Automotive service and repair is a $215 billion a year industry.  Change is either an obstacle or an accelerant to getting your fair share.  Or rather, your response to change is the determining factor.  Change at the local level as well as global shifts may be out of your control, but you can respond and adapt.

Lay of the Land
The automotive service and repair industry is commonly divided into three segments: dealerships, independent stores and aftermarket chains.  I’m not taking sides here – I don’t care if you own an independent shop, are the Service Director at a Chevy dealership or manage a Midas store.  Global factors affect each segment in different ways and players in each segment need to respond differently to meet their business objectives.

Each of the three sectors has customers that are loyal to that sector.  These customers are loyal because they value the things that the sector does very well.  They also represent the ideal customer for each sector, preferring to frequent the sector and spending most of their service/repair dollars there.  For the most part, the strategy should be to keep loyal customers happy, but don’t fall into the trap of trying to entice loyal customers of other segments into yours.  The cost/benefit, for example, for a chain store to provide the amenities that attract dealership loyalists probably won’t work out – but it doesn’t have to in order to maintain and grow your business.

Big Picture: when you set aside the loyal customers in each segment, you’re still left with 77% of potential customers and 42% of the total service/repair dollars in play.   That's about $90 billion.  And it’s not a zero sum game: every year, 50 to 60 billion dollars of work is left unperformed – if you’re good at getting your existing customers to take care of neglected services you’ll do just fine.

Global Change
The average vehicle age is now 10.8 years, a product of a weak economy and more reliable vehicles.  From 2008 to 2011 32.5 million more vehicles moved into the over 7 years age group – and 7 million less are in the 6 years or newer category.  This moves the average vehicle further from dealerships’ traditional service/repair sweet spot, making that segment vulnerable.  Interestingly, aftermarket chains have benefited disproportionately compared with independent shops from this migration in recent years.

Changing population age may have an even bigger impact.  For example, a snapshot reveals that those loyal to dealerships are most likely to be not just older, but actually quite senior.  It also doesn’t appear that as people age they start a natural progression towards becoming loyal dealership customers.  If that’s the case, dealership loyalty may be more generational than age related which would mean dealerships are on the cusp of a massive loss as their most loyal customers, frankly, die off.  And, as young people enter the world of vehicle ownership, they are more likely to start with independent shops and aftermarket chains for their service needs.

Dealers in Retreat?
So does this mean rejoicing in the aftermarket as dealerships strike camp in retreat?  Hardly.  OEs are lengthening warranties and broadening their coverage to keep owners coming in longer for more warranty work, providing the opportunity to sell additional customer-pay work.  OEs and dealerships are both offering covered maintenance for a period to give them a chance to win over consumers to their service departments.  Dealerships are offering things like” free tires for life” if you take care of routine maintenance with them.

If this sounds costly – it is.  But it generates much needed revenue from the parts and service side of the house.  With the ability for consumers to find dealer invoice information on the internet, margins on new car sales are extremely low, sometimes even generating a loss.  Profits from new car sales are heavily dependent on accessories and Financing and Insurance products. 

This year’s vehicle sales profits are up, fueled mostly by used car sales where the consumer doesn’t know what the dealer paid for a vehicle so they can’t squeeze the margins as hard.  Which leads us to the topic of: “We service all makes and models”.

I subscribe to e-newsletters from all kinds of service centers to see what they’re doing.  I recently received one from a dealership in my area.  It featured six maintenance services at special prices.  The fine print after each service read “Toyotas only”.  Since I don’t currently own a Toyota the message I got is “We don’t want your service business.”  I understand that there is some discomfort with having to service an unfamiliar make.  It will take longer and may not be as profitable.  Maybe it sticks in one’s craw to turn to aftermarket parts suppliers.  But more and more dealerships are saying, “If I’m in the business of selling cars and my most profitable sales are used cars (of all makes and models) why wouldn’t I:

1. Try to capture the service/repair revenue on all the cars I sell
2. Build a relationship of trust with those service customers so that the next used car they buy is with me?”

