Friday 8 May 2015

Business Marketing




Business Marketing - by Jon Miller MBA [Business Management]

Liability
The information contained herein is believed to be true and accurate; however we make no guarantees concerning the veracity of any statement. The writer assumes no responsibility, expressed or implied, due to misuse or misinterpretation of the information or methods used, or for any vehicle damage or injury that may occur due to the suggestions and information offered.


Business Marketing

[Marketing is the management process that identifies, anticipates and satisfies customer requirements profitably]. The Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM)


No company can survive without employing means to interact well with its market
I hope that this basic information will help you take a critical look at your current business marketing; and this article will give you the key elements that all detailing business owners need to be aware of.
There are many important words in business but there is one that holds the key to entrepreneurial wealth and that word is 'Marketing.'

It is the mainstay of business and although it’s not a panacea, it is the one thing that if you don’t get right will kill your business stone dead even in the best of times. Marketing is what gets people to come to your business and try out your products and services. If you do a great job for them or delight them with your products, then it’s this fact and your ongoing marketing that’ll keep them coming back over and over again. And that’s where the real money is: the ongoing relationship with your customer

Marketing is the wide range of activities that involve making sure that you're continuing to meet or exceed the needs of your customers and are getting appropriate value in return. It can mean direct-mail advertising, e-mail marketing, traditional media like print and radio ads, couponing, and non-traditional approaches like websites, blogs and social networking through the Internet. The most successful form of marketing is ‘word of mouth’ referrals and repeat clients

Being good at what you do is 25% the balance is business acumen, client relationships and marketing yourself and your services and product. Strive to offer customer-focused services that differentiate your company from the competition. Ensure that your marketing focuses on customer’s needs as opposed to what you think they want

Marketing specialists often say giving people an imperative to do something is much more compelling when you also provide the reason.
Marketing Plan

A fundamental question; what is my target market demographic and what exactly am I marketing? Is it a detailing service, protection of investment; preservation of their leisure time or is it to gratify their ego?

With a well thought out business and a solid marketing plan, a good work ethics, quality tools, products and workmanship, along with outstanding customer service, knowledge and experience of products and the tools of your trade you'll be on your way to achieving success. Take a step back from your business and start thinking outside the box and begin looking at your marketing in a totally new way. (See also “Essentials for Starting a Business” article)

A few questions to enable you to form a marketing strategy
• Target market - who are my potential customers?
• Where can I find potential customers?
• Branding strategy - what would make my services attractive to them?
• Pricing strategy - how can I motivate potential customers to buy from me?
• Promotional strategy - how do I reach potential customers?
• Customer – acquisition and retention

Take time to answer these questions as accurately as possible.
Internal Analysis
• Vision -what do we want to be?
• Relative strengths
• Relative weaknesses
• Opportunities

SWOT Analysis
Everyone’s heard of S.W.O.T. analysis, haven’t they? You need to read, learn and know more about your competitors, your customers and your marketplace than anyone else. SWOT analysis is a great place to start. Get a blank piece of paper and list the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats for your business and those of your nearest competitors. SWOT analysis – as old as the hills but still effective – it will make you think about your business from a new angle and should ideally be repeated once a year at least.

External Analysis
• The current economy and business environment
• The Market Place
• Competition - who are they, what do they offer?
• Market share - in each key market
• E-commerce/ technology

Help them to find your Business
Establishing a new business or moving to a new town, the first thing you should do is create a Google Local Business entry.  Then prospective buyer will know where to find you. It's a free way to get on the first page of Google in the city you service. 

Here's how to create your Google Local Business entry, step by step:
1.        Go to https://www.google.com/accounts  and click on "Create an Account Now."
2.        Follow the directions to create an account.
3.        Once your account is created, go to https://www.google.com/accounts  and log in with the account information you created in step 1.
4.        Once logged in, go to Google.com/LocalBusinessCenter     
5.        Click Add New Business.
6.        Complete your contact information. 
7.        Under "Category" be sure to type in Car Detailing Service (exactly as I typed it there, with capitals). 
8.        Enter your hours of business, payment methods, and photos of your business if you have them.  A photo of a car you finished is a good thing to upload, as Google prefers businesses that provide photos.
9.   
     Google will call the phone number you list and give you a verification number.  Once the code is entered, the listing will go live within 24 hours.

Business Cards
The very first step is to print at least 500 business cards. Hand these to EVERYONE! There are many sites out there like vistaprint.com, with predesigned as well as allow you to design your own. This is a fairly inexpensive option though can take about 2 weeks.

Sources for Detailing Work

Mechanics
Many mechanic shops either get asked by their customers for a referral to a good detailing service or get asked to detail a car themselves. This is a great way to build a working relationship as most mechanics simply are not detailers and cannot offer the same level of quality you can. Mention you run a detail business and get a lot of requests for mechanic or vehicle inspection work. Take some of the mechanics cards and say you will hand them out. Hand the mechanic YOUR cards for him to display on his table.

Auto Stereo and Specialty Shops
Glass tint, PDR and auto stereo shops, exchange cards and assure them that their customers will be well taken care of if they refer work to you. Again, you will want to visit on off peak times to talk to the owner. PDR shops might already have a detailer but a good relationship with other detailers can lead to referrals. Anytime you refer a customer somewhere make sure they mention you by name.

Body Shops
Let the shop owner know you're looking for a good body shop to refer your customers to. Exchange cards and as you refer customers to them it will most likely come full circle.

