Shop Management Archives - Page 3 of 28 - TechShop Magazine
Managing Online Leads For Higher Conversion Rates

With nearly 90% of tire and wheel buyers researching products online, you’re bound to receive emails from customers asking for more information. It’s important to not only respond to these emails, but to do so promptly. Customers shopping online aren’t willing to wait around until you can get to it – with a few clicks, they’ll be contacting your competition.

Social Media And SEO: How Your Pages Can Help You Get To The Top Of Search Results

One question I get a lot when I talk to business owners about social media is “Will Facebook get me on the first page of Google?” My answer is always the same: yes and no. Let me explain why.

Steve’s European Automotive Delivers 30 Years Of Top-Notch Customer Service

Steve Fowler has learned a thing or two when it comes to owning and operating a successful independent automotive repair shop. Even though he opened his namesake shop 30 years ago, Fowler says he’s always working to better not only his business, but his employees and customer service as well. For Fowler, Steve’s European Automotive is the shop it is today for four main reasons.

Creating Lasting Customer Loyalty Means Separating Your Shop From The Pack

With visits to repair shops on the decline, building customer loyalty is more important than ever. Developing a large and stable database of regular customers can help eliminate the constant need to acquire new customers. Your loyal customers can also serve as a great referral source for your shop. According to the research firm The Gartner Group, 20% of a business’ existing customers generate 80% of that business’ profits.

Editor’s Notebook: Time On Your Side, Averting Typical ‘Time Stealers’

Time could be your biggest ally at the onset of the new year as you think about ways to increase your shop’s profitability and productivity. But how many times have you said, “If I only had more time?” While you have good intentions of making the best use of your time during the course of your busy day, there are inevitable distractions that prevent you from doing just that.

How Much Is Your Business Worth?

If you speak with most shop owners, they’ll tell you that they think their shop is worth “X” amount of money. Ask them how they came up with that number, and they’ll tell you it’s based on what they heard another shop sold for, or it’s predicated on their annual sales. But, if you really want to know what your shop is worth, first of all, forget everything you’ve heard about “goodwill” and the fact that you have thousands of names in your database.

Shop Management: The Lincoln Principal

Abraham Lincoln was perhaps our greatest president. He was a man of integrity, morals, conviction and ethics. He was also known to have a temper. During the Civil War he would demonstrate great anger and disappointment with people in his administration and with many military leaders. He would sit down at night regularly and compose letters that criticized people for what they did.

Make Sure Your Customers Are Taken Care Of

If you’re going to be closed for the holidays, or any part of the holiday season, make sure that your customers know about it, and make sure that your after-hours phone message clearly states when you’re going to be closed and who to contact if your customers need any emergency service or repairs.

Six Tips To Increase Sales This Winter

Many shops in the northern part of the country go through a slow sales period during the winter months. And, while there is no way to get back those snow days when business literally shuts down, here are a few tips we can use to maximize sales this winter.

Would You Price Your Services Lower Than The Dealer?

We often take a customer’s car to the dealer when we discover the vehicle is under warranty. We prefer to take it ourselves, because too often my customers come back with a ton of service work done, much of which we already performed! Plus, it’s no secret that the dealer wants my customer.

Editor’s Notebook: Marketing To Women Should Be One Of Your Top Priorities

In case you haven’t noticed, female buying power is on the rise. Women account for about 85% of all automotive sales in U.S. households, and 50-65% of customers at automotive service centers are women. And you know what that spells? Opportunity.

Curt’s Service Inc. Taking Customer Service To The Next Level

At Curt’s Service Inc., what you see is truly what you get. Recently, a photo submitted by Curt Massoll’s 15-bay shop in Oak Park, MI, won a contest sponsored by Robert Bosch LLC. Curt’s Service is a Bosch Car Service center (BCS) – part of an exclusive network of shops whose standards meet the Bosch criteria for excellence in the services they provide.