Courtesy of Tire Review

I’m sure you appreciate every customer that does business with your shop, but there’s no secret that some are more high-value than others.

For example, let’s say someone comes into your shop looking to spend the least amount of money possible. Saving money is essential in today’s world, but these customers may not know the value of maintaining their vehicles despite the cost. Neglecting vehicles like this could lead to more costly repairs for customers down the line.

This type of customer is a low-quality one. Compare that to high-quality customers – who follow your recommendations, refer friends and family and bring you all of their maintenance and repair needs, ready to spend whatever is necessary.

In this Tire Review Continental Tire Garage Studio video, we discuss the effects these two types of customers can have on your business and why your advertising could benefit from focusing on high-value ones.

You may be asking: how can I tell whether or not I am attracting high-value customers?

The easiest way to measure that is by looking at the average repair order of your new customers compared to your repeat customers. If your advertising is bringing in customers who are interested in a long-term relationship with your shop, you should see a new customer average repair order that is greater than your repeat customers.

The average repair order may not paint the entire picture though. It’s possible that new customers can spend more on average but then come back less often. Or, they could come in once and never come back again.

There is a ripple effect that occurs within your shop when marketing to low-value customers. When technicians frequently see that their inspection findings are ignored by customers, they may be less likely to do complete inspections. When service advisors get resistance during their advisements, they may stop going over the full estimate and delivering additional value to the customer.

With that being said, advertising that attracts low-quality customers can decrease sales, drive down morale and create a much more stressful and chaotic work environment for everyone. Nobody wants that.

The goal of your marketing shouldn’t be to avoid driving in low-value customers, but rather to continually improve your customer base by setting yourself apart and attracting people who want to take better care of their vehicles.

Your website and direct mail ads may look great, but if it looks or reads like every other shop in town, potential customers will have no way to tell you apart. When that happens, the only way to choose a shop is based on who is the cheapest. One of the most critical goals of marketing is finding a way to set your business apart from the competition.