Car Clubs
This is by far the most fun of all the marketing experiences since you get to have a legitimate reason to go to as many car shows as possible. Wear a polo shirt with your company logo on it, introduce yourself to car owners and give them your cards. Some enthusiasts do their own work but many are afraid to take a buffer to it to really achieve the best look. Show genuine interest and compliment hem on their car, after all they are here because they want to it show off. These are also some of the best ‘word of mouth’ customers as they tend to talk and recommend you to their friends if you do great work for them.

Google AdWords
Is a feature that Google and many other companies offer to business to help create Internet traffic? These are the little ads you see of the sidebars when doing a search. Your typical cost is ‘per click’ based upon the keyword you select for your ad to display. Be specific to your area vs. being too broad based. You need to reach YOUR potential client base.

Typical Keywords-
[City] detailing
 [City] auto detailing
 [City] car detailing
 [City] mobile detailing
 [City] mobile auto detailing


 Take into consideration all the cities you want to service and advertise to all of those cities. You’ll find you might get a lot of keywords, don’t worry it will be worth it.

 Now set a budget of around 5-10/day and set up a line of credit via a bank account to fund it. They offer a couple different ways they can be billed. After x amount or on x day. These are bids so make sure you’re paying enough per click to show up on the first page. Make sure your ad makes sense and explains what you do

Expert positioning

Any time your name appears in print, you are automatically an expert. People believe what they read on the Internet, read in the newspaper or see on the TV.  It can be as simple as writing a small column in a local paper, most of these papers are crying out for quality content. They have little money to pay freelancers to write for them and might very well welcome material from you.

Understanding who your target is should help you decide how to communicate with them. Getting a sense of their needs will help you decide the best way to communicate to them. The answers will also help you develop a communication strategy. The key with all your communication - be it words or pictures - is you want to develop an emotional bond with your consumer. Pictures done well help deliver an emotional bond at a different level than words alone. That's why the best ads almost always will have a combination of words and pictures.

Article marketing

Has definitely become one of the best things out there when it comes to promoting websites and businesses today, you will find that many individuals are turning to this form of marketing in order to promote their business. Article marketing is one of the most popular tools which people use today to gain more and more traffic to their websites.

On top of everything else, you also need to make sure that you write numerous articles in the same niche. You should also keep the same name on the articles you write, as this will help to build up a good reputation on the Internet, which will be great for your business

Target market

For example, a few years ago Michelin ran an ad for tyres. All it was, was a Michelin tyre with a baby sitting on top and the ad said something like "Aren't they worth it?" See the emotional connection?

You're not just buying a tyre; you are buying safety for your family so of course you will spend whatever you have to. The campaign was hugely successful. [Based on an idea by MB fan, TID forum]

Potential customers are most probably; professional with higher than average disposable income, aware of maintaining their professional image, an automotive enthusiasts with more money than time.
You must understand that auto detailing is a niche market. It is not easy to define exactly who the target market is One marketing sector- people will be of above average incomes that truly care about the appearance of their cars;, doctors and surgeons, realtors, dentist and oral surgeons (perhaps to project their professional image) golf course, health spas and gyms or automotive enthusiasts with more money than time and are willing and able to pay a premium for a detailing service. Quality and outstanding customer service creates its own demand

If you live in an area where there are people with prestige cars and high disposable incomes, the sky is the limit. Customers in this type of niche market will have their vehicles detailed on a fairly regular basis, especially during the concourse show season. Building long lasting customer relationships should be your main goal, ideally you want to establish a customer base that uses you not only for the major concourse details, but also for maintaining their vehicles on a weekly to monthly basis.

Build a solid portfolio of before/after vehicle correction photographs, word of mouth, show your work on various enthusiast Internet forums, and maybe even put ads into some car enthusiast publications (i.e. Local Porsche publication (PCA FSR: Horizontally Opposed, etc.). Most car clubs put out a newsletter or have a website. Advertising there is usually pretty reasonable. Also, car shows/events are good for marketing. They are usually populated with car wash & wax operators as opposed to true detailer’s.

Marketing copy

Should be a personal communication to the individual reading it; it should be about them, addressing  their needs, and it should constantly communicate how you can meet and even exceed those needs and the benefits of what services you are offering.

At the end of the ad you need a call to action, that means you must state exactly what they need to do to obtain the benefits of the services you offer ( contact number, e-mail address, website, etc.)  and you must make it easy for them to do so.

It can sometimes be misconstrued to be a  product vendor’s catalogue, or a vendor pretending to be an educator, as there are a lot of companies that are now using forums and YouTube video’s on detailing and preaching that only the product they sell or manufacture are suitable. Posted articles (thread) should be a true ‘How-to’ for educational purposes, not a lame attempt at a sales pitch

In reality they are just advertisements, with the appearance of educators as opposed to mere salesman. Commercialism brings with it concerns of honesty and true representation. In other words, it’s difficult to know what is true when someone is motivated by income, i.e. directly targeted at product sales, more so than an unbiased opinion.

Types of marketing copy

a) Factual information = neither theory or subjective opinion
b) Marketing Hype = Blurring the distinction between science and fiction
c) Opinion = Not necessarily fact or fiction but usually highly subjective
d) Advertised Claims= Nothing more than advertising copy of dubious functional validity.

