To get new customers into your auto repair shop, you need to advertise. And while that can seem a daunting task, you don’t need to reinvent the wheel. Thousands of automotive businesses have generated customers, and more importantly profit, from coupon advertising. While you’ll still need to find the best way to distribute your coupons to local, potential customers, get a jump start on your next advertising campaign by modeling your coupon offer after these proven auto repair shop ads.
1. Straightforward Pricing
The Business: Newnan Station Tire and Service Center in Newnan, Georgia
Rather than giving a discount, this coupon sets a specific dollar amount for the oil change service. Why is this better than %-off or $-off? Because with this offer, prospective customers know exactly what they’re getting.
As consumers become more price sensitive, it’s likely that they’ll respond to the auto repair shop ads with the most competitive price. Don’t make potential customers guess how much their final bill will be; be straightforward and show them exactly what kind of deal they can get.
When it comes to this coupon’s ability to bring in new customers, the manager of Newnan Station Goodyear says, “While the economy is going through this (Covid-19), there is no better reason to keep our name out there in front of our local market. I have been with RTUI for eleven years now and receive a lot of coupons every month.”
2. Create Trust with Repetition
The Business: Cinco Auto in Katy, Texas
I love this ad. You see, Cinco Auto is my local auto repair shop. After moving to Houston, finding a mechanic was at the top of my to-do list. My search didn’t take long. I saw Cinco Auto’s ad everywhere! They were on my receipts and in my mail; I couldn’t get them off my mind.
Being able to recognize their ads built a sense of trust, a quality that 64% of U.S. drivers look for before choosing an auto repair shop. I thought, “They’re not some sketch auto shop based in someone’s garage, they’re clearly an established shop with a community presence.”
Now that they had my attention and my trust, the only thing left was to actually take my car into the shop. Cinco Auto made that incredibly easy by providing three unique opportunities for me to save.
Whether I was getting a car wash, oil change, or a state inspection, I could use one coupon to get a great deal. Plus, I wouldn’t have to wait long before I’d need one of those services. I had three great reasons to quickly become their next customer.
Learn how receipt coupons build trust with your local shoppers.
3. Cross-Sell Services
The Business: Splash Car Wash in Salinas, California
Show potential customers that you’re a one-stop-shop by including a discount for both the car wash and oil change service. If a potential customer is going to get their oil changed, why not spend a few extra bucks to get their car washed while they’re there? While you may not have a car wash on-site, think about all of the services you can offer. Of those, what would customers happily pay a little extra for once they’re in your shop?
The owner of Splash Car Wash says, “We have been advertising our business on the Safeway receipt tape for 6 years. Safeway is about 3 miles away but gets people who spend more money and upgrade car washes/oil change packages.”
When you have two different coupons on one ad, how will you know which offer brought in the most customers? Splash Car Wash does it exactly right by adding unique codes to each coupon offer. With just a little bit of preparation, this can easily be tracked in their POS system. After 6 months or so, they’ll know exactly which coupon (car wash or oil change) is returning the highest ROI.
4. Give something away for FREE!
The Business: Haasz Automall in Ravenna, Ohio
Everyone loves free stuff. If you’re willing to give something away for free, own it! Put the word front-and-center, just like Haasz did by making the words big, red, and right in the center.
An aggressive offer drives traffic, which is exactly what you need to get an ROI on your investment. “Free” will drive more people to your shop than “10% off”. Once they’re in your shop, customers are likely to spend more than the average ticket. For example, this ad requires a spend of $50 or more. At the end of the day, that brand new customer is spending way more than what the average oil change costs, putting your profits in the black.
To make sure your coupon is generating a profit (and not just traffic) work with your advertising specialist to create an aggressive, yet profitable offer.
Profitable, Proven Advertising
These auto repair shop ads have generated profit over and over again for the businesses that used them. While colors, fonts, and layouts may vary there are just some aspects of coupon advertising that never fail:
- Be obvious about the value of your coupon offer
- Consistent branding creates trust with prospects
- Use your ad to cross-sell your other services and drive up the average ticket price
- FREE drives traffic and profits
Don’t start from scratch; use their success to drive a positive ROI in your next coupon advertising campaign.
Talk to an advertising specialist today to see what kind of coupon is best for your auto repair shop.
By Talitha Turkin
By Eric Shafer