,000 in additional revenues.

Here is a short video on our eMarketPlace customer database that allows you to automatically touch your customers 4-12 times per year.


 

How does a shop ask it's existing customers for referrals 2-4 times per year? Email and social media. In today's world a shop needs to keep its brand in front of the consumer and the best ways to do that is via email and social media.

Shops should send a branded email communication to every customer 4-6 times per year educating them about their vehicles, insurance, claims and other vehicle related educational topics. They should use social media in the same way.

How much time and money will a shop need to spend to accomplish this? About 15-20 minutes of administrative time per day by a shop employee and anywhere from $150 to $225 per month for the tools and technologies to automate these processes.

These "costs" should not alarm any shop based on an investment to ROI ratio of 1326%! We believe any shop owner would invest $4000 for a return of $50,000!

**Blog written by Frank Terlep, CEO of eMarketing Sherpas**

What's Your Company Story?

Every company has a story. Some started from humble beginnings to become something great. Others were forged in tough competition and reached massive scale only through the vision and creativity of a charismatic leader. Some beloved brands even got their start in organized crime.

Your company probably has a compelling story too. And while it might not be the most essential part of your marketing, a company bio is a good way to add character to your organization and make it more relatable to customers.

Most marketing writing has the goal of professionally introducing and selling products or services to prospective customers. But when it comes to writing a company story, you have more freedom to create a narrative that doesn't try to sell or promote anything. Your story is just that: a story. Of course, writing a narrative comes with its own set of challenges.




Your Company Story - 2 Minute Video

A good story is driven by a character. The character in this case should be your company. Your company's story will be the account of its growth from a start-up to where it currently stands. Make sure the story mentions its founders and the circumstances surrounding its conception. What problem was your founder trying to solve? Did he/she create or discover something that customers went crazy for? Show us the "A-HA!" moment that created your business.

From there, spend a paragraph discussing your company's growth. Chances are your founder experienced some setbacks. The best stories involve tales of overcoming unexpected challenges. While you should never make up anecdotes in your company's story, you should put in the appropriate research to discover every twist and turn in your company's growth. You and your fans will appreciate it in the end. If the current state of your brand doesn't resemble anything like its origin, explain what happened to cause that metamorphosis. In movies, this is the second act. In novels, this is the rising action. In your company bio, this is where we learn how your brand became your brand.

Finally, conclude your story with the current state of the company and its vision for the future. Do you plan to franchise? Expand to different states? Different countries? After telling such an interesting story, leave your customers with a peek at the possible sequel.

When a company shares its history with customers, anniversaries and milestones become even more special. If your business is reaching a key anniversary, celebrate it in a similar fashion. Encourage customers to share their experiences with the company. If your company still has ties to its original location, do something to honor that community.

A good story is always entertaining. And your story will not only entertain but also engage and build trust with your customers.

**Blog written by Frank Terlep, CEO of eMarketing Sherpas**

Why Does Your Auto Body or Repair Shop Need A Purpose Statement?

Because it is critical to your company's success...a Purpose Statement establishes guidelines for people to follow in an effort to achieve loftier, longer-term goals and objectives.  It provides people in your company reasons WHY they are doing what they do!

A great example of a purpose statement is the preamble to the Constitution of the United States, which states:

"We the people of the United States, in Order to form a perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."




Your Company's Purpose Statement - 1:30 Minute Video

What is a Purpose Statement?

A business purpose statement defines the vision and mission of a company in a brief but comprehensively informative way. While not every detail of the company's infrastructure and history need be included, a summary of the key points and goals as well as a clear picture of the target market are essential.

A business purpose statement will keep a company focused on its goals and on improving and increasing progress and expansion, and will keep in mind the intended audience and customers. A straightforward business purpose statement not only will help the business stay organized and looking ahead, but also will stand as an accessible and professional document with which to attract and inform potential investors.

Your business purpose statement comes down to two simple but VERY powerful questions.

What does your business do? (Identify a sense of mission that drives your company to do what it does)

Why does your business exist? Below are sample purpose statements that work for several public and private companies.

• Nike: "To Bring Inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world. If you have a body, you are an athlete"
• Microsoft: "To help people and businesses throughout the world reach their full potential."
• Apple: "Designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork, and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and has recently introduced its magical iPad which is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices."
• The NFL: "To challenge National Football League players to be lifelong learners while pursuing continuous improvement in family relations, social interactions, personal growth and career development during and beyond their careers as NFL players."
• AFLAC: "To combine aggressive strategic marketing with quality products and services at competitive prices to provide the best insurance value for consumers".
• Hershey Corporation: "Undisputed Marketplace Leadership".
• Disney: "The mission of The Walt Disney Company is to be one of the world's leading producers and providers of entertainment and information. Using our portfolio of brands to differentiate our content, services and consumer products, we seek to develop the most creative, innovative and profitable entertainment experiences and related products in the world."
• Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream: "To make, distribute & sell the finest quality all natural ice cream & euphoric concoctions with a continued commitment to incorporating wholesome, natural ingredients and promoting business practices that respect the Earth and the Environment."
• Joe Boxer: "JOE BOXER is dedicated to bringing new and creative ideas to the market place, both in our product offerings as well as our marketing events. We will continue to develop our unique brand positioning, to maintain and grow our solid brand recognition, and to adhere to high quality design standards. Because everyone wants to have fun every day, JOE BOXER will continue to offer something for everyone with fun always in mind." (The CEO is called the Chief Underpants Officer!).
• Wal-Mart: "Wal-Mart's mission is to help people save money so they can live better."

Some Useful Guidelines to Follow ...When Developing your company's Purpose Statement

• Determine who is responsible for the completion of the Purpose Statement. This should be the owner of the company.
• Assemble the team and set the deadline for completion.
• Determine your audience: In a shop's case this will be your shareholders, employees, customers, strategic partners, and
• Model and Emulate the Best Businesses: Review the Purpose Statements for other companies outside your industry and the most admired companies in the world. 
• Does it pass the Spouse or Mother Test? Run it by your spouse, or better yet, your mother. If your mother doesn't understand it, then it might be time to start over.
• What is Your Communication Plan? Where and how you're your Purpose Statement be communicated - over and over again? How will you keep it alive and well and avoid it from ending up on the proverbial corner shelf of everyone's office gathering dust?

What is your shop's Purpose Statement?

**Blog written by Frank Terlep, CEO of eMarketing Sherpas**