Posting photographs and step-by-step How-to on detailing forums will have a large and positives impact on the amount of potential work for detailers

Negative Marketing

In business negative marketing involves making your competition look bad. This is a ploy used in order to make their product look better than yours in the eyes of the consumer. While some people may find this to be unfair or unethical it is a marketing strategy used all the time. Why? Because it gets attention and it really seems to work. Promoting the strengths and advantages of your own product is much more effective; but it takes creativity and intellectual effort. Negative Marketing, which slanders competition, is a new and growing trend

Customer Satisfaction

A well-defined customer satisfaction strategy is essential to create and maintain mutually beneficial business relationships.

                Customer - is a company or client that provides compensation for the products and services produced or delivered by you

Customer Satisfaction – is the customer’s perception to what extend set of implicit and explicit requirements have been met. It is a neutral feeling, which may or may not translate into real bottom – line benefits. Meeting customers’ expectations or even exceeding them may not always ensure loyalty.
                Customer Loyalty – is more than a feeling. It is a set of behaviours that produce benefits (revenue). It means that the client wants and prefers to do business with us next time and we are his “detailer” of choice.

                Requirements – need or expectation that is stated, generally implied or obligatory

Marketing Questions

The purpose of this process is to motivate you to make marketing a top priority.
1.  
     Do you obtain and effectively use testimonials from your best customers?
2.        Do you have referrals systems in place?
3.        Do you offer something of value to your website visitors in exchange for their contact details?
4.        Do you know how to write a press release to instantly grab the attention of the person reading it?
5.        Do you personalize your email newsletters?
6.        Do you know the most important piece of marketing information there is – your clients’ birthday
7.        Does your team understand that the best way to sell is to ask questions?
8.        Do you take really good care of your current customers?
9.        Do you market to your current customers?
10.     Does your team understand the importance of up-selling?

Prospects for Success

By providing a value added service that meets or exceeds their needs, believe me customers will come to you in droves. Auto detailing presents vast opportunities for motivated individuals. It is an industry in its infancy. Only about 20 percent of the population knows what auto detailing is, and less than 15 percent have purchased detailing services. Yet, auto detailing is a huge industry. The biggest challenge for the industry is educating the public.

As the number of detail shops continues to grow, the public slowly is becoming aware of the service. The average price of a new car is over $20,000. That level of investment warrants maintaining the resale value by maintaining and protecting the vehicles exterior and interior.
People are keeping their cars an average of nearly nine years. During this time, they need more services than washing, waxing, and vacuuming the inside i.e. specialist services such as Paintless dent repair (PDR) carpet dyeing, paint surface renovation, leather dying and repair, etc. (See also A Vehicles Condition and How it Affects Resale Price)

Testimonials
All of us in businesses can make better use of testimonials. Why are they so powerful? Because, no matter how strong your sales and marketing skills, no matter how well you communicate the benefits of your products and services, nothing communicates the quality of what you are offering better than the words of other people who have experienced doing business with you.

The best testimonials give a detailed and specific description of how the person has benefited from what you have to offer. Let’s suppose an accountant wants to use testimonials.
“David is a great detailer and I highly recommend him” is not a particularly effective testimonial. The following would be much better because it specifically describes the benefits of hiring Jon:

“Jon is a great accountant. He takes all the hassle away from taking care of my vehicles and is always available to answer my questions. Just one piece of advice that he gave me a few months ago saved me $2,000 when I traded in one of my vehicles. Above all I trust him. He started as my detailer, but has become a trusted advisor. If your vehicle requires a top notch paint renovation and detailing - I strongly recommend calling him today.”

One of the biggest obstacles to growing your business is convincing people that you can really deliver on your promises. A testimonial does it for you. So when customers tell you they’re pleased with you, don’t be shy. Ask if they would be willing to share their experience with others. Most will actually jump at the chance to write you a testimonial. You know what it’s like to experience a great product or service. It’s so unusual you want to let others know about it.

Include your customer’s name and if appropriate their business name on the testimonial. Don’t use anonymous testimonials because people don’t believe them.
If you are starting a new business, plan to make testimonials an integral part of your marketing from the outset. You could even give your first customers a price reduction if they’ll write you a great testimonial.

Don’t under estimate the power of testimonials. They can increase your conversion rates by 30% or more.

Photography

Another useful piece of marketing copy is a photographic portfolio of your detailing work. Try to show a cross-section of vehicles. Ferrari and Lamborghinis are great but include some everyday vehicles (unless of course this is only the market segment you sell too). Show a cross section of before and after details and don’t forget to show a few vehicle interiors, after all that’s were most drivers spend most of their time

As a professional detailer you need to showcase your work as best you can. A portfolio of your detailing work is a great selling tool. Internet detailing forums all have a section (Detail Gallery) were you can showcase your work as a form of advertising to potential clients. A decent camera with a great lens makes the world of difference. Without good photographs, people find it difficult to imagine what a difference a proper detail can make, after all you cannot describe a ‘look’ with just words, as they say a picture is worth a thousand of them

If you've ever removed red-eye from a photograph, or used a spell checker to correct an essay, then you know how computer software can enhance a raw photographic image.

•               Take photographs when the sun is setting
•               Use digital a photograph in an editing software picture editing program (i.e. Paint Shop Professional X1) you can also adjust contrast, and white balance from the camera
•               Open the digital photos in a picture editing software program and use the tools to "sharpen" the image. The end result is a better, more finely tuned picture.

Does the camera ever lie?

Photographs can now be digitally altered to tell an entirely different story. In the age of the airbrush, can we ever really believe our eyes?

