Staying a step or two ahead of the competition takes more than just dependable equipment and skilled technicians. Equally important is your ability to attract new customers while keeping existing ones happy and loyal to your shop. 

Few strategies today are more reliable, affordable, or effective at building strong relationships with customers than email and text marketing. Cutting right through the clutter, these channels allow you to send targeted, personalized messages that keep your brand and services top of mind. Let’s zero in on some of the ways these dynamic tools can boost your repair shop’s digital marketing efforts and help drive repeat business.  

Why Email & Text Marketing?

1. Reach People Directly: Unlike social media posts that might never make it into peoples’ feeds, or traditional ads that may be glossed over or ignored, emails and text messages land directly in your customers' inboxes and message centers.

2. Build Relationships: Generic ads are basically a shot in the dark. Email and text marketing let you send targeted messages, promotions, and service reminders to the right people, keeping you on their radar and reinforcing the value of your brand. 

3. Drive Repeat Business: One-time customers are great, but they’re not enough to fuel your shop’s growth. Including special offers, loyalty perks, and useful content in your emails and texts encourages first-timers to become regulars.

4. Measurable Results: With email and text marketing, you can track and measure things like open rates, click-through rates, and conversions. This information tells you what resonates with your audience, allowing you to adjust and fine-tune your messaging as needed.

Few strategies today are more reliable, affordable, or effective at building strong relationships with customers than email and text marketing.

Building Your Email & Text Marketing Strategy

Crafting Your Audience

If you already have your current customers' email addresses, and they’ve given you permission to contact them, you're ahead of the game. Otherwise, start offering incentives like discounts, free consultations, or early access to promotions to get people to sign up. And, don't forget to make it easy by including clearly marked opt-in forms on your website, on site at your shop, on your social media pages, and on receipts.

Best Practices

When it comes to email and text marketing, start with a clear, relatively short (no more than six or seven words) subject line that grabs the reader’s attention. Make sure it’s relevant to them. Customers are more likely to engage if you’re promising something of value, whether it’s information, savings, etc.

Shorter is usually better for your messages, too. Consider peoples’ attention spans; nobody is going to spend 15 minutes reading a massive block of copy, especially on their phones. Your emails and texts will perform better if they’re concise and to the point. Think mobile-friendly: A few paragraphs at most should do the trick.

Most of us receive anywhere from a couple dozen to 400,000 emails per day. And the vast majority are pretty impersonal. The more personal you can make yours–using customer names, vehicle type, and service history–the more likely they’ll get opened. The same goes for text; people tend to be suspicious of messages that look inhuman or spammy.

Typically, your email and text messages will include a Call to Action (CTA). Make sure you’re very clear about what you want people to do next, whether it’s booking an appointment, redeeming an offer, or referring a friend. And use active language that demonstrates the benefits of clicking through: “5 Reasons To Rotate Your Tires Every 5,000 Miles” or “6 Fluids You Should Be Checking Every 6 Months.”

Regularly monitoring the performance of your campaigns will tell you which strategies are effective and which should be modified. Don’t be afraid to experiment with different subject lines, or adjust certain elements of your emails or text messages, also known as A/B testing, to see what your audience likes best. 

Segmenting Audience by Purpose     

Not all customers are created equal, and your emails and text messages shouldn't be, either. Segmenting your audience lets you put the right message in front of the right person at the right time. Here are some examples: 

Inactive Customers: Re-engage customers that haven’t been in for a while with special offers, or reminders that they’re due for service.

New Offerings: Whether your shop now offers emissions testing or recently began stocking tires, campaigns that introduce new products or services are a great way to generate interest.

Encourage Online Booking: Offer exclusive incentives–like discounts or coupons on future service–for customers to make appointments online. 

Reward Loyalty: Recognize repeat customers and reward them with exclusive deals and specials. These can also be some of your strongest advocates, so encourage them to pass along referrals.   

Seasonal Reminders: Send seasonal or timely service reminders like winterizations or tire rotations. You could even tie these campaigns into recurring events like graduation or back to school.

Some More Practical Ideas to Support Direct Marketing

It doesn’t have to stop there. A few more actionable strategies to consider include promoting weekend specials to help fill your bays when most people are off work; offering packaged or canned services that provide added value for customers (and upselling opportunities for your shop); getting into the holiday spirit with themed promotions and deals; and welcoming new customers with introductory offers or discounts that can turn them into regulars.  

Getting Your Shop On Message

Email and text marketing are low-cost, high-impact strategies that can be game changers for your automotive service business. Following best practices, which includes personalizing your approach and targeting your sends, will help you unlock the potential of these powerful tools. Remember, this is an ongoing process. So track your results, and don’t hesitate to adjust tactics when necessary. You’ll be on your way to stronger customer relationships and steady business growth in no time!

And, if you're in the market for a reliable tool to streamline your direct messaging efforts, take a closer look at Shopmonkey’s email and SMS marketing software for auto repair shops. From automated appointment reminders to ready-made promotions to custom emails and text messages, everything you need to elevate your shop’s marketing efforts is included in one easy-to-use solution. Request a free demo today!