People rely on smartphones and other connected devices for everything these days — from grocery shopping to booking airline tickets. When those devices break, people need them up and running fast.
Marketing your repair shop is essential to make sure that when that happens, you’re the first name that comes to mind — but that can be easier said than done.
Unfortunately, many talented repair shop owners fail to achieve long-term success because of a lack of marketing know-how, not a lack of technical skill.
We’re here to help. With years of experience working with repair shops all over the country, we know a thing or two about which marketing strategies work (and which don’t).
Here are six proven marketing tips for repair shops to help develop your brand image, build trust with customers, and boost sales.
When’s the last time you used the yellow pages to look up a business? We’re guessing the answer is either, “a very long time” or “never.”
That’s because even for local, in-person businesses, the vast majority of people start their search online. If your website is old and hard to navigate or your Google Business Profile is outdated, people will write off your business (or not see it at all).
Make a great first impression with potential customers by creating an easy-to-use and attractive website. Here are some tips to get the most marketing power out of your website:
Ideally, integrate any contact forms with your customer relationship management (CRM) software to streamline new customer intake and ensure no one falls through the cracks.
Additionally, keep your business listings on Google, Bing, and other search engines up to date. This helps you show up on local search and services like Google Maps, boosting your visibility.
Simply being online isn’t enough to build trust in your brand. When people need smartphone or computer repair, they don’t want to take chances.
Over 85% of customers say that reviews have a major impact on which businesses they’re willing to take a chance on — so encouraging positive reviews from happy customers is a great way to keep the business coming.
Here are some tips to boost the number of reviews for your repair shop:
Don’t just let the reviews come in passively. Actively respond to customer feedback (both positive and negative). This demonstrates your attention to customer service and gives you the opportunity to turn a negative interaction into a positive one.
There are millions of active users on social media at any given moment, making it an invaluable marketing tool for small businesses.
However, when customers interact with a repair shop on social media, they aren’t just looking for ads and discounts — they want to connect with the people who make your business great.
Show off your personality and expertise by highlighting your staff, creating tutorials for common repairs, and posting about local events. Social media not only puts a human face on your business, it also helps establish you as part of the local community.
To get the most out of your social media account, make sure to:
In addition to social media, consider writing a blog. You’re already an expert on electronics repair and the latest trends, so why not share that knowledge with the world? A thoughtful blog helps establish you as an industry expert, and regular posts help your website appear higher in local search rankings.
Related Read: How Much Is a Phone Repair? 6 Pricing Tips To Boost Profits
One of the biggest challenges of running an electronic repair business is standing out from the competition. Electronic repair is a crowded market offering similar services, so how do you convince an on-the-fence customer to choose your business?
An effective method is to offer brand-new customers a discount for their first service or for signing up for a loyalty program. Even a relatively small discount of 10% or 15% goes a long way towards building goodwill with new customers.
Of course, you don’t have to limit your promotions to new customers only. Once they’re in your CRM system, you can send out targeted deals and offers to keep your brand top of mind.
The repair shop business model is tricky — you’re inherently waiting for something to go wrong to bring in profits. However, there are ways to generate revenue without waiting for a catastrophic device failure first.
Use your electronic repair point of sale (POS) system to create warranty and service tiers that you can sell to customers. These might include discounts on common repairs (e.g. battery and screen replacements) or even free services like internal cleaning.
Selling these services gives your customers an incentive to return to your shop, even when nothing is explicitly wrong.
Are you an Android aficionado or an iPhone enthusiast? Do you use Windows laptops or Google Chromebooks? Most people have pretty strong preferences when it comes to electronics, and sending them offers that don’t fit those preferences is a good way to turn them off to your marketing material.
Instead of sending blanket offers and deals, use the customer profiles on your POS system to segment your customers for tailored marketing ads. For example, you can create a tag for any customers who buy or get an Apple device repaired, then only send them ads for compatible products or repair services.
Personalizing your marketing strategy is proven to be more effective, so take advantage of the data on your POS system to send out offers your customers will actually care about.
Related Read: Using an End-of-Day Report for Your Repair Shop: 7 KPIs To Track
Regardless of what tips you try for your repair shop marketing, visibility is key. Don’t simply run a marketing campaign and hope for the best — use the reports on your POS system to see which strategies resulted in better sales (and which didn’t).
This will help you refine your marketing tactics and find what works for your unique customers. The right technology is essential.
CellSmart POS is specifically designed as a one-stop shop for repair shop owners and electronics retailers looking to simplify operations and improve the customer experience. With built-in CRM and customer marketing features, our all-in-one POS solution makes it easy to engage with your customers.
Schedule a custom demo today to see how CellSmart POS can help you stand out from the crowd.