Photoshop CS5 Content Aware is a simple and easy program that allows users to ‘desaturate’ the background enough so there is still colour; Selective Colour this will make the ‘subject’ more vibrant than the background without being too obvious, or fill in parts of the photo that are not desirable and allows easy manipulation of images, but just be careful what claims you make for a product with ‘enhanced’ photographs (i.e.’ Truth in Advertising’ ) as a professional detailer you will be expected to replicate this in your work

Very subtle differences in shadowing are often a give-away. Identifying exactly where the shadows fall on an image reveals where the light source must have been to have created that shade. Re-touching: sharpening blurred or under lit detail, but proportions of basic colours in sequences of pixels are often not balanced after a re-touch.

Lighting -by analysing all shadows in an image, scientists can tell whether a shot had a single light source. RAW pictures; uploading jpeg images to a computer allows its hard drive, which is much bigger than the camera’s, so that you can manipulate the picture on a computer, which is not possible on a camera that simply records .jpeg images.
Is this then cheating? Liken it to the ‘air-brushed’ photographs of fashion models or celebrities, it has very little to do with reality, you are creating an illusion that people ‘want’ to believe.

Brand (Band Name)

A brand is the identity of a specific product, service, or business. A brand can take many forms, including a name, sign, symbol, colour combination or slogan. The word brand began simply as a way to tell one person's cattle from another by means of a hot iron stamp. Your brand identity is what separates you from your competition. When people look for a product or service, their logo plays a big part in their purchasing decisions as they equate a quality logo with quality work, it is also a ready means of your company’s identification

A legally protected brand name is called a trademark ™ or a registered name ®. The word brand has continued to evolve to encompass identity - it affects the personality of a product, company or service. In the automotive industry, brands were originally called marques, and marque is still often used as a synonym for brand in reference to motor vehicles. [1]

Almost every business has a trading name, from the smallest market trader to the largest multi-national corporation. Only a minority of those businesses however, have what could be classed as a ‘brand’ or a ‘brand name’. Branding is a word commonly referred to by advertisers and marketing people, but what does it actually mean, how can you get it, and most importantly; how will it benefit your business?

There are many different definitions of a brand, the most effective description however, is that a brand is a name or symbol (i.e. Nike) that is commonly known to identify a company or its products and separate them from the competition. A well-known brand is generally regarded as one that people will recognise, often even if they do not know about the company or its products/services. These are usually the businesses name or the name of a product, although it can also include the name of a feature or style of a product. The overall ‘branding’ of a company or product can also stretch to a logo, symbol, or even design features that identify the company or its products/services.

When creating a brand, you must be careful not to lose the image of personal service. This is one of the biggest advantages small businesses have, and any branding must show the correct image that you want your customers to see.

Recognition and Loyalty - the main benefit of branding is that customers are much more likely to remember your business. A strong brand name and logo/image helps to keep your company image in the mind of your potential customers. If your business sells a service or products if clients trust your brand, they are likely to trust you with unfamiliar products. If a customer is happy with your products or services, a brand helps to build customer loyalty across your business.

Image of Quality - - a strong brand projects an image of quality in your business; many people see the brand as a part of a product or service that helps to show its quality and value. It is commonly said that if you show a person two identical products, only one of which is branded; they will almost always believe the branded item is higher quality.

If you can create effective branding, then over time the image of quality in your business will usually go up. Of course, branding cannot replace good quality, and bad publicity will damage a brand (and your businesses image), especially if it continues over a long period of time.

A strong brand creates an image of an established business that has been around for long enough to become well known. A branded business is more likely to be seen as experienced in their products or services, and will generally be seen as more reliable and trustworthy than an unbranded business. Most people will believe that a business would be hesitant to put their brand name on something that was of poor quality.

Protecting Your Brand- one key aspect of creating a brand is trade marking. This protects your name, logo, and sometimes design features against being copied or misused by another company. If you work hard to create a recognised brand, the theft of it by another company can damage the brand image, as well as providing the other company with an unfair advantage.

Multiple Services / Products - if your business has a strong brand, it allows you to link together several different products or services. You can put your brand name on every product or service you sell, meaning that customers for one product will be more likely to buy another product or service from you

Disadvantages of Branding - if you wish to create and maintain a strong brand presence, it can involve a lot of design and marketing costs  A strong brand is memorable, but people still need to be exposed to it, this often requires a lot of advertising and PR over a long period of time, which can be very costly.

There are also costs involved with the creating of a brand image or logo (Paying for a designer, printing new letterheads/business cards etc.), and although most of these are only one off costs, they are still relatively large for most small businesses.

The exposure of your brand can be left to word of mouth, this will save you money, but will also greatly slow down the exposure your brand receives.

Repeat Business

Customer service is the key, by providing quality work, listening (and doing) what the customer asks for and exceeding their expectations will help to build referral business in addition to your repeat business. Being knowledgeable, solving customer problems, explaining the service and giving advice on ‘after care. If you can ally this to a reasonable pricing structure both your repeat business and referral business base can only increase

Photography

As a professional detailer you need to showcase your work as best you can. A portfolio of your detailing work is a great selling tool. Internet detailing forms all have a section (Detail Gallery) were you can showcase your work as a form of advertising to potential clients. A decent camera with a great lens makes the world of difference. Without good photographs, people find it difficult to imagine what a difference a proper detail can make, after all you cannot describe a ‘look’ with just words, as they say a picture is worth a thousand of them

If you've ever removed red-eye from a photograph, or used a spell checker to correct an essay, then you know how computer software can enhance a raw photographic image.
·         Take photographs when the sun is setting
·         Use digital a photograph in an editing software picture editing program (i.e. Paint Shop Professional X1) you can also adjust contrast, and white balance from the camera
·    
     Open the digital photos in a picture editing software program and use the tools to "sharpen" the image. The end result is a better, more finely tuned picture.
·         Posting photographs and step-by-step How-to on detailing forums will have a large and positives impact on the amount of potential work available for detailers

Does the camera ever lie?
 Photographs can now be digitally altered to tell an entirely different story. In the age of the airbrush, can we ever really believe our eyes?

