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This informative article discusses digital vehicle inspections and the importance of using it to attract new customers. With contributions from Chris Cloutier from Autotext.me & Tony Mercury from AutoShop Solutions, there is a lot of great info here. If your shop is considering, or has already invested in Digital Vehicle Inspection (DVI) technology, you clearly understand the tremendous value and benefits that DVI provides. However, the vast majority of the general public does not understand what it is or how it benefits them. After speaking to several shop owners who conveyed to me that their customers have no idea what DVI is when they come into their shops, we decided to ask a random sampling of 104 consumers ages 18+ who all own and have had vehicle repairs within the past 12 months: Question: “Do you know what a Digital Vehicle Inspection is in relation to getting your vehicle serviced or repaired?” Answer: I’m sure that doesn’t come as much of a surprise. Like many technologies, consumer education simply just takes time. This lack of consumer awareness is a problem for shop owners who are currently utilizing DVI technology and want to use this powerful technology to capitalize on its ability to differentiate their shop from competitors. How Can DVI Differentiate Your Shop? Implementation of DVI technology, from a marketing perspective, can help position your shop as professional and highly educated by using the most advanced technology to service and repair your customers’ vehicles. It just may be the most powerful tool at your disposal to create and position your shop as TRUSTWORTHY. How DVI Creates Trust & Why It’s So Important? The primary benefit of DVI technology, from a customer prospective, is that it provides them with full transparency to their repairs/services needed. Whenever you bring transparency to what is generally a non-transparent process, it adds a tremendous amount of TRUST. Being able to convey that potential customers can TRUST your shop is arguably the most critical component to attract them to your shop and, of course, to maintain current customer relationships. Two out of three U.S. drivers simply don’t trust auto repair shops based on the findings from AAA, with the top reason for the lack of trust being “Recommending Unnecessary Services.” Top Reasons Why U.S. Drivers Distrust Repair Shops: According to AAA This is further echoed by some of the latest consumer research from the Mintel 2019 AUTO SERVICE, MAINTENANCE, AND REPAIR market research report. When asked why they chose their auto service/ repair location over the previous 12 months, beyond shop location and being a returning customer, the top reason reported by respondents was TRUST. The TRUST factor came in above both quality and cost. Just think about that for a second. We know that the primary reason consumers don’t trust auto repair shops is due to the feeling that they have been recommended unnecessary repairs. We also know that trustworthiness is one of the top factors in determining which auto repair shop they have chosen. Therefore, If these same prospective customers understand that your use of DVI can eliminate these concerns, it would undoubtedly give you a major advantage over your competition. For some thoughtful industry insight, we reached out to Chris Cloutier; DVI guru, successful multi-shop owner and founder of autotext.me, a leading auto repair shop technology software provider that offers DVI technology and many more digital features. What Does Chris Have to Say? “As a multi-shop owner, I can attest that many customers are indeed very wary about being charged for unnecessary repairs and have a need for trust to be established, which the DVI greatly helps to solve. For example, the Digital Vehicle Inspection service offered by autotext.me can include multiple pictures and short videos, which serve to educate customers on overall vehicle health and repair needs and recommendations. Chris Cloutier Autotext.me By pulling back the curtain and enabling customers to understand the “why” behind recommended repairs, repair shops are able to boost customer confidence as well as increase their Average Repair Order (ARO) if the DVI is properly executed. A new feature we recently launched, Customer Insights, drills down even further to provide shops with helpful analytics on DVI customer engagement. Shops will be able to see if and when a picture or video was viewed along with whether a video was viewed in its entirety. autotext.me clients can leverage this data to determine how to communicate better with customers and establish best practices for DVI documentation by technicians. Think about the power a service advisor will now have before talking to a customer. “Mrs Jones, I see you didn’t look at the pictures of your brake pads that are metal to metal. Could you please open those up for me?” Vehicle inspections are not just a tool to increase your ARO. The ARO increase that shops might anticipate is from one thing only, and that is an informed client. If your client is not being fully informed by your inspection, wouldn’t you like to know?” Now, the question becomes “what can you do to capitalize on your use of DVI technology to attract new customers?” The answer is, to deploy a strategic and aggressive multi-channel marketing approach. Direct Mail + A Multi-Channel Marketing Approach is the Answer First, let’s take a look at why Direct Mail is one of the most powerful tools you can use to promote DVI, followed up with some additional insight from Tony Mercury, Digital Marketing Expert from Auto Shop Solutions, for his perspective, thoughts, and suggestions to help you jump-start your shop’s digital marketing efforts in order to promote your DVI as part of your multi-channel marketing approach. Why Should You Be Using Direct Mail to Promote DVI? Direct Mail Is a Trusted Marketing Method For starters, choosing to utilize direct mail as a marketing platform will ensure your message gets delivered in a method that is also trusted by consumers. MarketingSherpa, a research and training institute and division of MECLABS, the largest independent research facility, asked 1,200 consumers: “In general, which type of advertising channels do you trust more when you want to make a purchase decision? Please sort the options into ‘Ads I trust’ and ‘Ads I don’t trust that much’ categories.” Below are the results for the “Ads I trust” category. The results speak for themselves; 76% of the consumers involved in the survey trust direct mail when it comes to making a purchasing decision. Now, let’s take a look at some important considerations when developing your Direct Mail Marketing strategy. Consistency is Key Being consistent with your message is going to be critical in order to educate your prospective customers on the benefits of DVI. We already know there is a lack of consumer awareness, which is why consistency is of utmost importance here. Ensure your message is delivered consistently and across all channels you are using to market your shop. Don’t Just Say You Offer DVI, Explain the Features & Benefits One of the biggest mistakes you can make is to merely mention that you offer Digital Vehicle Inspections. It’s critical that the ad copy to support your DVI marketing Campaign gives customers a clear & concise explanation of what a DVI is and, most importantly, conveys how they will benefit from it. Just saying you offer Digital Video Inspections alone without additional context will mean nothing to a consumer and be a wasted effort. Strategic Ad Copy In addition to promoting DVI to create trust, you should also be thinking about what else you can include on your direct mail, plus all of your other marketing to support your initiative and on all of your other marketing for that matter, that will support your initiative to position your shop as Trustworthy. One easy way to do this is by simply telling your targeted prospective customers that they can trust you. According to Roger Dooley, author and expert on the subject of Neuromarketing, “Researchers found that placing the following statement at the end of an ad for an auto service firm caused their trust scores to jump as much as 33%: “You can trust us to do the job for you.” This one simple phrase caused consumers to rate the auto service firm in this ad higher in all categories: Tie It Together With a Strategic Testimonial Ask one of your Happy Customers for a testimonial that includes their experience with your shop’s DVI process and how they trust your shop because of this process. This will add credibility and give your prospects feedback from a point of view they can relate to. Choose The Correct Direct Mail Piece(s) Choosing the right direct mail piece to convey your message is important. You may want to consider using a larger Jumbo 8.5″ × 10.5″ Postcard or even a 10.5″ × 17″ Tri-Fold Brochure to your direct mail program. These larger pieces will give you more space for strategic ad copy to promote DVI as well as other services that a smaller card may not allow for due to size constraints. That said, you can still use a standard 5.5″ × 10.5″ or comparable size postcard to do the job for you as well. Just make sure that you have the right ad copy. You don’t want your card to be too cluttered with content that it makes the piece illegible or too busy that it becomes confusing. A Multi-Channel Marketing Approach Tony Mercury Autoshop Solutions As we mentioned above, due to the lack of consumer awareness of DVI, the use of a multi-channel marketing approach is critical with this type of consumer education marketing campaign. To add some additional insight from a digital marketing perspective, we asked Tony Mercury from Autoshop Solutions, a premier digital marketing agency for auto repair shops, for his thoughts. For an effective educational campaign, Tony suggests that you create a short but concise video to show the DVI in action to demonstrate its benefits and the value it provides to prospective clients. Once you have that video, he recommends using that content on your website, Facebook page and, if you’re using it, Instagram. In addition to the video, Tony suggests accompanying it with a few paragraphs of strategic content to not only support your message, but also benefit from an SEO perspective, and you’ll be on your way to a successful campaign. Using direct mail is one of the most powerful ways to drive prospects online to watch your informative DVI video, according to Tony. He suggests using a QR Code on your direct mail piece/s that, when scanned, immediately opens up your DVI video and allows prospective customers to view it on demand. Just make sure to instruct your prospects with a clear Call to Action if you want to ensure they scan the QR code or go to your website/social platforms to learn more. You can also access by clicking the link below or downloading the attached PDF. https://www.themailshark.com/resources/articles/digital-vehicle-inspections-your-auto-repair-shops-marketing-secret-weapon/ Digital Vehicle Inspections Your Auto Repair Shops Marketing Secret Weapon.pdf View full article

