It can be a real guessing game sometimes, as far as how much money a body shop should spend in order to bring in more business. Spend too little and you might not reach anyone. Spend too much and it might turn out to be a waste of money. Whether you’re a tiny shop that’s just getting started in the business or a booming chain that’s been around for a while, deciding how to spend your marketing dollars is always a big deal. If you invest your money smartly and in the right media outlets, you stand to expand your profit dramatically.
The case for online marketing
As a digital marketing agency, at Stratosphere Studio we naturally put a lot of stock in online marketing. But we didn’t arrive at this conclusion willy-nilly. Instead, this revelation came after time and experience with multiple media outlets, while conducting research into the most cost-effective platforms. As the world approaches the year 2014, with our smartphones, tablets, countless social networks, Google Glass, terabytes, apps, online shopping, online banking, and basically online everything, the answer is very clear: digital marketing is the best, most cost-effective method of advertising any business, including collision repair facilities.
TV, radio, outdoor, print…or online marketing?
The cost of advertising using any type of medium depends on many factors, including which market you’re in, whether your focus is local or national, how popular the outlet is, and how grand your campaign might be. But there are some ballpark figures to consider. To run a TV spot, for instance, you’ll need to factor in the cost of producing the spot, which could be as little as $1,000 or well over that, depending on your budget. The cost of running your ad will likely be over $10,000 if you’re targeting your local area for 4 weeks. With radio, you’ll also have to pay to produce your spot, but production and the cost of running the ad will be slightly cheaper than TV. To pay for an outdoor ad, you’re looking at maybe $2,500 a month. For print, costs vary widely, but the bigger publications will charge you over $2,000 for just one 2c x 5” ad.
Digital marketing works differently, because there are many ways to go. For a full campaign, you might spend about the same as a TV spot every month. For individual services, such as Google advertising, blogging, social networking, and so on, you might spend only $1,000 per month. The cost depends on which services you need and what kind of marketing agency you choose.
Then…why digital?
Perhaps the biggest benefit to putting your dollars into digital marketing is that it’s trackable. You will be able to see precisely how well your campaign is working. You will be able to track visitors to your website, as well as your number of leads, social networking followers, ad clicks, and so on. With the other types of advertising, it’s impossible to know exactly how many people are listening to your radio spot or seeing your ad in the paper.
Are you ready to try marketing your body shop online?
At Stratosphere Studio we can develop the perfect marketing strategy for your auto body shop. We can produce a comprehensive digital marketing proposal for you or provide individual services, such as website design, blogging, search engine optimization, and more. We are currently offering low-cost trial packages that can match any shop’s budget. We specialize in auto body shop marketing and work with some of the top shops across the country. If you’re ready to bring more business to your shop, then click the link below.