Software like Photoshop CS5 Content Aware is a simple and easy program that allows users to ‘desaturate’ the background enough so there is still colour; Selective Colour this will make the ‘subject’ more vibrant than the background without being too obvious, or fill in parts of the photo that are not desirable and allows easy manipulation of images, but just be careful what claims you make for a product with ‘enhanced’ photographs (i.e.’ Truth in Advertising’ ) as a professional detailer you will be expected to replicate this in your work

Very subtle differences in shadowing are often a give-away. Identifying exactly where the shadows fall on an image reveals where the light source must have been to have created that shade. Re-touching: sharpening blurred or under lit detail, but proportions of basic colours in sequences of pixels are often not balanced after a re-touch.

Lighting -by analysing all shadows in an image, scientists can tell whether a shot had a single light source. RAW pictures; uploading jpeg images to a computer allows its hard drive, which is much bigger than the camera’s, so that you can manipulate the picture on a computer, which is not possible on a camera that simply records .jpeg images.

Is this then cheating? Liken it to the ‘air-brushed’ photographs of fashion models or celebrities, it has very little to do with reality, you are creating an illusion that people ‘want’ to believe.

Social Media Sites

There has been an explosion in the popularity of on-line communities where people can network, exchange information and ideas as well as advertise their products / services. An on-line presence has become essential for any business that wants to be visible to their market sector.

Social media enables business owners to communicate and build a two-way conversation with both their existing and potential clients and the detailing communities – and that communication is vital. Carefully used, it allows companies to build passion for their products and services by writing  clear, targeted copy with concise text that speaks directly to the audience you wish to reach.

Make sure that you highlight any unique features that differentiate you from the competition. If your goal is brand/company name recognition, we suggest using your company name in the title or somewhere in the body of the text

Create your copy so that it is as simple and easy to read as possible. Avoid long sentences or complex punctuation. Use simple, grammatically correct, complete sentences and language. Use proper punctuation, punctuate the end of sentences, put spaces after full stops and commas, and don't use hyphens instead of full stops.

Don't try to fit every detail about your product or service into the text Make it clear what your product or service is so a user can tell what your website will be about, but save the details for your landing page.

Your copy should convey a call-to-action along with the benefits of your product or service. A call-to-action encourages users to click on your advert and should explain to the user exactly what you expect them to do when they reach your landing page. Some call-to-action phrases include: buy, sell, order, browse, sign up and get a quote.

Face book is a social network service, although their face book Page is aimed at business marketing. Their website was launched in February 2004 that is operated and privately owned by face book, Inc. As of July 2010 it has more than 500 million active users, which is about one person for every fourteen in the world

There are two types of face book, a personal one that can be used as a day to day personal event diary and a face book Page that allows professionals to have a web presence distinct from their website. Create a face book Page and start talking to your customers in a few easy steps - www.facebook.com/Pages

It is important to promote your page. Let a client know after you have detailed their car, shown or sold them a car to check out your profile on face book Page. The more people following you on face book the more likely others are willing to like your business and the more likely those viewing your profile will become your next client, especially when they see all of the positive feedback. A page lets your display all of the relevant information potential customers might be looking for such as:

·         An overview of your services
·         Website for more information and pricing
·         Contact Information
·         Location
·         Hours of operation
·         Reviews
·         Customer interaction
·         Photographs  of vehicles cars and boats you have detailed

Face book pages are extremely easy to update and provide analytics information so you can see how often users are visiting your pages, liking what you post, or sharing your page.

It will take time to build up your fan base, just remember to always be asking people to become a fan of your page. Constantly promote your page as much as possible and be sure to keep your content fresh to keep old fans coming back and to entice viewers to join in. If you have a website or email marketing program make sure to cross-promote your business page

Face book Pages are increasingly becoming a “second home page” for businesses online. And while more and more Page owners are learning how to become expert face book marketers, face book has recently created many new opportunities for Pages to get more traffic through the tried and true methods of – you guessed it – search engine optimization (SEO).

Marketing APIs help advertisers achieve success on Facebook at scale through efficiency and innovation. Facebook has developed a set of Marketing APIs to enable developers to offer innovative solutions that help marketers scale their presence on - Face book Marketing Solutions - http://www.facebook.com/marketing?sk=wall

10 Key SEO Strategies Every face book Page Owner Should Know - http://www.insidefacebook.com/2009/07/13/seo-facebook-pages-10-key-strategies/

Stik.com - Stik.com is a website that uses Face book to connect people who need high-value goods or services with trustworthy professionals that their friends recommend. When you need to make an important purchase, it is better to deal with people you know. You will get a better deal, with less stress and hassle.

Stik.com makes it easy to find the right people by searching your personal Face book network. To get started, use the search box to tell us what you need - we'll find someone who can help. It helps professionals build their reputation and referral networks on Face book. The site does this by collecting hundreds of recommendations and referrals on Stik.com professional profiles.

