Automotive Repair Leads

jrendem · September 29, 2015

I own a website where I provide information related to searches by people that are trying to learn more about a specific automotive service including what they need to know about it, what questions to ask, what costs they can expect, etc. I am considering capturing leads from this site which would be consumers ready to have a specific service done so I think they would have a great conversion rate.

Is this something that repair shops would be interested in? Or is there any place that currently provides leads like these? Let me know your thoughts. Thanks

lmcca · September 29, 2015

repairpal, carfax, openbay, autozone to name a few.

PeterDrunski · September 29, 2015

I made a similar post below. I am wondering why these online customer platforms have such a bad rap.

http://www.autoshopowner.com/topic/10142-openbay-partners-with-autozone;-is-this-what-we-need/?p=26780

jrendem · September 29, 2015

Sorry I should have been more specific. My website can collect leads from consumers that are looking for a specific repair such as an alignment, and I am looking to sell these leads to repair shops across the US. I was considering creating a marketplace where local shop owners can get notified when new leads are available in their area and purchase them one at a time whenever they would like (no idea what pricing would be, but it would be X$ per lead) The information provided would be their contact info, vehicle and service requested. I'm not sure if this would be something of interest to shop managers, but I thought it could help keep the schedule full.

The purchasing of leads seems to be fairly common in many industries, but I haven't seen anything for auto repair.

If there was someone in your area looking for a specific service, would you pay for a lead like this?

lmcca · September 29, 2015

revised: repairpal and openbay.

They do that. But to answer you question, maybe. You got to show that customers will come to your site, if its a monthly fee. If its a per customer or per job then i guess it would depend on what that fee is and how it is applied, flat, percentage etc.

jrendem · September 29, 2015

Appreciate the responses Imcca. I would not charge a monthly fee or take a cut. This would simply be flat fee for the lead. The manager would be able to see the users locations, vehicle, service requested and any notes, and be able to purchase their contact information. Upon purchase the lead is removed from the marketplace and the lead is emailed the shops information, and the shop is provided with the users information to schedule an appointment. I believe they will convert very well since these users are requesting to be contacted to schedule an appointment on the website.

Might I ask what a lead would be worth to you? I would need to discuss this with a few shop owners to get a better idea of what a reasonable fee would be.

lmcca · September 29, 2015

hmm, well, not very much as its just a number. Keep one thing in mind, the people on your website most likely dont have much money, thats why they are there. The ones with money, google, find a shop, see the reviews, decide which ones seems to fit them, see if its a nice shop then go to it. The ones on an actual website are looking for a low cost repair so for me i would have to becareful as to what i pay for that information. Plus, the biggie, so we pay you for this info then the customer is like, thats way too much, click. So now, i paid you and i got nothing. I know its advertising but " I " feel that its advertising to a lower end customer or one that is looking for the cheapest repair they can find.

my 2 cents.

jrendem · September 29, 2015

Thats all Im asking for thanks :-) but I'm not sure consumers trying to learn more about a repair and the costs associated with it prior to making a purchase should be categorized as not having money. I would say they are more of an educated consumer trying not to get ripped off.

Maybe they are new car owners and don't have a go to shop yet, and you could get a lifelong customer for $5 because you called them and helped them with this service.

I'm also thinking that many have paid much more for way less in regards to marketing. Maybe I'm wrong though.

skm · September 30, 2015

Thats all Im asking for thanks :-) but I'm not sure consumers trying to learn more about a repair and the costs associated with it prior to making a purchase should be categorized as not having money. I would say they are more of an educated consumer trying not to get ripped off.

Maybe they are new car owners and don't have a go to shop yet, and you could get a lifelong customer for $5 because you called them and helped them with this service.

I'm also thinking that many have paid much more for way less in regards to marketing. Maybe I'm wrong though.

There are a few sites out there already as others have stated. One of the biggest problems I see is "consumers trying to learn more about a repair" that something that I don't think is actually possible since a lot of "mechanics" now a days don't understand a car. It is way to complicated, Everything needs to be converted in to lame mans terms, not a very easy thing to do. How about just setting up a website that explains why car repair is expensive, and why good Technicians/mechanics are underpaid and give leads to well know shops/techs ? or no leads at all just educate the consumer on the truth of costs of auto repair. how much technicians have to learn and pay for tools just to fix their cars. How being a tech. is really combining many jobs into one, a plumber, hvac person, computer person, fabricator, etc etc... and the continuing costs of tools and education and so on. That being said it is like explaining quantum physics to a 5 year old . best of luck to you

xrac · September 30, 2015

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lmcca · September 30, 2015

What market are you trying to get? The majority of people dont care how a car works, they just dont want to pay allot to fix it and i cant imagine there would be such a giant list of people wanting to learn how there car works. Targeted adds on facebook and google would seem to be a better market, cause so many are already on the website.

