We all know the saying that 80% of our business comes from 20% of our customers, but did you know it cost five times as much to win a new customer than to keep an old one?  What should you be doing to make your customers more loyal and why? Here are a nine tips to keep your customers coming back to you.

1. Provide a good quality product or service. Probably the most important – without it you have nothing.
2. Give customers an incentive to come back to you. Since they’re already in your shop, use this time to offer a gift, a discount, special financing promotions for large work, or even a chance at a raffle that includes a discount off of the next service. 
3. Stand behind your work and reap the rewards of trust. If your customers do not trust you, they will not come back.
4. Show your appreciation to every customer – no matter how big or small the job may be.
5. Make it more convenient to come to you than your competitors.  Many dealerships offer a courtesy car, or free pick-up and delivery. If you’re close to a major shopping center or a mall, offer a free shuttle so they can shop while you work on their car.
6. Be proactive in your advertising. Rule 3 states if your customers trust you they will come back. While you have a customer in your shop, get an email address along with a mailing address. Instead of paying all of that money to “The Clipper” or any other advertising you might find out is a waste of money, send mail to your customers directly. Promote routine checkups, or other services such as, ”Winter is coming, we’ll check your anti freeze for free.” Studies have shown that if you remind people that they need service, they will usually come back to you. Ever get a phone call from your dentist saying, “It’s time for a cleaning?” There’s a reason for that!
7. Know your customers; reward your top customers for being loyal. Free windshield washer fluid, battery testing, anything you do for free will definitely come back to you in the long run.
8. Initiate a referral program for your customers. When your customer refers a new client, offer them a reward of some sort. Referral business is the best new business out there.
9. An easy idea, listen to your customers. Often times it is outsiders who have the greatest ideas for improvements to businesses. Recently, I was in one of the larger shops where customers would pay at the counter, be given their keys, and then were sent on their merry way. 

One day a customer suggested, “Why not put numbers in the parking spaces, so that when you are done with someone’s car you can tell them, “Thank you Mrs. Jones, you car is outside waiting for you in spot 5?”  It seemed like a simple idea at the time, but it ended up being a huge success. 

In today’s automotive services industry, many shop owners recognize careful attention to every detail as the key to staying competitive and remaining successful. Between writing estimates, back office paperwork and managing workflow, getting (and staying) organized is no easy task. Everything you do requires that you’re aware of what’s going on around you.  

If you’ve got all of this figured out already, congratulations! If you haven’t, you’re probably looking for ways to manage this daily struggle with limited resources.

Creating a professional, organized environment at your place of business isn’t always an easy task. So if you’re thinking that your auto shop might benefit from an organizational overhaul, but you’re unsure if and when it would make sense to invest the time and money, the answer is simple.

When taking the “organizational plunge” keeps you on top of your game, AND it increases productivity and enables your staff to provide the best quality service –  faster and more efficiently than ever before, it’s worth the investment. A well organized working area in your auto shop means maximized working time. And having all of your small parts on hand make inventory reordering simple.

It’s simple math:

Increased Productivity + Faster Service = Happier Customers

Happier Customers = More Referrals

More Referrals =  More Business

Keeping a clean and organized auto shop can be done more easily than you think. Check with your hardware suppliers to see if they provide free organizational systems in exchange for using their products. WURTH USA provides custom-designed storage systems that include tower units with racks, bins and drawers to store your hardware, chemicals and bulk products. To make it even easier, their representatives will label your system, work with you to maintain your inventory levels, and provide product training to your staff, which keeps your shop working efficiently and profitably.  

Now more than ever, it’s not just the service you provide, it’s what you stand for. When your shop operations run efficiently and your customers are satisfied, they’re likely to refer your services to other people in the community. And when the community recognizes your business with quality and convenience, you’ll have an edge over the competition.

For more information on shop organizational systems or inventory supply services, contact Wurth at 800-WURTH-USA, or visit www.wurthusa.com.