Aftermarket Living Large?
No doubt the aftermarket in general will benefit from these global shifts in service/repair buying habits, but the number of aftermarket bays is growing in lockstep with the flow of money. 

When we moved to our current offices in early 2005, one of our near neighbors was a Big O Tire Center.  The owner had recently purchased the franchise.  Within his four mile service area were a Jiffy Lube, a half dozen or so independent repair shops, a Tire Factory and four new car dealers.  Since then the same area has added Costco, Wal-Mart, Les Schwab, Discount Tires, two Grease Monkeys, and, just this year, two independent tire stores a couple of blocks away.  You think his world has changed?  Nobody is getting a free ride in this market. 

What To Do?

1. Hang on to what you’ve got!
   1. Improve your customer experience at every touch point
   2. Learn why your loyal customers are coming in and make sharing that story a part of your process with every new customer
   3. Reward loyalty and referrals
2. Maximize sales opportunities
   1. The cost of acquiring a new customer has already been paid when they walk through your door – don’t miss the opportunity to increase your ARO by reviewing manufacturer’s recommendations and conducting an inspection
   2. Use technology to educate your customers on the services you offer with:
      1. Educational digital lobby TV
      2. Point-of-sale tools on your website
      3. A digital menu board at the service desk
3. Go for your share of the $140+ billion of service/repair that’s not already committed to a loyal relationship
   1. Build an extensive web presence: Younger buyers and those who are not committed to a particular store or industry segment do a lot of internet research when making the decision of where to go
   2. Use content marketing: If your website doesn’t say anything about timing belt replacement, search engines will never send someone looking for timing belt replacement to your site.  Have content for everything you want to sell.
4. Communicate
   1. Send reminders for declined and pending services: most prefer e-mail communication
      1. Leverage the technology with e-mail videos that target specific services
   2. Studies indicate that 3 months is the ideal interval for communicating with your customers – keeping you top of mind and reinforcing your relationship
   3. Use social media to promote helpful information, service content from your website and customer experiences

The world, it’s a changing.  But it’s full of opportunity for those who make the effort to perceive and act on the possibilities.

Lance Boldt is Vice President and Co-Founder of AutoNetTV.  AutoNetTV’s digital signage products deliver entertaining and educational TV programming to the lobbies of automotive service and repair businesses as well as digital menu boards and automotive website video content.

In Part 1, we talked about how customer’s perceptions on Price, Completeness of the Repair, and Meeting Time Expectations leads to customer dissatisfaction, according to a recent Consumer Reports Annual Auto Survey.  Here, we’ll finish up the Top 5 List and discuss why customers “quit” a repair shop.

Bring Car Back Because the Repair Didn’t “Hold Up”
18% of those dissatisfied with their repair said that they have to come back because the repair wasn’t complete or the fix didn’t last.  Sometimes you do your best and this happens.  Sometimes you make a mistake or get a little sloppy and this happens.  Either way, how you treat your customer along the way and after the job is finally done, should leave them feeling like they’ve been dealt with fairly.

I remember picking up my Suburban after having the flex plate replaced.  When I climbed in and put it in Drive the dash indicator still read Park.  I think that should have been caught by the tech.  I left it another day.  I got a call that the tech had broken a part while connecting the sensor and would it be ok if I paid for the part and they would eat the labor.  Another 80 bucks.  Then when I picked it up the dash gear indicator was still spotty.  Another trip back – never did get it right.  A day later the truck wouldn’t start – the starter had been moved during the repair and didn’t get tightened down properly so it slid out of position enough that it couldn’t engage the engine to turn it over.  An expensive tow to get it fixed.

The situation turned out to be a nightmare for both me and the shop.  It was not a contentious experience at all, but I’m sure they were glad to see my taillights when I left for the last time.  And I do mean the last time.  I’ve never been back.  My perception – the come-backs (all three of them) should not have happened and that they didn’t do enough to make it right with me. 