I got home today and received a piece of mail from BMW that i wanted to share (See Attached). The first thing i noticed was their use of a QR code to schedule an appointment. What i thought was most interesting from this ad was that they really took their time to explain their CTA with specific steps 1-3. What this says to me is YES, BMW sees the value of utilizing QR codes, but without clear instructions on how to take action, the consumer may be confused. Josh Davis Mail Shark Executive Vice President of Sales Direct: 484-948-1611 Email: [email protected] www.themailshark.com/AutoDirectMail IMG_0123.HEIC

Hi Matthew, I have successfully been using QR codes for about 10 years now across multiple verticals. That said, trick prior to 2017 is that you had to be very creative to compel consumers to scan a QR Code. The reason being is that prior to 2017 to scan a QR code you needed to have an app downloaded on your phone that could actually read the QR code, which the majority of people didn’t have. However, in 2017 the game changed with the IOS 11 update. This was Apples stealth update that allowed a QR code to be directly scanned by your camera without any additional application download. Android has also followed suit and made QR code scanning a feature. Since then, major players such as Porsche, Amazon Go, Comicon, PEDL, Netflix and many other huge brands have been utilizing QR codes in creative ways. In addition, because of sites like Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter, Instagram and Linked in, etc. offering QR codes as a way to follow accounts, etc. this has brought a tremendous amount of awareness to the use of QR codes. Furthermore, not only are QR codes typically FREE but you can also track the scans with the use of a QR code shortener. Therefore, there is zero downside potential and because you can track them, if you are not getting any response then you can simply decide to remove it from you marketing. Finally, to answer your question regarding whether I have a case study, the answer is YES, I most certainly do have one. However, the case study was for a restaurant client of mine way back in 2011. Nonetheless, regardless of industry, I was able to get my client a scan rate of 5.5% scan rate on a coupon offer that was sent out on one of our 6"x9" Scratch Off Postcard mailers. Yes 5.5% and at a time when this technology was even less popular. Forget about all the research, the proof is in the pudding and this demonstrated that QR codes when done right can be very effective. (I have attached a PDF of the piece. The empty box is where the variable message is printed and scratch-off sticker was applied). The reason I could get him this type of response is because the campaign we ran for him was able gain the prospective customers Attention, it created Interest, built Desire and requested Action via a scan of the QR Code. I am sure you are familiar with the AIDA Model. I also think you may appreciate the NON LAME coupons that displayed a burst showing the tremendous savings value of each coupon which I have been using since I started at Mail Shark in 2010. In addition, beyond the scans, my client received over a 5% redemption rate from the other coupon and scratch off redemptions. All in all the campaign was a huge success. That said, below is a link to the video case study we put together. PS: I am sure we both agree an auto repair shop will not get anywhere near a 5.5% scan rate. However, if they can get just a few customers to scan and make it more convenient for them to schedule an appointment, visit a web page, get directions, etc. etc. it’s a Win. I’ll see what I can do about gathering some analytics on an auto repair shop. PSS: Please don’t judge based on the production value of this video I am sure we both can agree it leaves a little to be desired hahahaha. QR Code Case Study: Click Here if you are interested in chatting off-line, i would be more than happy to knock heads with you. If we can together come up with even more creative ways for auto repair shops to EFFECTIVELY us QR codes, we can continue to help our clients and increase response rates for shop owners. After all that is our job. Cheers. Josh Davis Mail Shark Executive Vice President of Sales Direct: 484-948-1611 Email: [email protected] www.themailshark.com/AutoDirectMail Leonis.pdf

