Garage Support 3 May 2020 ECP PR Reilly

GARAGE SUPPORT upporting you and your business

Every moment of every day our focus is keeping you moving

How are you preparing to trade when you reopen post lockdown? We’ve been working with our team of experts to understand the things garages will need to consider to make sure they’re fully prepared to maximise their reopening. And while you will have probably considered most things here, we wanted to wrap them all up into this handy guide to help you make the process as seamless as possible.

Why should I reach out and book in services? As the amount of cars on the road increases over the next couple of months, the demand for servicing and repair will grow. Managing your workload will be key for a successful reopening. Scheduling work now can help define your opening hours and what technician resource you’ll need, as well as help you effectively manage your finances. Arranging upfront bookings will help spread the word that you are planning on being business as usual to your customer base too. Start by: ■ Working through your database to understand which customers have services that are overdue or needed in the next few weeks ■ Contact these owners by telephone explaining you are re-opening and offering an early booking slot of their choice: ☐ One garage owner reported a 43% uptake on the phone calls he made in a single day ☐ Another owner stated a mailshot resulted in no bookings however phone calls resulted in 11 bookings on the day the calls were made ☐ If possible, offer a collection and delivery service ☐ If not, then explain the new process and that it has been set up to ensure social distancing rules are met What’s to be gained frommarketing? Using free marketing tools to let your customers know you’re open can help reduce costs while you’re establishing your cash flow again. Using social media, for example, can help you reach customers you may not have had access to before and encouraging conversations and recommendations on these channels can help build trust and reputation. ■ Use free of charge marketing tools to communicate that you are reopening: ☐ Join a local community Facebook page – either using personal info or business page if you have it ☐ Create a post to say when you are reopening after lockdown ☐ Identify a local newsletter that may be FOC to advertise in or for a small fee ■ Does your Garage Management System have a function that enables you to email to your customer database? ☐ If so, take time to learn how to do this ☐ There is also a template letter to be used for direct mail or email to inform your current customer base you are open, contact your branch for further information ■ If you do not already have a social media presence as a business, create a Facebook page for your garage. Why have a phased approach to opening? Things could take some time to get back to pre-Covid19 normal and you may have reduced customer footfall as a result. Longer opening hours could be a drain on your finances so it’s important to consider what your new normal looks like in the interim. Encouraging prebooking work ahead of opening can help avoid this, as can phasing your reopening over the course of a few weeks. Think about your short, medium and longer-term needs and have a plan in place for each of them. You should consider: ■ Your workforce – when to bring back technicians in line with demand ■ Revising opening times – you may find there is a slow start as people begin to gain confidence so reduced hours to 9am – 4pm for example, could be the solution ☐ Invite your customers to like and follow you ☐ Use this to update people on your opening

Special Measures? Even when the lockdown is lifted your workforce and customers need to be protected and to do this, you’ll need to closely adhere to government guidelines. Putting these measures in place, and assuring customers you’re taking it seriously will increase trust and leave them confident you care

about them as much as their vehicle. Here are some top tips to think about:

Safety first ■ Do you have enough PPE and other equipment required to keep your team safe? For example, seat covers, wheel covers or gloves? ■ Have you checked all your diagnostic equipment to ensure it is up to date on subscriptions? ■ Have you checked that your ramps/bays are all working correctly, and the oil levels and hydraulics have been checked to manufacturers specifications?

Open reception ■ Are you keeping your reception open to receive customers and their cars? ■ Have you marked out a line where you would like customers to wait behind? ■ Support this with clear social distancing signage. ■ Have you made provisions for customers to key drop and collect? E.g. ☐ Drop box for keys to be dropped off, with labels for the owner to write and attach to the keys for identification. Keys can be collected from a collection box in similar way. ☐ A board with hooks where the customer places their keys on it and then collects from once the work is complete

☐ Providing antibacterial wipes and gels to clean keys at the point of drop off ☐ Ensure keys do not go to collection area without payment ☐ Create and display clear signage that explains the new drop off and collection process ■ Do you have a process in place so your technicians can safely collect the keys to start work on the vehicle? ■ How will you make your PDQ machines safe for customer use? Can it be used in a socially distanced space and ensure you wipe it down every time it is used. ■ Ensure you have antibacterial bac wipes and hand gels readily available for customers and staff and they are being used regularly.

Closed reception and workshop If you are closing your reception and therefore require an area for key drop off and collection, you will need to think about: ■ Do you have a safe designated area for customers to drop of their keys off? ■ Have you made provisions for customers to key drop and collect? Using similar contactless drop off and collection ideas as above. ■ Have you marked out an area that is customer only – and a technician only area to observe social distancing?

