PODCAST: Digital Marketing Tips For Aftermarket Shops with Pete Petersen

We’ve realized that for almost all small businesses, trying to do it all in terms of marketing actually results in almost no traction!

In order to ensure your efforts are achieving results, our CEO Pete Petersen offered professional insight, featured on TheSHOP’s latest podcast.

WATCH: https://theshopmag.com/podcast/ep-5-how-to-grow-your-aftermarket-business-with-digital-marketing/

7 Key Digital Marketing Strategies For Your Shop

There are so many options when it comes to marketing your shop digitally, follow along to make sure that your actions are effective.

1. Identify Your Customers

Before you do ANY marketing, be sure to ask yourself:

• Who are your customers currently?
• Who should your customers be, are there any up-and-coming segments?
• Where do your customers hangout, online and offline?
• Where are they navigating to get information?

2. Be Easily Found and Post Relevant Content Organically

Ask your current customers which platforms they are on daily, weekly, monthly… Then ask them where they learn about new products and services so you can reach them and people similar.

Google and Social:

You’ll want to create a Google My Business account to provide your current and prospective customers with an easy way to find your shop and its information.

Generate a strong presence on social media so that when your target market finds you, they engage with relevant content. Only do so using a few platforms, we understand there’s a lot of factors to consider with each, so we have a guide for you here!

Blog Content:

Brainstorm what type of information is significant to your audience. People want to know the Who, What, Where, When, Why, and How.

Why did your business take on the project, what products did you use, how long did it take, and who is the owner and where are they from?

3. Encourage And Leverage Positive Reviews

The first thing that prospective customers do when they are not familiar with you is search your brand + “reviews” before giving you their business!

Google My Business:

Display your positive reviews and download an App for your phone to respond to reviews, create offers, post events, and update your business info!

Facebook Reviews:

Broadcast all of the good things said about your shop on your Facebook business page. Anyone who lands on your page will be able to see the positive comments from other active users!

3rd Party Seller Sites:

Your shop can also use 3rd party seller sites to host this complimentary feedback in the attempt to have an immediate impact on their decision and influence customer conversion.

4. Design for Mobile Optimization

Mobile is the new source for information consumption. Facebook, Snapchat, and TikTok are almost exclusively mobile… So make sure to double check the accessibility and flow of your website on mobile devices, not just desktop.

5. Amplify Your Business With Paid Ads

What phase of the funnel are you wanting to reach your customers at? Both Google Search and Facebook Ads offer paid advertising options for your shop.

Click here for The Ultimate Guide to Social Advertising For Aftermarket Shops!

6. Improve Your Shops Website

Organize your website and make it easy for visitors to find information, be educated, make decisions, and choose you!

For shops, show before and after photos, tell the customers’ story, and why this project was important to them. Include the extra details of what you helped with to make the project custom.

Get a quote from the customer, or ask them to leave a review. Showcase this on your site, add the review to your main homepage for others to see and let them tell the story for you!

7. Add A Tripwire

A tripwire is a low dollar offer to get someone in your business, build a relationship with them, and then upsell.

In dealerships, this has been the oil change/car wash experience. They get them in, get their contact information including email/phone, build positive relationships, reviews and further market to these individuals with new products and services.

Targeting Dealerships

Here are some key elements for aftermarket shops to keep in mind when targeting the dealership market:

• Relationships (face-to-face, calling and text messaging)?
• Custom web pages (this will also help with SEO and positioning as an expert) and brochures specific to the vehicles they sell:
  • Best accessories and upgrades for the Mazda CX-3
  • Answer questions like “what is the towing capacity of a Ford F150?” and “how much can a Ford F150 tow?”
• Beyond that, email marketing is a great way to keep your prospects and dealerships available

We created an audit template to help your business log your current profiles and ratings.

👉 Click here to access the free template and begin improving in areas where it’s needed.