Before approving your next database mailing, run down this checklist to ensure all of these steps have been taken to validate the quality and accuracy of your mailing. Utilize the National Change of Address Service (NCOA) Every year, millions of Americans move, and this undoubtedly includes some of the customers in your database. This can be a problem when you pull your database to use for sending out a direct mail campaign, as you may have customers that have moved and no longer live at the recorded address. If these customers have moved outside of your trade area, and you were to send a direct mail piece to them, you would essentially be wasting your marketing dollars by sending direct mail to customers that are simply no longer there. The good news is, there is a simple solution. You can have your direct mail partner run your database against the USPS National Change of Address (NCOA) service. The cost of doing so is very minimal and worth the small additional cost to ensure the quality and accuracy of your database. NCOA is a database maintained by the U.S. Postal Service, and includes all of the individuals and companies who have completed a form to change their address in the previous four years. Here are a few things you will find out by running your list through the NCOA process is: Addressee has moved, and a new address could not be provided. New address information is provided. The recipient moved without providing a forwarding address to the USPS. From here, these previous customers that have moved can easily be removed from future mailings. Remove Your Customers From New Acquisition Mailings Most shop owners who are using direct mail to target their database of current customers are also sending out new customer acquisition mailers to target new prospects, either by carrier route or by specific make, model, fuel type, etc. In doing so, it’s important that you request your direct mail partner to remove these current customers from your new customer acquisition mailers. It’s a waste of money to send your customers a new customer acquisition mailer when you are already targeting them by sending them a retention or lapsed customer mailer. It will also send your current/lapsed customers the wrong message. Your marketing and message to new customers should not be the same that it is to current or lapsed customers. This is also an easy fix, simply request that your direct mail partner suppress your customer database from your new customer acquisition mailers. The only caveat in doing so, is for general auto shops that are removing their database of customers from their carrier route mailing⁠—there are guidelines that must be met for carrier route mailings in order to receive the maximum discounted postage rate. These guidelines are as follows: Your mail must be sorted in walk sequence. This is the exact order that the postal carrier walks/drives on their carrier routes. In addition, your mailing must follow the 90/75 rule. The 90/75 rule stipulates that you must mail to at least 90 percent of the total residential addresses, or at least 75 percent of the total combined number of residential and business addresses in each carrier route. Since you, as an auto shop owner will never want to mail to businesses, this means that you must mail to 90 percent of the total addresses in a carrier route to maintain the lowest postage rate. If your mailer falls below the 90 percent guideline, there are three different levels of postage that your mailer can potentially fall into. Each level represents an additional cost of per piece postage above and beyond the standard rates. Additional Saturation Mail Postage Rates (*As of 1/1/2019) High density plus: Mail at least 300 pieces in walk sequence order (additional postage would be .01 per piece). High density: Mail at least 125 pieces in walk sequence order (additional postage would be.019 per piece). Basic: Mail at least 10 pieces in walk sequence order (additional postage would be .104 per piece). Make Use of the Coding Accuracy Support System (CASS) In addition to running your database through the NCOA process, it’s important to ensure your direct mail partner is also certifying your database mailing list through the Coding Accuracy Support System (CASS). This process will standardize your mailing file, verify that each and every address in your mailing file is valid and complete, as well as update any addresses that have been changed and/or has become outdated. Josh Davis Mail Shark Executive Vice President of Sales Direct: 484-948-1611 Email: [email protected] www.themailshark.com/AutoDirectMail