The average Face book user has 40,000 friends and friends-of-friends on Face book. Stik.com allows you to tap into this vast universe of potential buyers and turn your social network into a referral network, driving your business from buyers with whom you already have a personal connection.
If you are a professional looking to build your reputation and referral network on Face book, follow the directions to connect with your Face book account and build a Stik.com profile.
If you are looking to FIND a trusted professional, simply search for the kind of help you need in the search box and connect with professionals in your network recommended by your friends

Blog- if you only have the time or desire to create one social media platform, a blog should be at the top of your list. Blogs give users a few distinctive advantages over the other platforms that make them absolutely invaluable in the world of Internet marketing, plus search engines love blogs. First, become the “go-to” expert in your industry. 
They have plenty of content and are easy for the spiders to crawl and categorize online. Second, consumers love blogs. They aren’t hard sales, but instead are a mix of marketing and education that online shoppers trust.

               
Really Simple Syndication (RSS)

RSS allows you to see when websites have added new content, as soon as it’s published, without having to visit the websites you have taken the feed from. Feeds are also known as RSS. There is some discussion as to what RSS stands for, but most people plump for 'Really Simple Syndication'. In essence, the feeds themselves are just web pages, designed to be read by computers rather than people.

If you do any online networking, especially on social sites that use the Ning platform, you can add your blog’s RSS feed to your profile. Every time you update your blog, your profile will be updated with the new information from your blog. Other people may wish to syndicate your blog, or they may wish to add you to their blog reader. Providing an easy accessible RSS URL on your blog will increase the chance that other people will follow your blog.

Submit your blog to different blog directory sites, but they need to know your RSS URL; simply add this to the end of your blog address: /atom.xml (i.e. http://TOGWT ® 1980.blogspot.com/atom.xml) with some bloggers you add feed after .com

YouTube - the main video sharing platform, YouTube is one of the best forums available to create a viral marketing campaign. From publishing client video testimonials to creating social proof of your abilities, YouTube videos are a great way to get other site owners to link to your website.
               
Twitter - is a micro blog that limits posts to 140 characters. Although you’ll typically hear the most scepticism about Twitter, it can be an amazing tool for your business.
Twitter plug-ins allows you to update Twitter and literally push it out to your other platforms, such as Face book. Additionally, Twitter posts rank in the search engines

LinkedIn - is a popular business profile site, LinkedIn ranks very well in search engines and is a great platform for sending event updates out to business associates.

When optimizing your Social Media sites, select one core keyword (or search term you would like to be found under), use it frequently without sacrificing consumer experience, and watch your profile skyrocket in the search engines.
Social Media Marketing is a vital addition to any public relations marketing campaign. With a Facebook Page that has interesting and regular updates to its content, you’ll get people following your every move, which will lead to more customers and higher sales; the exact payoff every business needs.

Detailing Forums

Posing a descriptive write-up and photographs (always obtain owner’s permission before posting and blanking out their registration plate) of details carried out is another form of marketing

Website

An Internet website is a very viable resource for marketing. Costing as little as $500 depending on what you want done. Hire a competent professional web designer, the internet is an ever evolving so you need to hire a person to give you a professional web presence; it's their job to understand it.
Ensure there are no spelling errors, and thoroughly check the quality of written English, as these types of mistake will put off consumers who could have concerns about a website's credibility, and will negatively impact sales.  This is because when you sell or communicate on the internet 99% of the time it is done by the written word.

Contact a web developer that will provide both an attractive and easily negotiated website, ensure you can make up-dates to the website easily and make sure it has the ability to capture e-mail information about visitors through registration for a “car care” newsletter or tips.
From the e-mail information you will be able to follow up and better serve clients and potential clients. When you run a promotion this e-mail list will get your company name and a specific promotion directly into the inboxes of your clients and potential clients.

Have a regularly updated  section on ‘Car Care’ so that you can provide advice and ensure both clients and potential clients visit your site, which keeps your company name fresh in their minds and will boost recognition

Page Speed Online analyses the content of a web page, and then generates suggestions to make that page faster. Reducing page load times can reduce bounce rates and increase conversion rates - http://pagespeed.googlelabs.com/# or Torbit -http://torbit.com/ref/8l7
The single largest upload speed killer is image resolution. Develop a standard practice with your photos and images, with Photoshop or whatever image hosting site you use you use, set the resolution to 72dpi If your images area higher resolution than this you are wasting bandwidth and significantly   reducing the amount of time the site needs to load. Scale down image size and resolution, the larger the image the more bandwidth you'll need.

Google Analytics - I would highly recommend it; it's free and can give you some great insight in to what people are looking at on your site - http://www.google.com/analytics/

Email Marketing Software
Create profitable customer relationships for your business; a website owner’s email marketing tools like professional email signup forms and auto responder services make it easy for you to build your email list and stay in touch with prospects. - http://aweber.com/

Back links
These are links from other websites.

Some examples:
1. You create an entry on local.yahoo.com that includes your web address.
2. You edit your signature on autopia.org to include a link to your website.
3. You publish an article about car care on ezinearticles.com that includes a link to your website.
4. The car dealers and other automotive businesses you work for include a link to your website on their own websites.

Google sees all of these links to your website as "votes" as to your popularity on the Internet. Generally speaking, the website with the most "votes" gets top spot on Google. [602rwtq Autopia]

Google Places

Millions of people search Google Maps every day. A free listing on Google Maps makes it easy for them to find you.

