Taking care of your auto repair shop’s marketing and customer relations can take up valuable time for shop owners and managers when it’s done manually. However, having a quality automated system for communicating with customers and managing marketing strategies is becoming more of a mainstream and efficient solution.
Benefits of a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) System
Demandforce by Intuit, a leader in the field, integrates with many of the top auto repair shop management systems including Mitchell, RO Writer, NAPA TRACS, AllData and Winworks, while options like Constant Contact can be used without any SMS in place. CRMs use existing shop management software to sort, schedule and analyze customer data, which work to build a shop’s customer base through sending automated maintenance alerts, thank-you notes and recommended service reminders. In addition, they also offer the ability to send promo offers, run online customer appointment scheduling tools and facilitate customer feedback.
CRM is crucial to a quality marketing campaign and bringing customers back into the shop for three key reasons:
1. Automated Communication
One of the most popular features is sending recommended service reminders to customers. When a technician puts notes into the auto repair shop’s existing management system, the program is able to create emails and postcards that are sent automatically to a customer’s inbox or mailbox. Another additional feature is the pre-programmed manufacture maintenance schedules that help to remind customers when they need to come in to service their car.
2. Attracting Customers
Sending promotional offers is made easy as a shop owner has the ability to create custom promotional coupons or use templates provided by the CRM provider. The key is to be strategic in the frequencies these offers are sent out because the customer is more likely to disregard the message if they are bombarded often. Typically, a manufacturers recommendation or a shop recommendation is what the coupons offer. Another benefit to Demandforce is the ability to target certain demographics, such as customers who average larger tickets, haven’t been in the shop recently, or even based on parts so an appropriate promotion can be sent.
3. Accumulate Feedback
Although it is crucial for auto repair shop owners to introduce communications with customers such as thank-you notes after they’ve provided services, responding to feedback is just as important. CRM systems automate that process by giving customers surveys and personal reviews. With a high average store review, customers can easily have confidence in their decision to go with a particular shop. Whether a shop needs to boost cleanliness or improve order completion time, it allows the shop owners to have control to respond and correct the situation in which made the customer dissatisfied with their service initially.