In today’s hustle and bustle world, consumers want to work with companies that make doing business easy & convenient. If your auto repair shop offers online appointment scheduling, you most certainly want to include content that conveys that message on your direct mail and other marketing. It can help position you as the local repair shop that makes doing business easy by giving customers another convenient way to schedule their repair or maintenance services. As a standard, I suggest my clients add the following verbiage or a variation of, positioned above their phone number and website “Call Today or Conveniently Schedule Online” 484-202-3960 TheMailShark.com In addition, I recommend utilizing a QR code, that when scanned takes your customers directly to your online appointment scheduling web page. Customers that are apt to schedule their appointments online will no doubt appreciate the convenience, making it even easier for them to book their appointment from their smart phones or tablet by simply scanning your QR code as opposed to having to type out a long URL such as: advancedautorepairream.com/appointments Attached is an example showing one side of a 5.5x10.5 Direct Mail Postcard: Now, I know what many of you may be thinking, “Do people still use QR Codes?” I’m not using my psychic abilities; I’ve simply been asked countless times by auto repair shop owners. Many shop owners seem to think QR codes are a thing of the past, however, this couldn’t be further from the truth. The QR code market is on a steep rise. According to Juniper Research, by 2022, 5.3 billion QR code coupons will be redeemed by smartphones and 1 billion smartphones will access QR codes. In my opinion there is no reason you should not be using this technology. Utilizing a QR code can’t have any negative affect on your business and there is only upside potential to add more convenience and make your shop easier to schedule an appointment with. A few final thoughts: It’s important to note, after creating countless QR codes for auto repair shops, I have noticed that when clicking on the online appointment scheduling link on many shop websites, it does not take you to a different URL when accessing the online appointment page. Instead, it keeps you on the same page you are on with an online appointment scheduling pop up. If this is the case on your shop’s website, you will not be able to link a QR code direct to your specific online appointment scheduling page. You can still utilize it to drive your prospects to your website and then from there they will have to navigate to this page as compared to them scanning the QR code and landing directly on your online scheduling page. If your shop doesn’t offer online appointment scheduling, you can still utilize QR Codes for many different things. Below is a short list to give you some ideas of what QR codes can easily link your customers to. · Any Website URL · Google Maps Location · Facebook · YouTube Video · Contact Details · Image File · Etc. etc. Finally, we have some PRO Tips to help you get the most out of the use of your QR code. PRO Tip #1: Basic QR codes should be FREE from your direct mail partner and many QR code services give you the ability to create a special QR codes that allow you to track the number of times your QR code is scanned. You can then test the use of your QR code and have transparency as to whether your QR code is being scanned by consumers. PRO Tip #2: Never Use a QR Code without labeling it with what its purpose is. You will most likely get zero scans or far less using a QR code without a label. PRO Tip #3: I don’t recommend using more than one QR code on your direct mail marketing piece. Use the link you feel customers will find the most convenience in and stick with a that one. PRO Tip #4: You can also create custom QR code images to further enhance the appeal of your QR code. This is typically with paid QR code services. Attached is an example of how Mail Shark created a custom QR code to make it seamless for our prospective auto repair shop clients to get a quote and samples. Josh Davis Mail Shark Executive Vice President of Sales Direct: 484-948-1611 Email: [email protected] www.themailshark.com/AutoDirectMail

It’s critical that you understand the pain points of your targeted prospects in relation to the products and services you offer in order to be able to strategically choose the marketing content that will be most compelling for them. This will enable your client to react and consider you for their next repair or maintenance service. For example, in a 2017 Survey from AAA, the findings show that one-third of drivers in the US could not afford a repair bill that was unexpected. 33.33% is a pretty significant number of vehicle owners that have tight budgets. With that in mind, if you offer any type of financing options for repairs, it’s important that your marketing message contains content that informs your prospects that you have options. These options will help them get financing for their repairs or maintenance and get them back on the road fast. Depending upon how much content and space you have available on your marketing, there are a few different ways to promote your financing. Below are a few ideas to promote financing options on your direct mail marketing. 1. Create a burst or some other type of call out that promotes your financing option. 2. If you are listing other benefits your shop offers, you can include financing info here. · Financing Options Available · Quick & Easy Financing Available · NO Credit Check Financing 3. Utilize your financing company’s info, logo, etc. to create a larger impact. Below is an example of a new project that just came by my desk demonstrating one of the many ways to promote your shop's financing. This example shows one side of a Jumbo 8.5x10.5 postcard. Included is a bullet point calling out “Quick & Easy Financing Options” under the: Why Choose Auto Clinic? section. Since this is a critical message, we placed it first in our bulleted list based on the Primacy/Recency Effect, in order to drive home to the consumer . In other words, people tend to recall information provided at the beginning of a list (Primacy), and end of a list(Recency) better than information presented in the middle of the list. We then reinforced this with another message addressing their customers' potential problem: “Unexpected Repair”, & our Solution “Fix it Today! $0 Down”. In addition, we incorporated the EASYPAY FINANCE branding. Finally, knowing that 33% of drivers may be struggling financially is also a compelling reason to have a strategic coupon offering. Giving prospects the ability to save on repairs, in conjunction with providing them financing options, can help position you as the best option for their repairs. Josh Davis Mail Shark Executive Vice President of Sales Direct: 484-948-1611 Email: [email protected] www.themailshark.com/AutoDirectMail

Hi Matthew, The biggest problem I have with your feedback and i mean this with all due respect is that you can’t argue with results. There are countless shops that are running these exact specials or a variation of based on price points that are really getting tremendous redemption rates on. Furthermore, IMO i think it’s a slippery slope putting a high savings like $97 on an oil change service special, specifically because it can work against you by making your oil change service look very expensive in the first place. I have discussed this with many shop owners that feel this way and I agree. It’s different if you are offering $50 off brakes in my opinion as brakes are going to be 100’s of dollars so the savings is in line with the spend and demonstrates value. Thanks for your feedback