Staff Treated Them Poorly
Something over 6% of those dissatisfied felt that the staff had treated them poorly (dealerships were cited at twice the rate of aftermarket shops in this category).  OK, there are some people that always think they’ve been treated poorly – not much you can do about them.  But for everybody else: this is entirely within your power.  Courtesy, kindness and respect: shouldn’t these basic virtues be extended to everybody that comes through your door?  The grumpy, the clueless – yeah they get the royal treatment too; from start to finish.  There’s no excuse for anyone in your operation to treat a customer poorly.

Those Who Quit You
Almost a quarter of those that reported dissatisfaction said that they’ve stopped using a shop within the last five years due to their service experience.  Now that works out to nearly 7%. That group is split evenly between dealerships and the aftermarket. 

30% of females who stopped using a shop said they did so because they felt the staff tried to take advantage of them because they were women.  We recently conducted a focus group for our Lobby TV product.  All of the women said that they feared being taken advantage of or lied to because of their gender.  Now that’s a powerful perception.  What can you do to overcome it? 

Certainly don’t do stupid things like the service writer who told our office manager she needed more “bumper fluid – just $35”.  Anything that comes across as “Don’t you worry your pretty head little lady, we’ll take care of you” is condescending and will raise a red flag.  Education, respectfully presented at the appropriate level, is just what women – and men – need to feel so that you deserve their trust.

It’s OK to “fire” a toxic customer.  But it’s just good business to make sure you don’t have processes that allow an otherwise good customer relationship to become poisoned.   

Perception really is Reality.

Lance Boldt is Vice President and Co-Founder of AutoNetTV.  AutoNetTV’s digital signage products deliver entertaining and educational TV programming to the lobbies of automotive service and repair businesses as well as digital menu boards and automotive website video content.

OK, that’s not fair.  Most people like you.  At least according to a recent Consumer Reports Annual Auto Survey in which 73% said that they were either completely or very satisfied with their repair shop.  I thought it interesting to look at the 5 reasons most often cited for dissatisfaction.

Before we dive in, let me give you a quote: “Truth is universal.  Perception of truth is not.”  While your operation may actually have problems in these areas, it’s just as likely that the problem lies with how your customers perceive the issues.  You can do something about both.

Prices Are Too High
38% of the dissatisfied cite high prices as the reason.  So 10% of all customers thought the price was too high (the occurance was about 31% higher for dealerships than for the aftermarket).  What we don’t know is whether those prices were actually higher than the other 90% or even high relative to other shops in the area.  But the prices were higher than these people thought they should be.  Perception.

Thinking of my own experiences, how the work is presented (sold) up front has a tremendous impact on my expectation of the value I’ll receive in exchange for my money.  When the service advisor gives me details in plain English, breaks down parts and labor and helps me understand the benefits of getting the repair done, I may not be tickled with the price, but I won’t feel like I’m getting ripped off.

I once took my son’s old truck in because the A/C wasn’t working.  I paid for a diagnostic to find the problem.  When I came back and got the written estimate it was way more than I expected, but what sticks in my mind to this day is the line item for shop rags – $23.  And there were a half dozen other similar charges for little things.  They probably didn’t add up to much, but my perception was that they were charging me for everything they could possibly think of. 

Now I get it – when I prepare a quote for video production, I have a template that makes sure I cover every cost item.  But I don’t give that to the customer – it’s an internal tool that ensures profitability for the job.  The customer gets a much more simplified estimate.  That approach might have worked with my broken A/C.  Instead, when I honestly (and not obnoxiously) reacted to the quote, the service writer immediately started to back-pedal and say that he was sure he could get the price down.  That’s when I stopped listening: I figured they either were trying to rip me off or that I wouldn’t be satisfied with the “cheaper” repair. 

Perception: the price was too high.  The service writer’s reaction to my reaction confirmed my perception.  I’ve never gone back.

Car Wasn’t Fixed Properly
Over 25% said that the problem wasn’t fixed properly.  It’s hard to lay this one on the customer – even if they just dropped it off with a note that says “weird sound when I turn”.  Not managing your own process can’t be the customer’s fault.