Use Google Places to create your free listing. When potential customers search Maps for local information, they'll find your business: your address, hours of operation, even photos of your storefront or products. It's easy, free, and you don't need a website of your own. Local customers are already searching for the products and services you offer. Why not make it easy for them to find you on Google search and on Google Maps? Google Places is the place to start - 

SSW Rules to Better Google Ranking - http://www.ssw.com.au/ssw/Standards/Rules/RulesToBetterGoogleRankings.aspx

Search engine optimization (S.E.O)

[:is the process of improving the volume or quality of traffic to a web site or a web page (such as a blog) from search engines via "natural" or un-paid ("organic" or "algorithmic") search results as opposed to other forms of search engine marketing (SEM) which may deal with paid inclusion.

The theory is that the earlier (or higher) a site appears in the search results list, the more visitors it will receive from the search engine. SEO may target different kinds of search, including image search, local search, video search and industry-specific vertical search engines This gives a web site web presence] [1]

S.E.O is an acronym for search engine optimization or more simply; how to get more ‘traffic’ to your Website or Blog. The practice of obtaining high search engine rankings by performing keyword research, modifying the HTML code to reflect such keywords and building relationships with other websites to promote your site via a linking campaign

 http://www.seomoz.org/learn-seo/title-tag

SEO can also lift your site, by helping search engines find your site. Search engines on the Internet allow users to type in key words such as “detailers,” “detail services,” a company name, or anything else. In the blink of an eye, the search engine scans the millions of sites on the web and lists those that have meta-tags identical to the typed-in search term.

This tool is very helpful for finding out the strongest words on your site. Make sure you keep your site title relevant to the content. Some things to include; keyword research, title tag and word search optimization, search, working on HTML source code, image, hyperlink and header tag optimization and page ranking - www.freshegg.com

Flash

Programming in ‘Flash’ my look attractive, however it's invisible to search engines, because to an SEO it’s essentially a collection of pictures, and not actual text. Google does not recognize pictures; only text. 

Meta-tags

Meta-tags are simply words and phrases that describe the contents of your website and the nature of your business, making it easier for the search engines and interested viewers to find you.
Meta tags are mainly used for search engine optimization; they are placed at the top or head of the page code and provide keywords for search engines to find your pages more frequently and more easily.

Meta-tags are not a magic key to site effectiveness; but they do increase the chances that your site will be included in the list that pops up when a web surfer types in a key word or phrase.
Be careful not to have more than 7-9 keywords. Google cuts off anything over 7-10 keywords depending on number of characters. You can find keyword analyser tools online that can tell you how the search engines see your site. Meta Tag Analyser

The use of meta-tags is a technical subject you should discuss with your web designer to make certain that they include a full measure of appropriate tags in your home page. How to Use HTML Meta Tags

Web Crawlers

A web crawler is a relatively simple automated program, or script that methodically scans or crawls through Internet pages to create an index of the data it's looking for. Alternative names for a web crawler include web spider, web robot, crawler, and automatic indexer.

There are many different uses for a web crawler. Probably the most common use associated with the term is related to search engines. Search engines use web crawlers to collect information about what is available on public web pages. Their primary purpose is to collect data so that when Internet surfers enter a search term on their site, they can quickly provide the surfer with relevant web sites.

All the content is taken by the Web Crawlers and copied onto indexes.  The frequencies of the visits by web crawlers to websites depend on the popularity, quality, size of the website and the number of visitors a websites receives. A website such as face book is crawled several times per day, however, if we have a website that receives only a few hits per month the web crawlers may only visit once every few months in order to check for updates.

Pay per Click (PPC)

Advertising on Google is the most powerful breakthrough in marketing this century, yet very few small business owners truly understand its power. I'll be keeping you updated on Pay per Click in the weeks and months ahead.
The key to successful advertising is to find a method of conveying your information to as many people as possible while keeping your advertising costs to a minimum. PPC advertising may be one of the easiest ways to generate traffic to your website

Using Video and Social Media

Taking a video of a detail (seek owner’s permission beforehand) and then up loading it to YouTube, face book or other social media  networks is a good and inexpensive form of marketing (See also The CMO's Guide To The Social Media Landscape) . It’s also a good idea to send a copy or a hyperlink to your client; they will proudly show them to their friends, thereby expanding your network of future clients. You could also add it to your Blog and / or Website

Incentive Rewards

Rewards for client referral will provide an incentive to your existing clients for recommending their friends and relatives by offering them a discount from their next detail.
Create a similar promotion to encourage repeat business from your existing clients as well; it is always easier to retain clients than it is to obtain new ones. Testimonials are the best way to obtain new clients and in letting potential clients know how good your services are.

Client Introduction Program

Referrals – offer a percent discount for each new client introduced
New Clients – offer a percent discount for all first time clients

Networking
     
     Start attending local car club meetings and get to know its members.
          Join and have a regular presence on social website, face book, twitter, etc.
http://www.cmo.com/social-media/cmos...edia-landscape
          Create a great Website and a Blog; hire a marketing start-up to manage your online presence.

Public relations
Involvement in the community can boost your company’s recognition. Attend local car shows and Concours d’élégance, write car care tips and How-To articles and submit them to the editors of various car clubs and the media in your area. Become the credible “expert” source for car care that editors contact and refer to in articles, interviews, or stories.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
What is Customer Relationship Management? It concerns the relationship between the organization and its customers. Customers are the lifeblood of any organization be it a global corporation with thousands of employees and a multi-billion turnover, or a sole trader with a handful of regular customers. Customer Relationship Management is the same in principle for these two examples - it is the scope of CRM which can vary drastically - http://www.businessballs.com/crmcustomerrelationshipmanagement.htm

Customer Service
Always be polite, listen to your customers’ needs and focus on fulfilling them. Explain to your customer exactly what you will be doing and ensure that it matches exactly what they are expecting. How you treat your customers is the ultimate promotion, courtesy and delivering on time, as promised, is not enough. In fact, those only get you on a par with most others. You need to exceed their expectations by delivering more than they necessarily expect due to their past experiences or preconceived ideas. Offer a first class, quality checked service that goes well beyond customers’ expectations. This is the way to create the kind of customer you want; a loyal one.
Customers today will tell their friends about the kind of service they received, positive or negative, but they do it online, using social media websites like YouTube, Facebook and Twitter.