I hear a lot of auto repair shop owners say they don't want to offer a cheap oil change coupon on their direct mail marketing. They feel the cheap oil change coupon brings in the wrong clientele, and they don't want to devalue their brand and position themselves as the cheap oil change shop. As a quick note, the concept behind the cheap oil change offer is that it is a loss leader and utilized to entice new customers. The key is getting new customers through the door, which the cheap oil change can be extremely effective at doing. Once you get them in your shop and you do a great job for them, you can build a great rapport with them and win them over as a loyal customer. All that said, you will always know your business better than any marketing company. Therefore, we certainly can't argue with the fact that you would not like to use this strategy if in fact you have already executed a cheap oil change coupon campaign and it did bring in the wrong clientele. However, having an oil change coupon as part of your shop's direct mail marketing strategy is critical. Here are a few reasons why. An oil change is something that every non-electric vehicle owner will need at some point in time. Consequently, I would venture to say that most vehicle owners are familiar with what an oil change is more so than any other maintenance service. Compare that to a timing belt replacement coupon or a serpentine belt replacement, each of which the average consumer may not be familiar. When you have a coupon that is familiar and relevant to everyone that you are targeting, you have a much higher chance of increasing redemption rates. Therefore, for those shop owners that are afraid of attracting the wrong clientele or devaluing their brand with a low-price point oil change, the simple fix is to increase your oil change price point to a number that you are comfortable with and that is still a value from a consumer perspective. An alternate option would be to offer a specific $ off discount that you are comfortable with — for example, $10 off any conventional oil change & 15 off any full synthetic. My next recommendation, if you are a general auto repair shop, which is a non-negotiable one, in my opinion, is to structure your oil change coupon to offer both a conventional and full synthetic oil change offer. All too often, shop owners only offer a conventional oil change coupon. A conventional oil change coupon is fine. However, it will never appeal or be applicable to owners of vehicles that require full synthetic oil. There is no reason to limit your offer to only appeal to a specific set of vehicles. It's crucial you cast a wider net and appeal to as many vehicle owners as possible. The simple and quick solution is to offer both options. PRO TIP: if you are concerned about coupons bringing in the wrong clientele, think again. Even the wealthiest consumers use coupons. Here is a snippet from our blog post entitled "WHY YOU SHOULD BE SENDING DIRECT MAIL COUPONS: It might seem surprising, but wealthy people love saving money with coupons. In fact, households with annual incomes of $100,000 or more are twice as likely to use coupons than households earning less than $35,000 a year. Wealthy customers may be able to afford your most expensive products and services, but that doesn't mean they don't want a good deal. The majority of them are cautious about spending money and rarely make frivolous, unnecessary purchases. Rather than viewing your business as cheap, they'll appreciate your coupons and the opportunity to save money, You can check out the entire blog post here. https://www.themailshark.com/resources/blog/send-direct-mail-coupons/ Josh Davis Mail Shark Executive Vice President of Sales Direct: 484-948-1611 Email: [email protected] www.themailshark.com/AutoDirectMail Oil Change Coupon Example.pdf

Tracking the return on your auto repair shop’s direct mail marketing can be a challenge. One tool that can give you a tremendous amount of transparency into your direct mail ROI and that I recommend almost 100% of the time is call tracking. For those of you who aren’t familiar with what call tracking is and how it works, it involves putting a unique phone number on your direct mail that isn’t used anywhere else. When someone calls the number, it forwards immediately and seamlessly to your main phone line. This gives you the ability to track and record all phone calls from this special number, in turn giving you some transparency into how your direct mail marketing is performing. There are of course many other nuances, capabilities, and uses for call tracking that you can learn about from companies like CallRail or Conversa, just to name a few. That said, it’s critical you understand call tracking is NOT the be-all end-all when it comes to determining how well your direct mail marketing is working. If this were the case, you’d have to assume that 100% of every new repair order you get calls directly from your mailer. However, we all know this will never be the case. Here are a few reasons why. Your Online Presence Before they consider using you repair shop, many prospects will go online to check out your website. If a customer lands on your website – assuming you aren’t using a PURL (Personalized URL), which is almost never the case with most auto repair shops – they do their research and then call your shop from the phone number on your website. In this situation, you immediately lose insight on how they heard about you. Customers are also reading your online reviews, whether on social media or review sites. Sites like Demandforce, SureCritic, Carfax, Repair Pal, Facebook, Yelp, Yellow Pages, etc. all have your shop’s contact details, including your phone number. Any call from customers who used these sites removes transparency on how they heard about you. Walk-Ins Our auto repair shop clients consistently tell us customers will just stop by their shop with their direct mail piece in hand. I’m not just talking about quick lube shops that are based on walk-in traffic. I’m talking about general and specialty auto repair shops. It’s great when customers have your mailer with them, because you can attribute these customers to your direct mail marketing. However, this won’t be reflected in your call tracking, which is another reason call tracking isn’t the be-all end-all when determining ROI. Online Appointment Scheduling More and more auto repair shops are offering online appointment scheduling. We like to position these shops as being easy to work with, and part of that is promoting their online appointment scheduling. We include verbiage on our direct mail pieces to inform customers they can conveniently schedule online, and most times we accompany this with a QR code that brings them directly to the appointment scheduling page. This is similar to my first point regarding your online presence and website. However, I also want to point out this specific example because in these cases, we’re actively pushing people to go online to schedule their repair or maintenance service, thus losing transparency from call tracking. All that said, call tracking is an effective tool that gives you a lot of transparency into your direct mail marketing ROI. However, you should also be running matchback reports that compare new repair orders during (and in the trailing months following your campaign) to your direct mail list. This helps you identify customers who were missed on call tracking or by your service advisor. You can then use your call tracking data in conjunction with your matchback reporting to get a clearer picture of your direct mail ROI. If you’re using EDDM® Retail or EDDM® BMEU, you won’t be able to execute matchback reporting because there’s no mailing list to compare your repair orders with. Josh Davis Mail Shark Executive Vice President of Sales Direct: 484-948-1611 Email: [email protected] www.themailshark.com/Auto-Direct-Mail

