Garage Support 3 May 2020 ECP PR Reilly

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