The Auto Repair Marketing Podcast

SummaryIn this week’s episode, our guest is The Queen of Connections. But wait, isn’t that Kim? Yes, yes, it is. Brian interviews Kim about why you would want to attend networking events, maintaining proper networking etiquette, and best practices for before, during, and after the event. If you’re new to networking, or if you’re a seasoned veteran looking to upgrade your networking skills, this is the episode for you!Talking PointsWhy do you go to networking events?How should you prepare ahead of time?Business cards (check out digital cards: Hi Hello)NametagKnow ahead who you want to meet (use event app)Have your calendar handyHow can you stand out at a networking event?Talk about being a hostAct as if you are A host not THE hostWhat are some rules of networking that someone new may not know?Open postureMove around the room - don’t monopolize someone’s timeRespect people’s business cardsYou’re not there to sellWhat is a networking buddy?Makes the events more enjoyableCan rescue you from people who don’t know the rules - have a signalDon’t spend all of your time with the networking buddyIs there anything you should do after the event?Immediately make notesFollow upMake appointments. THIS is when you get to sell - MAYBEHow To Get In TouchGroup - Auto Repair Marketing MastermindWebsite - shopmarketingpros.com Facebook - facebook.com/shopmarketingpros Get the Book - shopmarketingpros.com/bookInstagram - @shopmarketingpros Thanks to our partner RepairPal. Visit the Web HEREHow to Connect With Kim and BrianEmail: [email protected] Shop Marketing Pros Website HEREMeet us at the many industry events throughout the year.

SummaryPatrick Egan is the founder of Spark Interactive, a video production company that tells the stories of auto repair shops throughout the country. Patrick is an automotive industry veteran and has been in thousands of shops. Brian talks to Patrick about how shops are using video in their marketing and why it is the most effective medium you can use.Talking PointsPatrick has literally been inside of thousands of auto repair shopsPeople feel like they know you when they see and hear you on videoThere is no better way to tell a story than through videoCreating great video is something you can do yourself, but it’s probably better left up to the professionalPatrick talks about the investment to have video done professionally for your shopHow To Get In Touch with Patrick at Spark InteractiveWebsite - https://www.sparkinteractive.com/Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/sparkinteractivePhone - 805-403-3462How To Get In Touch with SMPGroup - Auto Repair Marketing MastermindWebsite - shopmarketingpros.com Facebook - facebook.com/shopmarketingpros Get the Book - shopmarketingpros.com/bookInstagram - @shopmarketingpros Thanks to our partner RepairPal. Visit on the Web HEREHow to Connect With Kim and BrianEmail: [email protected] Shop Marketing Pros Website HEREMeet us at the many industry events throughout the year.

SummaryNot all websites are created equal. Some are online brochures while others are sales machines that work 24/7/365. Which do you want yours to be? In this week’s episode, Kim and Brian each discuss the top 5 features they feel an auto repair shop website needs. Kim comes at it more from the consumer’s side while Brian talks more from the technical side. In the end, you’ll have a checklist of 10 important website features you can check against your shop’s website.Talking PointsKim’s Notes on What Customers Look for in a WebsiteAbout Us. Customers want to do business with people they know/like/trust. Help them by sharing your story.Photos - They are looking for the real you.Reviews - They want to see “social proof”Will you solve their problem? (Do you work on their car.)Make an appointment / Phone Number (Contact)Brian’sGoogle AnalyticsADA ComplianceCalls to ActionReal PhotosUnique Content & BlogThanks to our partner RepairPal. Vist on the Web HEREHow to Connect With Kim and BrianEmail: [email protected] Shop Marketing Pros Website HEREMeet us at the many industry events throughout the year.How To Get In TouchGroup - Auto Repair Marketing MastermindWebsite - shopmarketingpros.com Facebook - facebook.com/shopmarketingpros Get the Book - shopmarketingpros.com/bookInstagram - @shopmarketingpros Lagniappe (Books, Links, Other Podcasts, etc)https://shopmarketingpros.com/great-auto-repair-shop-website/

SummaryDetermining your auto repair shop’s marketing budget requires taking a lot of different things into consideration. The old adage is to spend 5-7% of your gross revenue on marketing. Whereas we do find that to be a pretty good benchmark, it’s not always that simple. Shop Marketing Pros’ J.R. Portman joins Brian on this episode to talk through some of the things you need to consider when deciding on a marketing budget.Talking PointsThere is a formula you can followIt all starts with your numbers. How much did you make last year?Do you need more cars now or are you focused on future growth?Where are you located? Is there a lot competition in your area?Marketing vs AdvertisingHow are you classifying things on your income statement?How To Get In TouchGroup - Auto Repair Marketing MastermindWebsite - shopmarketingpros.com Facebook - facebook.com/shopmarketingpros Get the Book - shopmarketingpros.com/bookInstagram - @shopmarketingpros Thanks to our partner RepairPal. Visit on the Web HEREHow to Connect With Kim and BrianEmail: [email protected] Shop Marketing Pros Website HEREMeet us at the many industry events throughout the year.