There’s an old adage in marketing: “features tell and benefits sell.” This is critical to keep in mind when you’re promoting your auto repair shop. If your prospective customers don’t understand the features your shop offers, how they’ll benefit from these features, and why they should consider your shop for their next repair or maintenance service, you may lose them to your competition. The main constraint you’ll encounter when emphasizing benefits on your direct mail is usually space. There are a lot of important elements an effective direct mail advertisement should contain, all of which are fighting for valuable space. Furthermore, putting too much information on an ad can make it cluttered and hard to read, which could diminish your return. A great solution to this problem is to provide a clear, concise, and organized list of your shop’s features that can easily be scanned by your prospects. Depending on the available space, there are two ways you can do this. If you have limited space, you can simply list your benefits out in a bulleted list. If you have extra space, you can list them out in conjunction with an icon to help illustrate the benefit and call additional attention to them. Here’s a starting point to help you develop and build a list of your shop’s features and benefits. Quality -Are your technicians ASE certified? -Do you offer a warranty on your work? -Do you offer a 100% customer satisfaction guarantee? Affordability -Do you offer any financing options? Comfort -Do you offer any amenities in your waiting room? Convenience -Do you offer any type of shuttle service or loaner car service? -Do you offer same day service on most repairs? -Do you offer early drop-off and/or after-hours pick-up? -Do you offer roadside assistance? -Do you offer online appointment scheduling? Trust -Are all repairs approved by your customer before any work is done? Pro Tip: Make sure you give your list of benefits a header. Something like: “Why Choose XYZ Auto” or “Our Benefits For You.” or “10 Reasons to Choose XYZ” Josh Davis Mail Shark Executive Vice President of Sales Direct: 484-948-1611 Email: [email protected] www.themailshark.com/Auto-Direct-Mail

Here’s a marketing idea I wanted to share with everyone. Auto shop owners and marketers are focused on targeting the local residential community. But what about all of the businesses that employ people who work in the area but don’t live in the area? These employees are all great prospects for auto repair services. The challenge is effectively targeting and reaching them. One idea is to create a flyer that doubles as a break room poster. The poster should have a use case explicitly telling the business owner what you want them to do with your poster. Let them know they simply need to hang it in their break room to share the savings with their colleagues and employees. We recommend clipless coupons or specials, which increase the lifespan of the poster and keep it intact for longer than it would if employees were tearing coupons off. Employees will simply take a picture of the coupon they want to use and show it to you upon redemption.Tear-off coupons destroy posters and ultimately result in them being thrown away as soon as the coupons, offers, or specials are torn off. Using break room posters requires some legwork on the part of shop owners, since you’ll need to visit the businesses you want to target. However, the actual cost of the printed flyers is minimal. Let’s say you want to print 100 of them. At around $1 per piece, your total investment is $100 (give or take) depending on who does your printing. There really is no downside to giving break room posters a shot. Put a call tracking number on your poster to keep track of anyone who comes in to redeem your coupons to track ROI. There are plenty of companies that can print cheap flyers, so call around. Attached is an example of a popular layout that Mail Shark has been supplying shops with. Josh Davis Executive Vice President of Sales Direct: 484-948-1611 Mobile: 484-269-3715 www.themailshark.com Example BreakRoom Poster.pdf

Here’s a marketing idea I wanted to share with everyone. Auto shop owners and marketers are focused on targeting the local residential community. But what about all of the businesses that employ people who work in the area but don’t live in the area? These employees are all great prospects for auto repair services. The challenge is effectively targeting and reaching them. One idea is to create a flyer that doubles as a break room poster. The poster should have a use case explicitly telling the business owner what you want them to do with your poster. Let them know they simply need to hang it in their break room to share the savings with their colleagues and employees. We recommend clipless coupons or specials, which increase the lifespan of the poster and keep it intact for longer than it would if employees were tearing coupons off. Employees will simply take a picture of the coupon they want to use and show it to you upon redemption. Tear-off coupons destroy posters and ultimately result in them being thrown away as soon as the coupons, offers, or specials are torn off. Using break room posters requires some legwork on the part of shop owners, since you’ll need to visit the businesses you want to target. However, the actual cost of the printed flyers is minimal. Let’s say you want to print 100 of them. At around $1 per piece, your total investment is $100 (give or take) depending on who does your printing. There really is no downside to giving break room posters a shot. Put a call tracking number on your poster to keep track of anyone who comes in to redeem your coupons to track ROI. There are plenty of companies that can print cheap flyers, so call around. Attached is an example of a popular layout that Mail Shark has been supplying shops with. Josh Davis Mail Shark Executive Vice President of Sales Direct: 484-948-1611 Email: [email protected] www.themailshark.com/Auto-Direct-Mail Example BreakRoom Poster.pdf