Customers Pay You? Social distancing will be with us for a long time. Many businesses are requesting payment via a non-contact transaction – i.e. a cashless business. To protect customers and employees alike, the measures below could be considered.

Payments ■ Whenever possible take card payment and not cash to reduce the risk of infection. ■ When contacting a customer by phone to inform them their car is ready, ensure you talk through the invoice thoroughly so that you do not have to explain it in the workshop. ■ Don’t put the keys in the collection area until you have received payment. ■ Ensure a copy of the invoice is with the keys on collection. ■ If reception is still operational – have you set up the PDQ machine to cover social distancing? ☐ Have you made sure there are wipes for the machine and wipe it after every use?

Business Support Services ■ Have you considered how to convert estimates into live jobs with disposable income being restricted? ☐ Think of solutions such as Payment Assist and register your business ■ Do you have a solution that allows you to keep social distancing rule, and keep car owners updated on work needed whilst they are able to see it? ☐ Viewmech maybe the solution ■ Do you need other advice on business support services? ☐ Contact your local branch for further information Have You Considered Adding Support Services to Your Business? The addition of support services will help you with converting estimates to live jobs, decrease technician downtime and improve ramp turnaround which results in greater revenues.

HaynesPro WorkshopData™ combines essential maintenance and repair data with detailed technical drawings, using a unique electronic data modules and intelligent diagnostics. Enabling mechanics to diagnose, maintain and repair passenger cars, light commercial vehicles and trucks.

Key HaynesPro Features ■ Up to 4 simultaneous users at one time ■ Includes labour & repair times ■ Wiring diagrams, guided diagnostics, technical service, bulletins and recalls ■ One single access to all makes based on OEM data Benefits to Your Business ■ Help identify issues quickly and reduces on-job times as well as non-billable hours ■ Very easy to use and mobile friendly. Most information is no more than two clicks away ■ Keep all garage functions running simultaneously ■ Gives your garage the bespoke step up, propelling you into the best of the best

Free 12-month subscription worth €795 ■ Contact your branch for more details on this offer

VIEWMECH is a personalised customer video solution that enables you send clear and concise video footage of any work required to vehicles, direct to your customer anytime, anywhere and all within a few quick and easy steps.

How does it work ■ Create - Simply create the video through our user friendly iOS App before sending it to a secure Garage Dashboard for review ■ Send - Add a quote for the repair work together with any accompanying notes before sending it to the customer via SMS and email ■ Track - You can then track the number of video views and the value of work converted in the Garage Dashboard

Key Viewmech Features ■ Attach quotes to each video with call back requests ■ 50 Video Uploads, SMS and Email Notifications ■ Unlimited Users / Technicians ■ Own Garage Branding Benefits to Your Business ■ Get quicker work authorization from customers ■ Increase parts & labour revenue by over 25% ■ Improve customer retention, referrals and work conversions ■ Maintain Social Distancing

Free 12-month subscription worth €685 ■ Contact your branch for more details on this offer

Payment Assist offers a simple, short-term, interest free loan to customers who have a one-off or unexpected vehicle repair bill. Customers can spread the cost of a one-off bill/purchase over four equal payments interest and fee free. All that’s required is just a 25% upfront payment and garages are charged 7.5% of the invoice value.

Benefit for your business ■ Helps convert customers who cannot afford the large repair bill in one hit ■ Payment is made to your garage within 5 days ■ No risk to the business ■ Help you build a relationship with your customer Benefit for your cuStomer ■ Ability to spread the cost of an unexpected repair bill over a short time frame ■ No credit checks for bills less than €1,000 ■ 25% initial payment followed by 4 further interest free instalments ■ No arrangement fees

How does it work? ■ Log on to www.paymentassist.ie and login with your unique business details ■ Complete your customer’s details to set up an agreement. When the details are completed the payment instalments will be shown ■ Enter customer’s debit card details. (Credit card transactions are not allowed) ■ Once all details have been completed the customer gets a text to their mobile phone or message to their tablet to complete and sign ■ Assuming the application is successful, you will receive confirmation that the customer has been billed for the initial payment and future payments have been set up

Pick 1-2 Social Media channels to focus on It’s easy to feel like you need to belong to every social media channel. The truth is, it’s better to be excellent with a couple. There are three questions you need to ask to determine your core channels: ■ What do I want to achieve with social media? If it’s brand awareness, pick channels with high followings and reach. If it’s sales, then Facebook is a good place to start. ■ What is your target audience and where are they spending their time? Go there. ■ What channels are other garages using? Be there. Here’s a handy little table of the main social media channels out there.