• The service advisor has the responsibility of gathering all the information necessary to understand the customer’s perception of the problem
•  From there, the customer needs to be educated on the diagnostic process
• After the “fix”, the technician needs to evaluate & test drive to make sure the vehicle is truly ready for the customer
• If the diagnosis/repair is tentative, the customer should get a thorough explanation when picking up the vehicle and be coached on what to expect and do if Plan A doesn’t pan out.  Cashing out with no caveats is a recipe for dissatisfaction.

Took Longer Than Expected
21% said that the work took longer than expected.  Of course you give your customer a reasonable estimate of when they can expect the work to be done based on the job and the shop schedule.  Then Murphy ’s Law takes over and things start to go wrong.  Some delays are truly out of your control – and some you maybe contribute to, just a little bit.  Either way, communicating with your customer as soon as possible will help manage expectations.  I’ve gone in to pick up my vehicle that was promised at five o’clock only to learn that it wouldn’t be ready until the next day. 

A simple call an hour before would have altered my expectation and given me time to make necessary arrangements.  My perception: both my ride and I were inconvenienced and I felt our time wasn’t valued.  Common courtesy is sometimes all it takes.

I’ve had similar experiences where the service advisor kept me abreast of the progress – and unexpected delays – and I was fine with it. 

In Part 2 we’ll talk about the last two reasons people are dissatisfied with their service experience and drill down on why people don’t return to your shop.

Lance Boldt is Vice President and Co-Founder of AutoNetTV.  AutoNetTV’s digital signage products deliver entertaining and educational TV programming to the lobbies of automotive service and repair businesses as well as digital menu boards and automotive website video content.

Mom used to say, rather emphatically, “Don’t watch so much TV, you’ll ruin your eyes!”  That was back in the day of 3 channels when I would watch a ½ hour after school.  Fast forward to today when the average American spends 33 hours a week watching video on their various screens.  That’s like a full time job. 

Nielsen reports that internet video viewing is up 22% from Q3 2008 to Q3 2011.  In the same time period viewing on mobile devices is up over 200%!  In recent months, tablets have been outselling PC’s.

14% off all internet minutes are spent watching online videos and it's on pace to hit 50% by 2014.  From an advertising perspective, online video outperforms TV in every metric imaginable. 

So What’s On Your Website?
Take a look at your website.  If you don’t have any video how do you look:  Progressive?  Cutting edge?  Professional?  Remotely interesting?

Look, I’m a big reader, but when I’m on a website – especially on my tablet or smartphone – I would much rather see a video than read the same information.  It conveys the material better, is more impactful and more likely to motivate me – it’s just a better experience.

I think you would want online videos about the services you offer.  They should explain the service, why it needs to be performed, what triggers a recommendation (manufacturer’s schedule or an inspection, the potential consequences of not getting the work done and the benefits of timely service.  The videos should covey useful information and demonstrate your credibility: why wouldn’t someone get their work done with you after your website has been so helpful?

Video is just going to continue to permeate the online experience across all size video screens.  As that unfolds, the perceived gap between the “have’s” and the “have not’s” will continue to grow.   Businesses that don’t use video in their online presence will be seen as being old fashioned, not keeping up with the times.  Not the up-to-date image you want to put out there as automotive technology marches forward.

Since everyone’s apparently ignoring their Mothers and watching more video, use the trend to your advantage and get your share of those who are looking for car care information into your service bays.

So dust the electronic cobwebs from your website and get some high-quality videos and animations that explain what you do and why your visitors should take better care of their vehicles with you. 

Lance Boldt is Vice President and a Co-Founder of AutoNetTV Media Inc.  AutoNetTV produces automotive video and animation tools that are used in Automotive Internet Video applications, Automotive Lobby TV and Digital Signage, Digital Menu Boards.

When I was a kid, my Dad and I would watch Robert Blake as the gritty undercover TV cop, Baretta.  I got a kick out of his cockatoo, Fred, and his CI, Rooster, but what I really loved was The Blue Ghost, Baretta’s ‘66 Impala.  On the outside it was a beat up, rusted out eyesore.  But under the hood was a raging beast ready to run down the bad guys no matter what they drove.  Thus began my affinity for sleepers.