If you are currently sending or considering sending out direct mail by carrier route, there is one specific type of address you should be aware of called a Drop Stop AKA Drop Address. A Drop Stop is a “locked” location where postal carriers do not deliver mail to the individual units or boxes. They “drop” the mail in a designated location for the individual complex to distribute. Take a look at the attached. This photo is from a client of mine from years ago that wanted to test this area and mail this specific complex that we identified to be classified as a Drop Stop. *Although the majority of Drop Addresses are apartment complexes, the vast majority of apartment complexes are NOT considered drop address apartments. In addition to designated apartment complexes, some other types of drop addresses are some gated communities, trailer parks, etc. There are no absolute rules or policies for establishing an address as a drop delivery location. The determination of a drop delivery location is based on several factors. It may be the choice of the recipients at the address such as for gated communities or prestigious high-rise condominiums that the residents don’t wish to have their physical address information disclosed and elect instead to have their mail distributed by their building management. Where a delivery location is defined as a business delivery point such as a trailer park, the USPS may make the determination that all mail will be delivered to a central location and the responsibility for distribution to the individual recipients will be made by other than USPS personnel. All that said, the first step is to identify if any of the addresses in your area are classified as drop addresses. From here I typically always recommend removing these from a saturation mailer. You could have a tenant that sees a special offer and simply takes all of them or someone doesn’t like an employee at your business or had a bad experience, etc, etc. and simply takes them and dumps them in the trash. In my opinion in 99.8% of cases it makes no sense to pay for postage on pieces that may just get dropped on a table. I’m sure you would much rather have your direct mail marketing going to a physical address that you know will get delivered into the intended recipient’s mailbox. If you have any questions regarding Drop Addresses or would like to see if there are any in your immediate area, please let me know. Josh Davis Mail Shark Executive Vice President of Sales Direct: 484-948-1611 Email: [email protected] www.themailshark.com/Auto-Direct-Mail

If you haven’t considered or utilized direct mail postcard magnets to attract new customers, now is the time to reevaluate this medium. Over the past 9 years, I have seen first-hand how effective direct mailing a postcard magnet can be for new customer acquisition as well as customer retention. The Direct Marketing Association (DMA), who is quite a credible source, also reported in their DMA Statistical Fact Book that “A postcard with a magnet attached is read at least 51.9% more often than a traditional postcard.” With that said, I cannot speak to how this study was conducted, but this directly correlates to my real-world experience mailing millions of postcard magnets for our clients over the years. Why is now the right time to mail a postcard magnet? Postcard magnets are effective all year round. However, now is the perfect time to capitalize on the recently released NFL schedules, which will give you a great opportunity to beat your competitors. You’ll be the first company to get your region’s favorite team schedules on the fridge of your prospective customers. Another reason postcard magnets are so effective is this simple fact. Your target prospects may not have a broken car or need your services the exact day that you target them. Therefore, it is imperative that you are top of mind when a need arises and that’s exactly what postcard magnets accomplish. Consumers get them and intuitively put them on their fridge, keeping your brand constantly visible in their home. There are a number of companies that offer this product so get quotes & compare services. Again, it’s the perfect is the perfect time to execute this product. I have attached a few samples to give you a better idea of what the product can look like. If you have any questions, please let me know.

If you haven’t considered or utilized direct mail postcard magnets to attract new customers, now is the time to reevaluate this medium. Over the past 9 years, I have seen first-hand how effective direct mailing a postcard magnet can be for new customer acquisition as well as customer retention. The Direct Marketing Association (DMA), who is quite a credible source, also reported in their DMA Statistical Fact Book that “A postcard with a magnet attached is read at least 51.9% more often than a traditional postcard.” With that said, I cannot speak to how this study was conducted, but this directly correlates to my real-world experience mailing millions of postcard magnets for our clients over the years. Why is now the right time to mail a postcard magnet? Postcard magnets are effective all year round. However, now is the perfect time to capitalize on the recently released NFL schedules, which will give you a great opportunity to beat your competitors. You’ll be the first company to get your region’s favorite team schedules on the fridge of your prospective customers. Another reason postcard magnets are so effective is this simple fact. Your target prospects may not have a broken car or need your services the exact day that you target them. Therefore, it is imperative that you are top of mind when a need arises and that’s exactly what postcard magnets accomplish. Consumers get them and intuitively put them on their fridge, keeping your brand constantly visible in their home. There are a number of companies that offer this product so get quotes & compare services. Again, it’s the perfect is the perfect time to execute this product. I have attached a few samples to give you a better idea of what the product can look like. If you have any questions, please let me know. Josh Davis Mail Shark Executive Vice President of Sales Direct: 484-948-1611 Email: [email protected] www.themailshark.com/Auto-Direct-Mail

After speaking to a number of Euro & Specialty shops recently about executing targeted direct mail campaigns, I’ve realized there isn’t a clear understanding from the shop owners perspective about the capabilities and source of targeted auto lists. I hope to add some transparency to the subject here. What type of targeted auto data is available? Below is a list of 6 categories available to select specific vehicles to target, with the top 3 being the most widely used. I have also attached a sample report that illustrates an example of data from a list that was run by make, model & year. 1. Make 2. Model 3. Year 4. Fuel Type 5. Auto Class 6. Auto Style Where does this information come from? This seems to be the point of the most confusion. Targeted auto data is NOT available from any DMV. This is due to what is called the Shelby Act AKA Data Access Act. You can google Shelby Act and read a plethora of information about it on google. Since the DMV does not release this data, the actual data that is available is compiled using multiple sources. The following list includes the primary sources of where this data is derived from. This list includes but is not limited to: 1. Co-Registration: When someone goes to specific auto service businesses for example, they take down the vin number and car info and then sell this info the list compilers. That is just one example. Over 90% of lists will come from service industries that report the vin info. Info is lacking on new models because they didn’t go to a service provider that releases the data. 2. Responder info: Someone who fills out form from a magazine, surveys, or forms they filled out somewhere, etc. 3. Online insurance quotes 4. Warranty Companies 5. Transactional data: If the consumer has purchased something for their car such as a stereo or running boards, etc. 6. Major Car Clubs of America. 7. Aftermarket Repair Companies 8. Etc., What Questions to ask your direct mail &/Or List provider before purchasing a targeted vehicle mailing list. 1. Is your list triple verified? This means your list must have come from and have been verified by three sources in order for the record to be included. 2. Is your list NCOA’d? To NCOA a list means to utilize the post office data to validate that the recipient’s name matches their current address. This ensures that the owners of the vehicles haven't moved and are in fact located at the address confirmed. 3. Is your List Shelby compliant? In summation, I can tell you first hand that not all list providers are created equal. I have personally vetted over 10 of the top list vendors to choose our resource for targeted lists. Therefore, my strong recommendation is to do your research, ask all of the questions listed above and get a list count from more than one vendor to compare. I hope this helps and if there are any questions, please let message me. Targeted List Example.xls