NUMBER OF UK USERS

DURATION OF POSTS

CHANNEL

DESCRIPTION

BEST FOR

Facebook the “social home’ for most brands and a place to post images, videos, comment and participate in Facebook Groups. Instagram is a social network made for sharing photos and short videos and where users can follow brands and people of interest from all over the world.

Advertising to targeted audiences, video and creating communications around shared interests.

30 million

5 hours

Image first posts and stories. Great for targeting 16 - 34 year olds especially.

16.7 million

21+ hours

Twitter is a micro-blogging site where users can post short ‘tweets’.

Live news, trending topics, interacting with journalists and influencers. Categories such as fashion, homewares, wedding, DIY, cooking and other product based retailers. Thought leadership, sharing opinions and recruiting talent.

12.6 million

18 minutes

Pinterest is a place where people go to research, discover new ideas or find inspiration.

5.2 million

4 months

Linkedin is a professional social network where users can message or post. YouTube is a video sharing network where any user can upload videos of a certain length.

20 million

24 hours

Videos that have some entertainment or educational value.

37.1 million

20+ days

Polish up your Social Media profiles Having a clear and consistent social media profile across all channels is important for customers to recognise you and to be found more easily. ■ Your name and username: enter the name you want to be found under. Think about how people will search for you. Make it as easy as possible. ■ Your profile pic: if you’re a business, use a recognised logo. Use this across all your social media profiles. Name it with your brand when you upload it to be found in Google more easily e.g. {yourbrandname}.jpg ■ Your link: add your website link to your profiles so people can click quickly to your website. ■ Your bio: this is a sentence or two about your business. Make sure to include the location and customer service hours on Instagram and fill out all these fields on Facebook & Twitter. ■ Your background or cover photo: choose something that fits the right specifications and that is consistent across all channels. Tips for writing for social media Every post should encourage an action of some sort – whether that’s a comment, a like, a share, a view, a click, a tag. ■ Your posts should always be: ☐ Focused – What do you want the takeout to be – Stick to one key message ☐ Clear – Is more context needed for your audience to understand ☐ Concise - Could it be shorter? Is your message clear in the first 150 characters? ☐ Authentic – Does it sound like your business?

☐ Audience relevant – Is there a clear answer to the question; ‘Why would they care’? The call to action can be small or big asks but having a call to action is what leads to action. For example: ■ “Head to the link in my profile to see more/sign up/join” ■ “Head over to @____ to check out what they’ve been up to recently” ■ “Click the link to join in and help your community”

Post at optimal times on each social media channel Timing matters in social media. Each social media channel has different times when your content has a better chance of being seen. ■ Facebook. The best times to post on are Wednesday and Friday at 2pm, but any time from 9am to 4pm on weekdays should work well ■ Instagram. The best times to post on are Wednesday and Friday at 2pm, but any time from 9am to 4pm on weekdays should work well ■ Twitter. The best times to post on Twitter for non-profits are Thursday at noon and Friday 11am to noon, but any time from 10am to 4pm on weekdays should work well

Use correct image sizes for each channel to look professional ■ Each social media channel has different image sizes for profile pics, cover photos, the photos you post and copy you write. To avoid image stretching or that strange image cropping, use these image guidelines:

COVER/HEADER IMAGE SIZE

PHOTO PROFILE

CHANNEL

POST IMAGE SIZE

ADVERTISING SPECS

Recommended image dimensions are 1000x 1000 px Recommended image formats are JPEG and PNG. Images with 20% tint or more could increase chances of failed delivery.

Page Cover: 1200 x 675 px Facebook Group Cover: 1640 x 850 px

170 x 170 px

1000 x 1000 px

Event Cover: 1200 x 675 px

110 x 110 px minimum

Minimum 1080 width for best quality

-

-

400 x 400 px

1500 x 500 px

1200 x 675 px

-

1200 x 630 px Minimum 1080 width for best quality Rectangular (optional) 600 x 900 px

400 x 400 px

Board cover 600 x 600px

-

Tag brands and customers using the @ to increase exposure Using an @___ in your posts allows you to tag a user in that channel and get their attention. That user then gets notified that you’ve tagged them and act accordingly. It’s a great way to get attention and get access to new audiences. They should be used whenever: ■ You are answering a customer service query ■ You are saying ‘thanks’ to people or businesses who have helped ■ You want to credit someone for their input or work ■ You want to let someone know of something that might be of interest to them

Every moment of every day our focus is keeping you moving