Well, current economic realities have apparently gotten a lot of Americans thinking along the same lines.  Kelton Research recently conducted a national survey of motorists.  86% of them said that how well their engine ran was more important than how their vehicle looks, inside or out.  85% said they were more concerned with the longevity of their car than their homes. 

Here’s something interesting: 68% express how old their vehicle is in terms of mileage rather than years; and that a vehicle isn’t “old” until it hits 147,000 miles.  On average, they believe that a vehicle should be able to last for 200,000 miles.

If you fix and service vehicles, you know that you have your work cut out for you to hit that 200,000 mile mark.  And the first step is getting your customers to buy into what they need to do to actually make it happen. 

Over the years, one of AutoNetTV’s most popular topics has been “Making Your Vehicle Last”.  We’ve approached it from a dozen angles because it resonates so well with consumers and service advisors alike.  In doing the research for the segments, one of the things I found most interesting is the advice given by people who own vehicles with over 150,000 miles: Change Your Oil on Schedule. 

It’s easy to dismiss the simple oil change – but it really can mean a lot to vehicular longevity:

• Changing your customer's oil on schedule is obviously good for their engine
• When you perform a full service oil change, you’re topping off all of the other fluids.  That means that if a particular fluid does get low in between oil changes, it’s not going too long before it’s discovered so damage from low fluid isn’t as likely.  If the fluid loss is severe or persists beyond one change interval, you’ll look for leaks and get it repaired.
• The oil change gives you an opportunity to review all of the other factory recommended services and make a plan for taking care of them
• You can take advantage of the visit to do a walk-around and inspect for other items that need attention

The oil change can be the center of everything the vehicle needs to ensure long life.  It can also become the hub around which the relationship with your customer is built.  I wouldn’t be the first to suggest that you should pay very close attention to how oil changes fit into your marketing plan.

I’ve visited some service facilities that, based on price, really don’t want my oil change business.  They can defend the high price with their technician pay and shop cost structure.  But hanging on to that extra ten bucks means they are letting go of the chance to sell me another needed service based on my maintenance schedule or an issue uncovered in the inspection.  It’s hard to imagine that working out in the center’s economic favor. 

A dealership next to my office offers a very competitive oil change price – after receiving a mail-in rebate (in the form of a debit card).  I’m far too effective a procrastinator for that to work for me.  For my money, a good everyday low price, an occasional discount, discounted pre-paid oil changes or buy X and get the next free, all work. 

So keep your eye on the prize: A relationship with the customer in which they come to you for all their service and repair work, big or small. 

Keep your eye on the prize – that would have been a good name for this article, but “Keep Your Eye on the Sparrow” was Baretta’s theme song, so let’s go with that.

Lance Boldt is Vice President and Co-Founder of AutoNetTV.  AutoNetTV’s digital signage products deliver entertaining and educational TV programming to the lobbies of automotive service and repair businesses as well as digital menu boards and automotive website video content.

When my youngest was 7 she said, “I can’t remember – is it the boy or the girl peacocks that have the bright feathers.” 

“It’s the boys.  In the bird world, the boys have the fancy feathers to get the attention of the girls.  With people, girls are the ones that dress all fancy to get the boys’ attention.  Boys just need a cool car.” 

“Dad, you don’t have a cool car.” 

“Well, I’m not trying to get girls’ attention.” 

“It’s a good thing.  You’d need a convertible, a different haircut and all new clothes.”

Ouch.  There’s a perception gap there, and, sadly, hers is closer to reality.  So how do your customers perceive you?  The answer to that question can be elusive.  In my experience, most businesses base what they think their customer’s perception is by the complaints they receive.  The problem with that is that can be very misleading.  Let’s say 10% of your customers don’t like what you do in a particular area.  Our natural tendency is to devote tremendous resources into “fixing” the problem to make those 10% happy – a case of the squeaky wheel gets the grease.  We want to do everything we can to eliminate the probability of failure.  But what if we neglect the things that are working at the expense of fixing a few problems?  That leads to our probability of success shrinking to the point that there is no way we can fix enough problems to succeed, because the very elements of success are no longer there in the quantity required.