HarrytheCarGeek · September 30, 2015

Jrendem,

If you can produce high quality leads that would be a great service!

BTW, do you have links to any of the sites you have done in the past that you could share here?

Edited September 30, 2015 by HarrytheCarGeek

jrendem · October 2, 2015

What market are you trying to get? The majority of people dont care how a car works, they just dont want to pay allot to fix it and i cant imagine there would be such a giant list of people wanting to learn how there car works. Targeted adds on facebook and google would seem to be a better market, cause so many are already on the website.

The users on the site are consumers that need an auto repair, now. The target market to sell leads to is shop owners.

How much are you paying per click on facebook and google? And what is your conversion rates on those clicks? If it costs you $50 to get one person to call your shop asking about a problem that they aren't sure of, wouldn't you prefer to buy the same thing for $10 guaranteed when you need some work? (and you will already know what they think is wrong with their car)

lmcca · October 2, 2015

how do you guarantee it? your post says, pay you 10$ or whatever the price and you give the information. So, if they dont show, you give the money back?

plus, what they think is wrong with the car is not something allot of shops go by. the customer has no access to testing equipment, repair information etc and generally lacks the skills to diagnose their own car problems.

PeterDrunski · October 3, 2015

I am baffled at these responses . . . I can only assume that these shops bashing the idea of a lead are at 95% capacity each and every day. That is the only logical reason you would not be willing to pay to acquire a customer. EVERY business model has a customer acquisition/ retention cost to grow or maintain the business.

The internet is here to stay and as younger generations who prefer to do things online age, the need to be online becomes more and more relevant to the success of a business. Shop owners have one of three choices.

Build their own online platform to engage customers online and on their mobile devices
Join an online platform (openbay, repairpal, automd)
Close up shop

How is the music CD market doing these days? Adapt or die.

Jrendem - You have a great value proposition. But the challenge will be finding shop owners that have a good business sense to understand that.

My sense is that as more and more online platforms become available this will bring healthy competition and customer awareness to the market that will start flushing out crappy shops that don't know how to run a good business. BTW it is these crappy shops that are driving the our prices down and giving the industry a bad rap.

As far as the customers coming to you and telling you what is wrong issue. Well if you as a professional mechanic can not effectively explain to the customer standing in your shop that the $8/ hr AutoZone CASHIER did not know what they were talking about . . . Then that probably means you suck as well. There will continue to be a growth in platforms sending work to our shops. It is on our shoulders as shop owners to uphold the value proposition ($$$$$) to our customers.

jrendem · October 5, 2015

I am baffled at these responses . . . I can only assume that these shops bashing the idea of a lead are at 95% capacity each and every day. That is the only logical reason you would not be willing to pay to acquire a customer. EVERY business model has a customer acquisition/ retention cost to grow or maintain the business.

The internet is here to stay and as younger generations who prefer to do things online age, the need to be online becomes more and more relevant to the success of a business. Shop owners have one of three choices.

Build their own online platform to engage customers online and on their mobile devices

Join an online platform (openbay, repairpal, automd)

Close up shop

How is the music CD market doing these days? Adapt or die.

Jrendem - You have a great value proposition. But the challenge will be finding shop owners that have a good business sense to understand that.

My sense is that as more and more online platforms become available this will bring healthy competition and customer awareness to the market that will start flushing out crappy shops that don't know how to run a good business. BTW it is these crappy shops that are driving the our prices down and giving the industry a bad rap.

As far as the customers coming to you and telling you what is wrong issue. Well if you as a professional mechanic can not effectively explain to the customer standing in your shop that the $8/ hr AutoZone CASHIER did not know what they were talking about . . . Then that probably means you suck as well. There will continue to be a growth in platforms sending work to our shops. It is on our shoulders as shop owners to uphold the value proposition ($$$$$) to our customers.

Thanks for the great response. I agree with what you are saying here.

It is possible that at least 1 shop per area would be interested in growing their business through purchasing leads so it could be a successful venture for myself and these savvy business owners that want to grow their business without dumping a ton of cash into failed marketing programs. Finding these few shops per area might be a bit more difficult than first considered though due to many refusing to consider or already being at max capacity.

mspecperformance · October 5, 2015

I don't think the problem really is that these shop owners are not interested in your service but rather what proof do they have in making an educated business decision to give you money. Anyone can claim they can give a quality lead however the proof will be if you have any way of test piloting the program.

