Car Counts or Customer Retention?

[Joe Marconi]

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[JustTheBest]

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[dfrisby]

Or did we just fix their car to well?  Most cars don't need repairs every month. Other than routine maintenance it's not uncommon for cars to go years without the need of any major repairs.  I believe at least in our area, alot of customers perform their basic maintenance themselves, and even basic repairs like brake jobs.  We end up with the more difficult jobs and the jobs requiring expensive diagnostic equipment.  I'm not concerned when I don't see a customer for several months.  I'm confident our service and reputation has made them a customer for life.  I'd be more concerned about a customer that has the same vehicle visiting us multiple times in one month with different concerns we hadn't spotted and discussed prior.  If they have to bring the same car in week after week or even every month for yet another repair, eventually they are going to shop elsewhere hoping for a better result. Our customer retention is good, but because they don't need service every week, new customers are necessary every day.  

Of course customer retention is important. But I know my percentage of new customers becoming loyal returning customers is also important, and I'm pretty sure it's alot higher than 27%. We try to build a relationship with every customer that comes through our door.  

 

[JustTheBest]

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[dfrisby]

I am certainly in a different situation of many shops. My shop is 1 of 3 businesses in our metro area. We are an extremely small town. The two larger towns in our area are 20 miles east or 20 miles west of here. I couldn't survive on just my local market area so customer retention has always been my highest priority. I have customers from 150 miles away (the twin cities) that are now loyal customers returning for work on a regular basis. EVERY customer should be treated as the MOST important customer. We try hard to provide that as without them we couldn't be here.  Because of our loyal customers we have been able to expand our services year after year. I agree with you. I believe I do understand and expect in most areas where there is a large pool of NEW customers, many shop owners don't do everything possible for retention. Even here every month shops are folding because they aren't profitable. They probably would be profitable with better customer retention.  My question would be where is that 27% number coming from? Customers that were here a year ago that came again within 12 months?   New customers from last week that haven't been back yet?  I just watched the video referring to the 27%, and I agree with the theory of what you are saying. I know alot of the customers I get tell me horror stories of shops they have been to.  I am thinking that my business doesn't fit the statistics just because I already put so much emphasis into building a long standing relationship with EVERY customer that comes through my door.