I once inherited an office that had a little sign on the inside of the door.  It read “The Worst Wheel Makes the Most Noise”.  Compare the number of people you know who always give a compliment to those who always complain.  I find it takes more courage to offer a compliment than to make a complaint.  It’s often the cranky and troublesome that have the loudest voice.  So why then would we craft our service offering based on the squeaky (worst) wheel?  And, perhaps more importantly, how do we find out what people really like about our business?

Of course you want to address things that you could do better, but think of it this way:  how bad would it be if that 10% of customers that don’t like what we do went away and were replaced by those who are attracted to what we do well.  That’s a formula for growth.  But in order have a plan to accomplish that, you first must know what people like about your business.

From the beginning, we’ve called our customers to see how we’re doing – good and bad.  We try to keep perspective: with over 7,000 product installations we track the complaints to see if they are isolated or if they constitute a problem that we need to address globally.  We truly want to improve our automotive video programming, but we find it challenging to get constructive criticism from our customers – they generally think our products are meeting their needs.  It’s tempting to pat ourselves on the back for a job well done – after all the guys who write the checks are happy.  But we want to stay six steps ahead of the competition.  So we also talk with the end users: men and women who consume the Lobby TV and Web Tools programming.  Now things get interesting.

Like the automotive professionals, consumers like that they are learning to take better care of their vehicles.  They appreciate the level at which technical information is taught.  They find our third party presentation to be very trustworthy, definitely adding to the credibility of the service advisor.  However, they have very definite preferences for how they receive the information – the style and format of the educational video segments does make a difference to them.  We use this information to evolve our products.

Now look at your operation, at everything that touches your customer: phone greetings, on-hold message, condition of your parking lot, your lobby, how you take work orders, delivery of inspection reports, mailers, your website, Facebook page, email – everything.  You’ll be a good judge of the “content” that needs to be conveyed: it’s how it’s conveyed it that you may need additional perspective on.  Hey, if your customers were just like you they’d fix their own cars. 

You may want to do what we do: talk with your customers, hold “focus group” meetings with consumers and see how they feel, send out surveys, etc.  Of course there are a lot of fine automotive service consultants and trainers that have made it their business to help professionals in your position increase CSI on the way to improved profitability – well worth the investment.

Whatever you do, have a deliberate plan that addresses both the obstacles to success as well as how you can leverage your strengths.  Don’t let your business plan be driven by The Worst Wheel.

Lance Boldt is Vice President and a Co-Founder of AutoNetTV Media Inc.  AutoNetTV produces automotive video and animation tools that are used in Automotive Lobby TV, Digital Signage, Digital Menu Boards and Automotive Internet Video applications.

Add up the number of hours you’ve spent waiting for doctors, dentists, a restaurant table, haircuts and auto service, etc.  That’s a lot of time with nothing to do.  Smart businesses try to keep you occupied while you wait – really smart businesses try to keep you occupied with something that helps them make more money and increases CSI.

I was reviewing customer service calls for some of our customers with quick lube operations.  They reported having 25 to 60 customers who wait every day, the average was about 40.  There’s seldom a time during the day with fewer than 2 customers in the service waiting area. 

I picked up a screw in a tire this week and rolled into the nearest tire shop.  They had two customers waiting, just staring at the three custom wheels on the showroom floor.  No magazines, no TV, no nothing.  Neither of the customers had brought anything to entertain themselves and they looked bored out of their minds.  Anything would have been better than that.  

I like to read car magazines while I wait; some prefer sports, news, celebrity gossip, entertainment, outdoors, house and garden.  If you want to cover the bases with magazines, you’ll be spending a fair amount every month to provide a good selection.  The downside is that your competitors’ advertisements are right there in your house.  Of course, you have the same problem with regular television. 

I’ve waited for my car while a movie was playing on a DVD.  I’ve had kids in my house for 28 years so I’ve seen every Disney movie 43 times and it’s not any fun to see just 45 minutes of a movie anyway.  And a lot of businesses don’t realize they are violating copyright laws by showing DVD movies in their waiting room (“This video is licensed for home use only”) and are risking pretty stiff penalties.  The DVD police aren’t likely to show up, but there are firms that represent video and music publishers who cruise businesses looking for violators and are happy to either sell you a license or slap you with a law suit – your choice.

