If you’ve been implementing special offers to increase your auto body shop’s lead database and customers, then good for you! Special offers are a smart strategy for boosting your business. Now that you’ve made your promotions available and you’re starting to see the results in additional customers, you might be a little overwhelmed by all the information you’ll need to keep track of. As a method for getting people in the door, promotions are a useful tool. But if you’re like many of our collision repair shop clients, you might be wondering what the best strategies would be for tracking the success of such a tool?
While it can be time-consuming to keep track of every offer you provide, this information can be extremely helpful in your long-term collision repair marketing strategies. You’ll be able to learn which offers are most appealing to your customers and this will help you to make more informed marketing decisions in the future. To help you in tracking your body shop’s special offers, here are 4 easy steps we recommend you follow:
First, make a database for your special offers.
Take the time to list every special offer that is on the table. You might have as few as 2 or as many as 15, but it’s important to maintain a consistent database where you can track your special offers. Determine what order you would like to list them—date order is common, but type of offer is also common. Use the method of organization that makes the most sense for your shop.
Next, pinpoint your promotion schedule.
Some shops like to release offers on the fly and pull them whenever the mood strikes, but it’s typically better to start with a plan for how long you’d like to make each offer available. Go through your offers and indicate a start date and end date.
Keep track of where your special offers are placed.
This part might feel tedious, depending on the number of outlets you use, but it’s a smart idea to list every place you post your offers, including direct mail, TV spots, websites, social media, email, and more. For each offer that brings in a customer, indicate which offer it was and which outlet it came from. If you use a number of outlets, start attributing different codes to each location for better tracking.
Finally, consult your database weekly.
Every week, take a look at how your special offers are doing. Examine how many customers have used each offer, resulting in what dollar amount of business. Use this information to determine next week’s marketing agenda, as well as the weeks beyond. When you first begin this process, it might take some time to get used to. After a month or two of practice, you’ll have the steps down and will be much more informed about the success of your shop’s promotions.
Do you have questions about your collision repair marketing promotions?
If you’re looking for an agency to help you with your marketing, then give Stratosphere Studio a call. We specialize in marketing for auto body shops and have an excellent track record for bringing our clients more business. Our clients span the U.S. and are some of the most successful shops in their respective cities. We would love to help you next!