The Two Books You Must Read If You Are Involved In Your Shop’s MarketingONESummaryIf you’ve ever heard Brian or Kim teach, you’ve probably heard them recommend one or both of these great books. Brian likes to say that reading these two books will give you an MBA in auto repair shop marketing. Listen in to find out why, then go get the books and see what all the fuss is about!TWOTalking PointsThey Ask You Answer by Marcus SheridanRevolutionary Approach to Sales & Content MarketingA different way of looking at business, marketing, and trustThey Ask, You Answer - definedThe Big 5Implementing the answersSoaking it into your shop - becoming part of the shop cultureThe cost. Is it expensive?Building a Story Brand by Donald MillerOur experience. How we heard about it.Going to Nashville - BrianGoing to Nashville - Brian + KimGetting the team onboardReading the book(s)Listening to the podcastMost marketing is a waste of time, money, energy, effort7 Elements of Great Storytelling to Grow Your BusinessIt’s about the transformation of the characterImplement itTHREEHow To Get In TouchGroup - Auto Repair Marketing MastermindWebsite - shopmarketingpros.com Facebook - facebook.com/shopmarketingpros Get the Book - shopmarketingpros.com/bookInstagram - @shopmarketingpros FOURLagniappe (Books, Links, Other Podcasts, etc)https://www.riverpoolsandspas.com/blog/author/marcus-sheridan Rev.com https://storybrand.com/ Book: They Ask You AnswerBook: Building a StorybrandThanks to our partner RepairPal. Vist on the Web HEREHow to Connect With Kim and BrianShop Marketing Pros Website HEREMeet us at the many industry events throughout the year.

ONESummaryIt feels like every shop in the country is looking for a new tech or service advisor. There is no silver bullet to hiring, but most shops are so bad at it that it’s easy to get a leg up on your competition. In this episode, we talk about how the same marketing you are doing to attract new clients can also attract new team members. We tell you what you need to be promoting that you’re probably not, and how to build a careers page on your website that will be so much more effective.TWOTalking PointsWhat we know: Good techs already have jobs! Are you showing up where they are or are you posting where they’re not going?Pay is not always the most important thing!We don’t know: have you surveyed your team? Why are they staying? What brought them to you? Ask them what they see other shops doing that might attract them there.“Train people well enough so they can leave; treat them well enough so they don’t want to.” Richard BransonOur tech recruitment guide is free on our website!Have you listened to our podcast with Carm? “Social Media Marketing to Technicians” RR 665Your marketing is not just for customers anymore! It’s where future team members learn about your shop and decide if the grass looks greener.What does your marketing say about your company culture?We love what Simard Automotive does when recruiting. They’re in Alaska so they did a campaign showcasing the beauty and reasons to move to Alaska!Pivot your marketing. Showcase company culture, team, community involvement, reviews (customers and employees), respond to reviewsYour Careers Page - what you need on it!Video - Patrick Egan at Spark InteractivePictures showing your company culture (photo gallery)Core ValuesEmployee testimonialsBenefits of working at your shop.Do you have A/C?4 day workweek?What equipment do you have?Do you take your team to training events?THEN the things like salary and benefits.A place for people to apply when you’re not hiringTHREEHow To Get In TouchGroup - Auto Repair Marketing MastermindWebsite - shopmarketingpros.com Facebook - facebook.com/shopmarketingpros Instagram - @shopmarketingpros Get the Book - shopmarketingpros.com/bookFOURLagniappe (Books, Links, Other Podcasts, etc)Blog: Hiring Techs in the Digital Age Blog: How to Write a Technician Hiring AdGuide: Auto Tech Recruitment Campaign KitBook: Building a StoryBrandPatrick Egan, Spark InteractiveWeekly Blitz with Chris Cotton - EOS Core Values - Episodes 42 and 45Thanks to our partner RepairPal. Vist on the Web HEREHow to Connect With Kim and BrianEmail: [email protected] Shop Marketing Pros Website HEREMeet us at the many industry events throughout the year.