Besides this I would really like to see how you are generating quality people to visit your lead generating site. There are many sites out there that promise to give shops more exposure such as repairpal and openbay. I do also understand it is slightly different than what you are proposing however I truly cannot remember one shop owner that has generated a good (not even great) amount of new customers and sales through some of these lead sites.

lmcca · October 5, 2015

I am baffled at these responses . . . I can only assume that these shops bashing the idea of a lead are at 95% capacity each and every day. That is the only logical reason you would not be willing to pay to acquire a customer. EVERY business model has a customer acquisition/ retention cost to grow or maintain the business.

The internet is here to stay and as younger generations who prefer to do things online age, the need to be online becomes more and more relevant to the success of a business. Shop owners have one of three choices.

Build their own online platform to engage customers online and on their mobile devices

Join an online platform (openbay, repairpal, automd)

Close up shop

How is the music CD market doing these days? Adapt or die.

Jrendem - You have a great value proposition. But the challenge will be finding shop owners that have a good business sense to understand that.

My sense is that as more and more online platforms become available this will bring healthy competition and customer awareness to the market that will start flushing out crappy shops that don't know how to run a good business. BTW it is these crappy shops that are driving the our prices down and giving the industry a bad rap.

As far as the customers coming to you and telling you what is wrong issue. Well if you as a professional mechanic can not effectively explain to the customer standing in your shop that the $8/ hr AutoZone CASHIER did not know what they were talking about . . . Then that probably means you suck as well. There will continue to be a growth in platforms sending work to our shops. It is on our shoulders as shop owners to uphold the value proposition ($$$$$) to our customers.

So, you signed on with him? How many leads have you got that actually turned into a job at your shop?

PeterDrunski · October 5, 2015

So, you signed on with him? How many leads have you got that actually turned into a job at your shop?

Your thoughtful condescending ignorance is duly noted.

PeterDrunski · October 5, 2015

Google has made a $50 billion dollar business out of providing businesses leads.

When you google auto service related topics in your area . . . Who shows up? Generally the big boys!! They are not spending money on this cause they like to waste their investors' money. They understand the importance of an online presence in an online world. And they are paying up to $10 per click.

lmcca · October 6, 2015

So your answer is your not using him but your promoting him. What i dont understand is why cant you answer our questions, or better yet the person that owns the site. Do you have a vested interest in that site?

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using Tapatalk

PeterDrunski · October 7, 2015

http://www.autoshopowner.com/topic/10232-yelp-pay-per-click/?p=26873

mspecperformance · October 7, 2015

Google has made a $50 billion dollar business out of providing businesses leads.

When you google auto service related topics in your area . . . Who shows up? Generally the big boys!! They are not spending money on this cause they like to waste their investors' money. They understand the importance of an online presence in an online world. And they are paying up to $10 per click.

The difference here being Google is a proven commodity. Everyone that has a brain and a heartbeat understands Google Organic and Google AdWords. Google retarget ads as well as popular search/review sites such as Yelp are also big winner in many markets. What this gentlemen is proposing sounds promising however highly unproven. Promises are great but results are necessary.

PeterDrunski · October 9, 2015

The difference here being Google is a proven commodity. Everyone that has a brain and a heartbeat understands Google Organic and Google AdWords. Google retarget ads as well as popular search/review sites such as Yelp are also big winner in many markets. What this gentlemen is proposing sounds promising however highly unproven. Promises are great but results are necessary.

I can understand the need to gauge the quality of the leads. But at face value, these are people seeking auto service. Could be a real potential customer or a kid doing a 5th grade paper on car repair. Conceptually it is the same concept. You pay per lead, not knowing exactly what you will get.

PeterDrunski · October 9, 2015

I can understand the need to gauge the quality of the leads. But at face value, these are people seeking auto service. Could be a real potential customer or a kid doing a 5th grade paper on car repair. Conceptually it is the same concept. You pay per lead, not knowing exactly what you will get.

And now that I think about it more. With Google or Yelp anyone can click a link, even to just get your phone number and that cost you money.

The proposed model are leads that people took the time to give their information in hopes of being contacted by a shop for help. Instinctually, that seems to be higher quality.

cdhowell · October 9, 2015

First off, we live in a world of instant gratifacation. If some one car is having problems they want answers now. I do not see many hoping a shop calls them about their problem. Reputable shops have good car counts already. The guys that are starving may use your service. But if they were reputable would not need it. Now you are directing customers to less than quality repairs. Further hurting the industry.

PeterDrunski · October 11, 2015

First off, we live in a world of instant gratifacation. If some one car is having problems they want answers now. I do not see many hoping a shop calls them about their problem. Reputable shops have good car counts already. The guys that are starving may use your service. But if they were reputable would not need it. Now you are directing customers to less than quality repairs. Further hurting the industry.

I have to respectfully disagree that even reputable shops are not looking to increase business. Perhaps some are good with status quo, but I am of the opinion that if I am standing still, and others are moving forward, then deductively, I am moving backwards realtive to the pack.