After speaking to a number of Euro & Specialty shops recently about executing targeted direct mail campaigns, I’ve realized there isn’t a clear understanding from the shop owners perspective about the capabilities and source of targeted auto lists. I hope to add some transparency to the subject here. 1. What type of targeted auto data is available? Below is a list of 6 categories available to select specific vehicles to target, with the top 3 being the most widely used. I have also attached a sample report that illustrates an example of data from a list that was run by make, model & year. 1. Make 2. Model 3. Year 4. Fuel Type 5. Auto Class 6. Auto Style 2. Where does this information come from? This seems to be the point of the most confusion. Targeted auto data is NOT available from any DMV. This is due to what is called the Shelby Act AKA Data Access Act. You can google Shelby Act and read a plethora of information about it on google. Since the DMV does not release this data, the actual data that is available is compiled using multiple sources. The following list includes the primary sources of where this data is derived from. This list includes but is not limited to: 1. Co-Registration: When someone goes to specific auto service businesses for example, they take down the vin number and car info and then sell this info the list compilers. That is just one example. Over 90% of lists will come from service industries that report the vin info. Info is lacking on new models because they didn’t go to a service provider that releases the data. 2. Responder info: Someone who fills out form from a magazine, surveys, or forms they filled out somewhere, etc. 3. Online insurance quotes 4. Warranty Companies 5. Transactional data: If the consumer has purchased something for their car such as a stereo or running boards, etc. 6. Major Car Clubs of America. 7. Aftermarket Repair Companies 8. Etc., 3. Questions to ask your direct mail &/Or List provider before purchasing a targeted vehicle mailing list. 1. Is your list triple verified? This means your list must have come from and have been verified by three sources in order for the record to be included. 2. Is your list NCOA’d? To NCOA a list means to utilize the post office data to validate that the recipient’s name matches their current address. This ensures that the owners of the vehicles haven't moved and are in fact located at the address confirmed. 3. Is your List Shelby compliant? In summation, I can tell you first hand that not all list providers are created equal. I have personally vetted over 10 of the top list vendors to choose our resource for targeted lists. Therefore, my strong recommendation is to do your research, ask all of the questions listed above and get a list count from more than one vendor to compare. I hope this helps and if there are any questions, please let message me. Josh Davis Mail Shark Executive Vice President of Sales Direct: 484-948-1611 Email: [email protected] www.themailshark.com/Auto-Direct-Mail Targeted List Example.xls

Are you using direct mail to market your auto shop? If you aren’t, it’s time to add this tried and true method to your marketing line-up. Direct mail is great for auto shops, whether you’re trying to increase your car count with new customers or retain existing ones. In this blog, we’ll explain how you can use direct mail to fill your bays and maximize your ROI. Be Consistent with Your Direct Mail Wondering why direct mail is a smart choice for auto shops? One of the biggest reasons is its effectiveness at driving new and returning business to your garage. However, to make direct mail work, you have to reach your prospects consistently. It’s a proven fact that it takes three or more exposures to an advertising message before consumers take action. That means you have to send multiple direct mail campaigns to stay top-of-mind and steadily grow your car count. Your customers might not be ready for a specific service when you mail the first time, but with persistence, they’ll eventually be ready to give you a chance to earn their business. Diversify the Automotive Coupons You Send Every auto shop should be sending coupons to their prospects. According to an NCH Marketing survey, 84% of consumers say coupons directly impact their store selection. And Vouchercloud found that 57% of shoppers make purchases at businesses they haven’t been to before because they were able to use a coupon. Make sure you diversify your coupon offerings, though. Don’t mail out coupons for similar services, like a serpentine belt replacement and a timing belt replacement. And make sure you’re sending offers that appeal to a broad audience. You should also avoid mailing coupons that are too specific or too technical. If your coupon can’t be used by almost anyone or would confuse someone who doesn’t know much about cars, don’t use it. We recommend sending the following three coupons with your direct mail: Oil Change Special Coupon This coupon gets prospects through your doors for a common, inexpensive service. Treat them well, and you can earn their future preventative maintenance and more expensive repairs. Tiered Dollar-Off Coupon Everyone can use this all-purpose coupon, so it’s sure to score you lots of new business. Always use this over a coupon for specific parts or services that aren’t useful to everyone. Free Warning Light Scan Coupon Offer a free warning light scan to bring people in for diagnostic tests. Once you’ve pinpointed their vehicle’s problem, you have the opportunity to earn their business and repair the issue. Conclusion Want to learn more about how direct mail can benefit your shop? The team of automotive direct mail experts at Mail Shark are available to consult with you on the best strategy for your business. Don’t hesitate to get in touch with us today by visiting this page or calling 484-738-0814.