GTS_Services

At the very least, you should claim your listing on Yelp and make sure your business information on there is accurate. Remember, anyone can create a listing for a business on Yelp, even they are not associated with that business in any way, so you may as well be the one to do it. If there is already a listing for your business you can verify ownership with Yelp to claim the listing and control it. If you are unsure where to begin, we put together a brief article for people looking to get started with Yelp: http://blog.gtsservices.com/ritty/how-to-get-your-auto-shop-noticed-on-yelp

Anyone use Delta Kits?

Thanks for all your feedback everyone.

I am curious how many of you offer window tinting services and what products do you prefer to use.

There are so many sites where you can hire a freelance graphic designer; 99designs.com was mentioned earlier, there is also: elance.com outsource.com fivver.com behance.com coroloft.com Generally, designers have a portfolio and reviews you can look at before hiring. If you google freelance graphic design you usually find a lot of articles that list different sites.

If anyone is looking to just get started with a yelp account, we wrote an article recently that touches on the basics. http://blog.gtsservices.com/ritty/how-to-get-your-auto-shop-noticed-on-yelp

Out of curiosity...do you respond to Yelp reviews?

Checked out your web page, and it looks good overall but I would consider removing some of the text over your main image on the home page. It is a bit overwhelming and it is also all information that could be on your about page. If you simplify it will resonate more effectively with a customer. You can sum up everything there with your second paragraph... "We are a purpose driven, professional and full service auto repair facility. We pursue excellence in everything we do. From the moment you make that phone call or arrive at our business all the way through picking up your vehicle and follow up phone calls, you'll know you have made the right choice when it comes to your automotive service needs!" If you change the first sentence to read "We are a purpose driven, professional and full service auto repair facility located in beautiful Edgewater, MD." You can effectively reduce your text, it will be more visually interesting because the image will not be completely covered and your message is still the same.

CarER This is a great insight. A website is essentially the new phonebook. Many customers find shops through services like Yelp and Google searches/reviews. So if your site is dialed in to reach your preferred customer it will be well worth the investment. I would also add that social media can be a benefit as well- although it should be part of a long-term plan because it will take some time to see results. Maintaining a social media presence can contribute to your image as a business and boost your reputation. You can post special offers but otherwise just reposting existing content such as car care tips can educate your customers, add value, and give them the feeling that you care which, in turn, will increase the amount of repeat business and customer referrals.

Increasing car count is really about a combination of factors - targeted marketing, better scheduling, and making sure you leverage the customer base you already have. We actually wrote an article about this just recently: http://blog.gtsservices.com/ritty/3-ways-to-double-your-car-count

I like the business card idea, it seems like a great way to make a customer feel appreciated and referrals are still one of the best ways to find your ideal customers.

I think this sounds like a smart approach. Another way to increase business from yelp is to interact with customers, especially ones that leave mediocre reviews. It can show that you care and attempted to resolve any issues which customers really respond to. Check out Lesson 3, it touches on reviews: http://gtsservices.com/news/4-lessons-for-advertising-your-glass-shop-on-social-media/

I'm not sure if there is a "right" answer. It's hard to say if $140 is a good rate without knowing what web-related services they are providing you with. If you are beginning marketing then you may want to add responsibilities slowly. As your goal is to maintain and improve your image and visibility not discredit it. Taking on a project that you don't have time for may cause something else to slide and if you don't stay on top of things like social media, blogs, websites, etc. you can start to appear unprofessional in a potential customer's eyes. Have you ever looked up a business page on Facebook that had 10 posts from 3 years ago? Bet you chose to work with their competitor who maintains regular posts instead. Overall you can find services that are easy for you to update and maintain without knowing code or paying someone but take your time with the research phase to ensure you are making the best decision from a business perspective. Also; Keep your domain name spend the $ to have someone build your site if you can before transitioning to the new site make sure your customers know through messages on the site and SM among other things. My companies blog has some articles you may find interesting http://gtsservices.com/news/

Good ideas... don't forget about reviews, I feel like people underestimate these. For review sites and other social media: Add pics of your shop, customize about pages and respond to reviews (good & bad). Maintaining visibility and consistently interacting are important with social media, if you are not doing that it can hurt you. (Think about going to a facebook page that hasn't been updated in 6 mos+. Do you trust that business?) Also, if you use more than one social media site try to make sure your profile pic and background images match that way customers will recognize you across platforms. There are some decent ideas in these articles as well. http://gtsservices.com/news/4-lessons-for-advertising-your-glass-shop-on-social-media/ http://www.shopownermag.com/best-kept-secret-generating-referrals/ http://www.23kazoos.com/100-marketing-ideas-for-auto-repair-shops-plus-4-marketing-ideas-that-will-increase-car-count-immediately/

Jeff, good for you setting high goals for yourself and your shop. I certainly don't have all the answers for you but my company recently put out an e-book that has a lot of information about growing your business and improving sales. We currently work with glass shops, so I am not trying to sell anything but there are good tips that could very easily translate to an auto shop. http://content.gtsservices.com/improve-your-sales-ebook