You may operate a top shop, but does your local community
know it? Do your customers and prospects alike know about the range of your
shop’s services, the extent of your investment in top-of-the-line tools and
equipment, your commitment to using the highest-quality parts in the repair
process and your dedication to restoring their vehicle to peak performance
levels?
While advertising is a primary medium to target your message
to the masses, there are other ways you can communicate to consumers about all
that your shop has to offer. Getting involved in your local community is an
ideal place to start.
With the goal of providing you with input on ways to get
involved in the community, Babcox Research asked a sample of shop owner readers
for their ideas on the topic. Some of those responses are listed below.
10 Ways To Get Involved In Your Local Community
- Attend local car shows, so you can personally talk to
members of the community. Remember that consumers tend to do business with
people they know and trust.
- Hold an “Open House” at your shop to tout your shop’s
services and techs’ expertise, and to promote all the value you bring to the
vehicle repair process.
- Interact with young people in local schools to give them
positive feedback about careers in the automotive industry. Consider on-the-job
training for high school students (co-op educational programs), or “job shadow”
programs.
- Sponsor local sports teams; it’s a highly visible way to
get your name out in the community.
- Donate to worthy causes — i.e. United Way campaigns,
local charities, police and fire departments, and food banks.
- Offer tire pressure checks and child car seat
installation inspections at your shop.
- Participate in a call-in radio car care show — an
opportunity to educate the public about the value of routine maintenance and a
chance to promote your shop in the process.
- Hold car care clinics at your shop. One reader offers
free car clinics for single moms and the elderly as part of his community
outreach efforts. Another helps the needy through church outreach programs.
- Volunteer to speak at Career Day events, and mentor
future techs by getting involved in the local vo-tech school.
- Participate in “scout” troop activities and offer the
use of your flatbed trailer or truck for local parades.
If you have any ideas you would like to offer, just
send me an e-mail and we’ll add them to our listing on the website.