When you set out to market your auto body shop, the number of ways you could do it might seem overwhelming. There’s direct mail marketing, email marketing, print advertising, online marketing, radio advertising, content marketing, and a whole bunch of other methods with equally specific terms. However, if you boil it down to the simplest idea, body shop marketing involves 1. Getting people to recognize who you are and 2. Converting those people into customers. Like all of our collision repair clients, I’m sure you’re looking for the most cost-effective way to accomplish this mission.
One of the best tactics you can use for your auto body shop is content marketing.
According to Doug Kessler, B2B guru and Co-Founder/Creative Director at Velocity, “Traditional marketing talks at people. Content marketing talks with them.” He’s a big proponent of content marketing and so are we.
So what is it?
Well, it’s a very different way of approaching advertising than what people traditionally think of. Instead of making the act of selling something your focus, content marketing allows you to focus on providing valuable information to your prospective customers. It’s the difference between a ¼-page print ad and an e-book. Both have their place in general communications, but content marketing has some big advantages.
The top 5 advantages of content marketing include:
1. It’s very cost-effective. Because you can develop the content yourself, content marketing tactics are often much cheaper and more cost-effective than print, radio, outdoor, or television advertising. Plus, with any online tactics you take, such as blogging or creating downloadable content, you will be able to track how many visitors you attain, as well as how many of those become leads. You will also be able to reuse your content, as long as the information stays current, allowing you to publish it in different forms. For example, your blog could become part of an e-book, which could be offered for downloading in an email to your database. The possibilities are extensive.
2. It turns your business into a resource. By providing useful information to your body shop customers, you are turning your business into something of greater value than the average shop.
3. It sells your services without coming across as salesy. People are sold to repeatedly all day, every day, so it can be a real turn-off to experience yet another sales pitch from a business, whether one needs the offered service, or not. By providing interesting content, you are letting your potential customers know who you are without being annoying.
4. It encourages customer engagement. Another great advantage to providing helpful content to your customers is that it gives your shop a real voice. Instead of being an entity, you become relatable, which allows you to have one-on-one interaction with your customers.
5. It goes hand-in-hand with lead acquisition and nurturing. One of the most beautiful aspects of content marketing is that it works perfectly with lead nurturing. You can place calls to action on your blog posts, invite readers to subscribe, acquire leads by offering downloadable guides, and so on. Every bit of content you publish is an opportunity for lead acquisition and nurturing.
Need help with your content marketing?
At Stratosphere Studio we’re experts at content marketing for auto body shops. We can turn your business into a thought leader for the collision repair industry. Give us a call at (410) 459-7022 or click the link below for our affordable body shop starter packages.
