Digital marketing strategy is often considered the haunt of white-collar businesses and trade entities, but nothing could be further from the truth. In an increasingly-digitised society, businesses of all types can benefit from a ‘net-lead approach to marketing and advertising – even your car repair shop. What are some of the quintessential steps to creating an effective digital strategy for your mechanic business?
Chances are, you are already outsourcing some of the more administrative parts of your trade business. You might invest in third-party agencies to handle invoicing and updating your motor trade insurance, recognising your time as better focused on the quality of your service. The same can be true of social media management, which can require a keen eye for trends and some multimedia skills to boot.
Create a Website
First and foremost, the foundation of your digital presence should take the form of a proper website. Your website will serve multiple functions, from service portfolio to customer review database and simply as a central location for business information and contact details.
As such, your site should include different sections relating to different aspects of your business. A contact page including a Google Maps widget showing your physical location can make it much easier for clients and customers to find you. A services page could outline the specifics of each service you provide, including rough costings and the description of more bespoke services you offer. A testimonials page can include customer reviews or opinions, indicating transparency and giving customers less reason to continue their search.
Social Media Presence
A good website alone is not enough for a marketing strategy. While, with the right search engine optimisation, you might rank relatively high in local searches, there are other more organic routes to marketing that can greatly increase both reach and engagement. Social media is an essential part of this, being an incredibly powerful tool for reaching wider communities of people and building a following.
Not even five years ago, the social media landscape looked considerably different to the way it looks today. Today, video content is king, with platforms like TikTok leading the way on brand reach and engagement. Having a part-time or contracted social media marketer make video content for you can help you find new followers and more equitably advertise your local services; even if engagement is relatively low, this content can be recycled on other platforms and your own website as additional context for potential customers.
Referrals and Incentive Marketing
One of the more powerful digital marketing strategies is that of incentive marketing: the incentivising of existing customers to stay on-board, or invite friends and family. This stratagem can be fixed to suit a wide variety of industries, but in car repair you might offer a one-time discount on a car service to customers on your database, if they refer a friend to you for a job.
