One of the most important and unfortunately most often overlooked aspects of business management is marketing. In the formulation of a marketing mix – this component is referred to as Promotion or Communication. The effectiveness of marketing messages employed can make the difference between success and failure. Advertising must be directed to the target market and focused on the desired objective. Marketing to a broad audience without a clear objective can lead to diluted and weak campaigns. As important as diligence in building campaigns is managing and evaluating them. Making the best of available resources is critical. Following are keys to formulating an effective promotion component of a marketing mix:
He who has something to sell and goes and whispers in a well is not as likely to get the dollars as he who climbs a tree and hollers … Unknown author
- Use Effective Marketing Messages – Regardless of venue or target market effective marketing messages can make all the difference when it comes to attracting and retaining customers. Using the AIDA formula has produced some of the best marketing slogans in history.
- Employ Customer Acquisition Campaigns – A portion of marketing resources should be directed toward acquiring new customers. Every company depends on a certain level of new business to be successful.
- Retain Existing Customers – Customer retention must be given the necessary attention in automotive repair. Your customers are your competitor’s prospects and you must work to keep them.
- Utilize the Best Communication for Consumer vs. Business to Business Customers – Marketing to end consumers is quite different than marketing to businesses. Although there is some commonality – using the same marketing programs for both audiences can result in diluted messages.
- Manage your Marketing Programs – At any given time an auto repair shop will employee more than one advertising campaign. It’s important to be able to evaluate the impact of the different campaigns and determine their effectiveness.
- Measure the Return on Advertising Investment Dollars – It’s essential to be able to measure the effectiveness of marketing campaigns. This requires the ability to identify what brought business to you, the value of the business earned and the cost of earning the business. These factors should be established at the start of any campaign.
