Lots of collision repair shops we encounter at Stratosphere Studio have become much more sophisticated in their marketing techniques. This is a wonderful trend that we’ve noticed and we’re happy to see it paying off in the form of higher traffic and increased body shop revenue. As the automotive industry embraces more sophisticated marketing techniques, the emphasis is now on being as strategic as possible. Particularly with our capabilities online, it’s become more feasible to do so. Body shop owners can now take advantage of the cost-effectiveness of internet marketing, content marketing, and more—all while tracking pageviews, clicks, and leads. We’re living in a great age of marketing possibilities.
What about A/B testing?
In line with being more strategic, many body shop owners are considering a technique called A/B testing. In A/B testing, we experiment with alternative messages in order to learn what’s most effective among a specific demographic. An example of this would be to send two different coupons out to two groups of potential customers. We would then track which coupon brings in the most customers, leading us to favor that particular marketing messaging in the future. Through experimental marketing techniques like this, collision repair shops can make more informed marketing decisions over time. That’s why we employ A/B testing on behalf of all our marketing clients, including auto body shops.
How to use A/B testing for your body shop:
Now that you understand the benefit of using A/B testing in your collision repair marketing, you might be wondering how to use this strategy most effectively for your shop. One of the easiest ways you can begin A/B testing is with your special offers—in particular, the call to action buttons on your website. For instance, you can post the same special offer in two different ways, perhaps using different messaging and even graphics. Then aim to have each special offer appear 50% of the time. After a few weeks or a month, see if one was more effective than the other. Sometimes both will be about equal, but occasionally one will come out ahead. If one does prove to be more effective, now you’ll know to try a similar format in the future.
There are many other great ways that you can use A/B testing, such as in your email campaigns. Simply send two different emails that communicate essentially the same information and see which one creates a greater response. You can do the same with direct mail offers, print ads, online ads, and even social networking posts. The important thing is to be very precise in your tracking. Online offers can be tracked more easily than others, so if you’re testing another form—direct mail, for instance—include a unique code on your separate offers in order to keep track of them better.
Do you have questions about A/B testing for your collision repair marketing?
At Stratosphere Studio, we would be happy to answer any questions you might have, drawing upon our years of auto body shop marketing experience. We offer many services, including website design, search engine optimization, social networking, professional blogging, lead nurturing, email marketing, and much, much more. For any of these services or for a comprehensive digital marketing proposal, give us a call today.