Digital signage based Lobby TV is a great alternative.  A variety of fast-paced entertainment, NO competitors’ ads, plus content that actually educates your customers on the services you offer and motivates them to get them done when they’re needed.  It’s a CSI no-brainer that keeps the competition out of your lobby and helps you put your best foot forward every time.

Take a minute and check out AutoNetTV’s Digital Lobby TV offering.  It may be just the thing your service business needs to go to the next level.

Honda may be playing an April Fools prank on us, but wouldn't it be great to see this feature on the 2014 models?

In Part 1, we talked about the why’s of social media.  In this piece we’ll talk about getting started with the basic tools of social media: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and blogs.  These platforms are all easy to use – that’s why they’ve been so widely adopted.  If you can surf the web and use email you have the computer skills to get started.  But you do need to devote consistent attention to your social media marketing efforts or you will be forgotten – it’s just like neglecting your friends.

The Community
Elementally, social media is about building a community – a group of people who are interested in what you say and how you and your business can make their life better.  Of course that revolves around taking care of their vehicle; making it less stressful, more economical to operate, safer and perform better.  They want to know enough about you to feel comfortable doing business with you and they judge that by who your friends are and what they say about you.

Look, when I had a bunch of kids at home, we wanted to make our house the place the neighborhood kids wanted to play at – mainly so we could keep an eye on what was going on.  So we put in a pool, had a trampoline and lots of snacks.  One daughter had a car-themed teen hangout in the garage.  One son built a space camp in the basement.  If you can make that kind of fun on your Facebook page for example, people will visit frequently and share it with their friends.

The Tools
There are a lot of social media platforms out there and they are making more all the time.  I find that if I focus on a few, I have the time to work them well.  So I stay in the mainstream but keep my eye out for other opportunities and trends.  Here are the social media tools I use regularly:

Facebook  The sheer number of Facebook users who are your customers or prospects makes it a no brainer.  Where else can you tell your story with words, pictures and video that is accessible 24 hours a day – at home, in the office, at the park, in the bathroom?  And whenever and wherever your content is being viewed, people can comment, ask questions and share it with friends. 

I try to put something on our Facebook page several times a day (and then share it out through my friend network).  I have several automotive related Google alerts that give me links to content on automotive news, new vehicle reviews and automotive pictures and videos.  It takes just a few minutes a day to review these alerts and select a link to post on Facebook.  I’d classify these as interesting/entertaining pieces.  People enjoy them, which sometimes leads to a conversation, and it keeps AutoNetTV’s name out there.  I also publish information that we think will be helpful to our customers.    For example, I will publish a link to this article on our Facebook page after I post it on our website. 

I would think you would want to include local sports and news, community events and charitable causes.  These are things that show the human side of your business. 

Twitter  Like Facebook, there are zillions of Twitter users.  You have 140 characters to say what you want to your followers.  Basically anything I post on Facebook is also sent out on Twitter.  It just extends our reach and gives us another shot at connecting with people.

LinkedIn  This is the platform for business men and women.  Since AutoNetTV is a B2B company, my LinkedIn network has developed the most opportunities and business for us.  I would suggest automotive service professionals using LinkedIn to connect with vendors, fleet managers and peers. 

You can join LinkedIn groups whose membership is made up of people with similar business interests and concerns.  Discussions and resources shared at the group level are very helpful.  As you contribute to the discussion, you become known for your expertise and perspective.

You can also create a LinkedIn profile for your business with specific product and service information.  Here’s what we’ve done on ours.

Blogs  I really see blogs as the anchor to your social media program.  This is where you tell your stories – Facebook and Twitter, etc. are where you publish your stories. 

Blogging may seem daunting a first, but to tell the truth most of my stories come from things that happen at work: problems, questions, success stories etc.  I’m sure you have experiences every week that you can use as the basis of a short article that would be helpful to your customers and prospects. 