Marketing to existing Clients

Business owners have only one source of wealth and it’s not their talent or expertise. It’s not even the product or the services they provide. Their main source of income, and ultimately wealth is an existing client base; and yet it’s very easy to neglect that source; it is always easier to retain clients than it is to obtain new ones and it will help you boost sales productivity and cut the cost of sales.

You can focus on your most valuable opportunities. After all, it is more profitable to keep an existing client than find a new one. Keeping track of all your company’s interactions with customers lets you give a better service and stop sales slipping through the cracks.

A company can lose as many as 50% of their clients over a five year period and acquiring a new customer can cost five times more compared to retaining an existing one. Winning new customers is vital, keeping loyal customers happy and doing more business with them is also essential. Clearly, it pays to build a lasting relationship with customers.

Marketing to existing clients is an often overlooked strategy. As well as maintaining your client base by providing quality service and exceeding their expectations you should be offering them other services  If you don't ask your clients to buy more from you, they'll rarely offer (you sell, they buy).  I believe you have to keep searching for ways to deliver more value to customers; offer more reasons to visit your company. You can build tremendous sales momentum if you offer add-ons and optimized or premium versions. Don't just sell an exterior car wash - up sell it with a paint restoration and / or full interior detailing.

What would happen if you took your client list email addresses and sent out the occasional email making them a special offer, or reminding them that it’s been X amount of time since they last had their vehicle detailed and asking them if they  would like to make an appointment, or asking them for referrals?  You would probably increase your re-booking rate by 20-50% and their rate of referrals could easily double. And it will have cost you virtually nothing.

Go out and meet your top 10 clients. Don't try to sell them anything, but do ask for referrals. Take them to lunch, or even better a coffee at Starbuck's.
This is a powerful strategy simply because in this modern and hectic world, no one seems to want to do it anymore. If other people aren't doing something, that's a good enough reason for you to think outside of the box and try it.

·         What are you not offering existing clients that you could be offering them?
·         How often do you communicate with your clients by direct mail?
·         Do you test and measure the response?
·         Do you spend at least 15 minutes each month thinking of an exclusive offer you can make and e-mail to your existing clients?
·         Do you say 'Thank you' to your clients either by letter, email or telephone?
·         Do you proactively ask your clients for referrals?
·         If you have a limited service or product line - do you know of additional companies, products or services that your clients could benefit from? Car care product sales, carpet dying, PDR, AC system cleaning, headlight and / or windscreen restoration, cosmetic wheel repair, paint or leather upholstery renovation and etc.

 There are hundreds of great marketing strategies that can be used in obtaining new clients. But first and more importantly, you need to nurture your relationships with existing client; they are your primary source of income, and your most important asset. They are the first key to your financial stability; the second is word of mouth referrals from existing clients

Summary
Professional detailing can be a great business opportunity, but like any other business, it requires very careful planning, marketing and execution. Work smart, take the time to study and understand your market and build a business strategy around it. Once you’ve established your business plan, all it takes to execute it is hard work. Take the time to understand your market and build a strategy. 

Plan your marketing and work your plan.

Bibliography -
·         Automobile Detailing Business Start-up Guide eBook
·         Selling The Invisible,  by Harry Beckwith
·         The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It, by Michael E. Gerber
·         What Clients Love: A Field Guide to Growing Your Business, Harry Beckwith
·         Mentored By A Millionaire, by Steven K. Scott
·         Guerrilla Marketing in 30 Days, by Al Lautenslager
·         Ultimate Small Business Marketing Guide, by James Stephenson 
·         Search Engine Optimization (SEO) for the Automotive and Motorsports -Industryhttp://www.performancewebmarketing.com/seo-search-engine-optimization.htm

Other Resources
·         Marketing Teacher.com (books and videos)
·         Free Management Library™ -  http://managementhelp.org/mrktng/mrktng.htm
·         The CMO's Guide To The Social Media Landscape - http://www.cmo.com/social-media/cmos-guide-social-media-landscape
·         The Chris Cardell newsletters
·         SWOT Analysis Diagrams Software (inc. templates) www.SmartDraw.com

Software
With its simple-to-use design tools, Microsoft Publisher 2010 gives you the power to create professional-quality marketing materials and publications that can be printed and shared with ease. You'll be able to work more efficiently with an updated user interface, along with improved photo tools that let you get the results you want, plus visual guides that help you navigate publications and see what you’re printing.

I would like to think that these articles become an asset to anyone who is new to detailing and to professionals alike, as well as industry experts who seek to advance their knowledge.

I hope the above article was informative. By having some understanding of the ‘What’ and ‘Why’ as well as the ‘How’ along with a little science to help you understand how the chemicals we use react, you can achieve the results you desire.
I would appreciate it if you would share this article as it helps other detailers further their knowledge. Questions and/ or constructive comments are always appreciated.

Copyright © 2002 - 2012 TOGWT® (Established 1980) all rights reserved

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