You just completed a new customer’s first service appointment at your auto repair shop. Everything went well and your customer is satisfied with the overall experience. Great job!
But here’s where the real work begins. Beyond factors you can control like quality service, how will you keep this customer motivated to come back the next time they need routine car maintenance or auto repairs?
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Incentives, offered through an automotive loyalty program, are a great place to start. Below, we cover:
- What an auto repair loyalty program is
- Why customer loyalty programs matter
- How to create an effective auto repair loyalty program
What is an auto repair loyalty program?
In simple terms, an auto repair loyalty program is a structured incentives plan that rewards your return customers for their loyalty. As they schedule more oil changes, tire rotations, and repairs with your auto shop, they will accumulate reward points.
These incentives, available in many forms, can help them save on future service appointments. With enough accumulated reward points, loyal customers can reduce and even eliminate costs for services that include:
- Oil changes
- Tire rotations
- Multi-point inspections
- Brake repairs
- Engine service
An auto repair loyalty program can come in many forms. You may choose to offer gift cards once a customer passes a certain threshold of completed service. Or you may roll with a punch card system, providing a free oil change and tire rotation when they reach a certain number of visits.
The details may vary depending on the types of services you deem eligible, the tiers of programs you plan to offer, and whether you choose to include a referral component.
How will my auto repair shop benefit from creating a loyalty program?
Did you know that 65% of a company’s business comes from its existing customer base? It’s undeniable that customer retention needs to top the priority list for your auto repair shop.Â
One common solution, an auto repair loyalty program, can help you in your retention efforts. But these programs have other benefits, too, allowing you to attract new customers and become more profitable over time.
Let’s dive into each of these benefits in greater detail.
- Retain more customers: Loyalty programs for auto repair shops incentivize your customers to keep future appointments on the books. With more appointments come more opportunities to sell your existing customers additional services.
- Win new business: When considering two auto repair shops, customer loyalty programs can serve as a differentiator for shoppers in the market for auto repair services. These programs can even be structured to incentivize your current customers to prospective customers they know in the form of referrals.
Auto repair loyalty programs deliver the best of both worlds. You incentivize your customers to stick around and schedule service more frequently. At the same time, you now have a unique differentiator to market at customers seeking auto repair service in your area. The end result? A strong customer retention model, new business opportunities, and an increase in bottom-line profits!
Starting an auto repair loyalty program: your step-by-step guide
You now understand the basic concept and potential upside of an auto repair loyalty program. It’s time to build out a suitable plan for your auto repair shop.
Step 1: Determine your type of program
Depending on your business, an automotive customer loyalty program may include different components.
Questions that your plan needs to definitively answer include:
- What types of auto repair services will we make eligible for loyalty rewards? Conversely, what types of auto repair services should we exclude?
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- Which system should we use to accumulate customer rewards? Examples include loyalty cards, punch cards, reward points, and referral cards
- Punch cards: Every time a customer stops in and completes service, they receive an authorized hole punch or stamp on their card. When the card is filled in, they will earn special discounts and rewards on future service.
- Reward points: A tiered points system for individual auto repair services, similar to frequent flyer miles (examples: awarded 100 points for a tire rotation, 200 points for brake repairs). Your customers can redeem points and apply this accrued value to future service bills, reducing costs and saving money.Â
- Referral cards: When your customer refers a friend and their referral completes a service appointment, you can load money directly onto this card. Acting as a credit card at your auto repair shop, they can swipe to pay for service at future visits (alternatively, you may prefer to pay them outright for referrals).
- What types of saving and earning opportunities will the program offer? Consider percentage discounts, buy one get one free, referral payouts, and other pricing formats
- Will the offers intrigue customers enough to schedule future service? One $20 offer won’t move the needle enough to incentivize another visit to your auto repair shop, especially during a customer’s busy work-week
Step 2: Create program materials
After multiple brainstorming sessions with your team, you worked out all the finer details. Your customer loyalty program is now ready to launch. But first, you need to create the necessary materials to market.
Before publishing your social media posts and printing out your collateral, double check for the following:
- Do the materials effectively communicate what the program offers?Â
- Are the significant savings opportunities clear enough in your messaging?Â
- Is the content engaging enough to capture the customer’s attention?Â
- Does the messaging include a direct call to action?
Step 3: Market your auto repair loyalty program
You defined your program parameters and developed all of the necessary promotion materials. It’s finally time to bring your auto repair loyalty program to the marketplace.
An effective marketing program will target the channels your customers frequent. These include:
- Social media: Schedule out weekly posts highlighting the program’s key features and unique value proposition. Go beyond basic content and banner visuals with the support of engaging videos and infographics.Â
- Email: Reach out to your existing customers with a targeted email cadence outlining the loyalty program. Make sure you lead with an attention-grabbing subject line to get them opening and reading through your emails.
- Example of a catchy subject line – Loyalty reward member: You are one service appointment away from a free oil change!
- Waiting room: Put collateral materials and signage on clear display for the next time your customers stop in the front office to complete maintenance on their vehicle. Make sure these materials are easy to skim through and understand. Before they leave, ask if they saw the materials on display and want to sign up.
If marketing effectively to all of these channels feels like a lot, don’t worry. Modern software for mechanic shops come with marketing features to help your shop seamlessly automate this important customer outreach.
Step 4: Refine your campaign
Several months have passed. Your marketing efforts continue to see less engagement. Even worse, sign-ups for the customer loyalty program have screeched to a halt.
So what now? If this situation sounds familiar, it’s time to return to the drawing board and refine your campaign approach altogether.
Commit to revisit your automotive loyalty program materials and marketing strategies on a routine basis. When refreshing these resources, make sure to:
- Market what’s new: Perhaps you added a new rewards tier or exciting new discounts you want to highlight. Now is the time to make those necessary updates.
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- Try a fresh approach: Not seeing a lot of engagement on your social media infographic? Try a different angle, adjusting the social media copy and relevant tags. Keep these updates conversational, engaging, and focused on the details that customers care about.
- Use some creativity: Do your email subject lines stand out in a customer’s cluttered inbox? Will they remember the testimonial video you recently posted to LinkedIn? If your answer is no, it may be time to inject more creativity into these campaigns. Move your attention-grabbing information higher, lead with a more captivating intro, and make your CTA more direct.
Closing thoughts
A lot goes into creating an effective auto repair loyalty program. But with enough detail, some step-by-step guidance from this blog post, and the right level of commitment, you can create a successful program that incentivizes current customers and attracts new shoppers.