SummaryThe question was posed to a group of panelists, “As an auto repair shop that hasn’t been doing any marketing, where do I start?” There are a lot of different ways to answer this question, but we look back at how we started marketing our own shop and had great success. Not all marketing looks like what we tend to think of with websites, digital ads, direct mail, etc. The most effective marketing we’ve ever done was face-to-face, and some of the most successful shops still attribute their success to tactics like the ones we talk about in this episode.TWOTalking Points“As an auto repair shop that hasn’t been doing any marketing, where do I start?”Blog: Is That Really Marketing?Businesspeople are the ultimate referrersBNI GroupsWhat is BNI?Overview of the meeting formatBNI specific to auto repairChambers of Commerce“I joined the chamber and never got anything from it”Chamber breakfast, Leads for Lunch, BAHCommitteesHosting events at your shopBNIChamber eventsCar care clinicsMerit badge workshopsKatrina driveHalloween “Trunk-or-Treat”Car showsMevert Automotive’s Customer Appreciation Mevert Vacation Open HouseWho manages all of this?Future podcast episode “Should your shop have a dedicated marketing director?”THREEHow To Get In TouchGroup - Auto Repair Marketing MastermindWebsite - shopmarketingpros.com Facebook - facebook.com/shopmarketingpros Instagram - @shopmarketingpros Get the Book - shopmarketingpros.com/bookFOURLagniappe (Books, Links, Other Podcasts, etc)Blog: Is That Really Marketing?BNIBlog: Planning a Trunk-or-Treat for Your Auto Repair ShopBlog: How to Become Well Known In Your CommunityCustomer Appreciation Mevert Vacation Open HouseThanks to our partner RepairPal. Vist on the Web HEREHow to Connect With Kim and BrianEmail: [email protected] Shop Marketing Pros Website HEREMeet us at the many industry events throughout the year.

Keywords in Reviews - Adding Fuel to the FireUsing keywords in reviews isn’t exactly a new trick, but a recent experience on a trip to Key West brought this to the top of our minds and resulted in this episode. Listen in to learn a way to make those great reviews you have perform at an even higher level, bringing in people who are searching for auto repair services in ways that you may never think to optimize for.Key Talking Points02:30 - how people search by voice03:10 - people don’t even have to click into your website anymore04:28 - Google doesn’t want people to leave Google05:20 - the story about what happened in Key West11:00 - how to make this work for your auto repair shop14:00 - how to get people to use your preferred keywords in reviews15:25 - it’s not just Google reviews we’re talking about19:05 - the 4 types of keywords you want in your reviewsThanks to our partner RepairPal. Vist on the Web HEREHow to Connect With Kim and BrianEmail: [email protected] Shop Marketing Pros Website HEREFacebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/autorepairmarketingmastermind Meet us at the many industry events throughout the year.

Kim and Brian Tell Their StoryThe Auto Repair Marketing Podcast hosts, Kim and Brian Walker, have quite the life story of technician and teacher turned shop owners, turned marketers. This episode has very little to do with marketing but serves more as a foundational episode that can be referred back to in future episodes. Listen in to hear a story about a young couple that started with nothing and built a $2M shop only to lose it to a road construction project and eventually filing bankruptcy - then building a thriving marketing agency.Thanks to our partner RepairPal. Vist on the Web HERELink to episode 1 with Chris Cotton Here.Link to Chris Cottons Episode with Kim and Brian HERE.Email Kim: [email protected] Brian: [email protected] Marketing Pros on the web: HERE

Hijacking The Marriott Boardroom With Chris CottonChris Cotton of AutoFix Auto Shop Coaching is our guest on this episode of The Auto Repair Marketing Podcast. We were at the Marriott World Center in Orlando Florida for Worldpac’s STX conference where we hijacked the Marriott Boardroom to talk to Chris about the overall state of marketing in the automotive independent aftermarket. We cover so much with Chris, and we hope you’ll listen in to find that one takeaway that will positively impact your bottom line.Key Talking PointsThere is a false sense of security in the industry right now. It’s easy to succeed as a shop in this bull market, but a bear market is coming.Shop owners now have to compete with shops that are owned by business people coming out of the corporate world, or with VC groups buying up shops and running them like well-oiled machinesWhen it comes to your marketing, you need to be on top of your game, you probably need to get help, you need to embrace video, and you need to make your marketing help people get to know, like, and trust you.Sometimes marketing mediums that we perceive to have stopped being effective will make a comeback. You only know this by trying things and measuring the ROI.Some shops stayed full throttle into the pandemic and thrived. Others pulled back and went out of business. You never take your foot off the gas!Focus on the foundational marketing tactics before chasing silver bullets. Once the foundations are rock-solid, then experiment with shiny objects.Most shops market haphazardly without a plan. To get the most out of your marketing, a well-thought-out plan based on a rolling 12 months needs to be in place.How to Connect With ChrisEmail: [email protected]: https://autoshopcoaching.com/Podcast: https://autoshopcoaching.com/weekly-blitz-podcast-with-chris-cotton/ Thanks to our partner RepairPal. Vist on the Web HERE Email Kim: [email protected] Brian: [email protected] Marketing Pros on the web: HERE