I suggest that you always keep a positive tone.  If you write about a bonehead customer your readers will be worried that they might be the next one disrespected on your blog.  You don’t have to be a Hemmingway: people enjoy a straight-forward story with a good point.  But go ahead and run the spell-checker and ask someone to read it over before you publish.

A blog is most effective if it’s connected with your website because it gives you some search engine optimization love (content relevant to your business and a growing website) and you can link to it from Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn further expanding your web presence.

Wrap Up
I hope that these articles have gotten you comfortable with giving automotive social media a try.  I suggest establishing accounts and just spending a month or so learning how to use Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and your blog and seeing what other people are doing.  Then you can start implementing your social media marketing plan.  Once you get started there are tons of resources for how to do it better.

The important thing is to get started.

Lance Boldt is V.P. and Co-Founder of AutoNetTV Media, Inc.  AutoNetTV creates automotive social media content and distribution tools to help automotive service and repair businesses more effectively market themselves, increasing ARO and improving CSI.

If you’re just thinking about heading into the social media jungle for your business, it can be pretty overwhelming; I’ve spent a couple of hours just trying to get my head around how to organize this article.  My goal is to provide a basic comfort level with social media and, hopefully, convince you to give it a try.  If you’ve already started – read on, there may be an idea or two you can use.

This first part contains an overview of why I think an automotive service center should use social media and hit on some strategic concepts.  Part 2 will go into detail on some social media tools, what I do and what I see others in this segment doing.

Let’s get this out of the way: There’s a lot of silliness in social media.  You don’t have to play.  I block the games so I don’t have to read about anyone’s virtual farm or pirate ship, etc.  I unsubscribe from news feeds that feature posters of kittens doing adorable things.  I’m not a celebrity so I don’t presume anyone wants to know what I had for lunch. 

That said, I’ve gotten enough good business from social media that I’m committed to keeping up my efforts and learning how to be more effective.  There is a lot of how-to information on social media that you will find helpful, but for now I just want to give my perspective on how it can be used to promote automotive service business.

Be a Story Teller
Everyone likes a good story and we love a good story told well.  In my mind, that’s what social media is: a way to tell good stories – stories of my own or other people’s stories that I’ve heard and want to share. 

Think of a social gathering: a party, church social, etc.  There will be people there that you want to avoid at all costs (like my neighbor that won’t accept “no I don’t want to sign-up under you to sell medicinal chocolate”).  And there will be others that people gravitate to; the guy who tells interesting stories or the one who’s generous with her knowledge and friendship.  The goal of social media marketing is to be like the last ones.  Not pushing what’s good for you, but offering what’s good for them; something helpful, interesting or entertaining.  If you can be that person, you can do well in social media marketing.

Most social media marketing experts agree that just 10% to 20% of your social media content should be promotional.  That could be 60 words of a 600  word article or two out of ten posts – just try to maintain the feel that most of what you are putting out there is designed to benefit the reader rather than for self-promotion.

How Social Media Fits in Your Marketing Plan
Social media marketing should be part of a marketing plan, not the whole plan.  You need clear objectives about what you want to accomplish.  My strategy for a national business will be different than that of a local business that draws most of its customers from a 5 mile radius.  I sell business-to-business, you sell to consumers.  Neither one of us has the resources to compete with Coca-Cola’s social media program, but we can tell stories that are of use to our customers and prospects.  In some ways, social media is a great equalizer: a quick lube with 2 bays can be as effective with social media as a dealership service department with 20 bays.

So start with big-picture goals like 3 new customers a week, 25% increase in ARO, etc. think about how social media marketing fits into your overall marketing efforts along with direct mail, yellow pages, website marketing, customer rewards, and so on.  How can you use Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn to draw attention to and reinforce your marketing promotions?

Part 2 will go into this in more detail.

Lance Boldt is V.P. and Co-Founder of AutoNetTV Media, Inc.  AutoNetTV creates automotive social media content and distribution tools to help automotive service and repair businesses more effectively market themselves, increasing ARO and improving CSI.