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Category : Glass Repair Marketing

Win Over National Chains for Windshield Repair

If you’re like others, you’re windshield repair business is up against national chains more often. They tout their expertise, convenience (some offer mobile service) and their strong warranty program. You too can tout this plus you have an additional edge—you’re local. To combat their onslaught, you must put your marketing hat on and think more competitively. Here are a few suggestions:

• Local is better: Explain to customers that the national windshield repair chains don’t always deliver the consistent value or service promoted on their websites. Going with a proven, local firm is a better choice because they get to deal with a real person, not a corporation, and have fewer hassles.
• Qualifications: Highlight the fact that not all windshield repair technicians are created equal. Emphasize your talent, skills and certification, which all ensure the best result—and better safety for them and their passengers.
• Quality products: Communicate that you use high-quality GlasWeld windshield repair kit products, which saves time and money. The products are considered the industry’s best and the resins meet the highest standards.
• Convenience: Most customers avoid getting their windshield repaired right away because they have to find the time around a very busy work and family schedule. Take the pressure off them by promoting how you can make their service experience more convenient. Are you open on the weekends? Can you do repair in less than an hour? Are you mobile? Can you arrange to drive them back to work or home if they can’t wait? Can you do it onsite at their work if weather is permitting?
• Encourage feedback: Ask customers to leave positive comments on your Facebook page. Ask them to fill out an online customer survey then show summary of positive feedback on your website.

Every windshield repair business needs an edge in a competitive market. Know yours…then promote it.

Make sure you’re on GlasWeld’s “Find a Tech” page or do local search marketing per recent blog.

A Solid Return on Investment (ROI) is One Benefit of Gforce

GlasWeld’s Gforce glass scratch removal products are a wise investment as noted below by our customers. It has proven to save companies’ lots of money and deliver an excellent ROI. Another reason why many customers choose Gforce for removing scratches from glass is because of its modular design that grows with their needs.

For instance, when purchasing our basic glass scratch removal system, customers can choose the abrading products that best fit their current needs and upgrade to more deep scratch remover products when needed. Even our Gforce Essentials Kit has been designed to easily upgrade to a Water Feed System when higher end polishing results are required.

Satisfied Scratch Removal Customers 

“I am delighted to report that most of my investment in the scratch removal system purchased from GlasWeld was recuperated in the first week and a half. As a businessman, I can tell you that is virtually unheard of with any business investment.” - Brent Taylor, President —Autoglass Plus

“GlasWeld has allowed us to save significant amount of glass that in the past we would have thrown out. Annually, they save us a minimum of $30,000 in this regard.”
- Ed Perry—American Shower Door

So join the ranks of satisfied customers and purchase a Gforce system today.

Local Searches: Stake Your Claim

Thanks to Google changing their algorithms, local searches have taken off. You and your colleagues may have noticed that more local listings are coming up for every search—which is ideal for small glass repair businesses like yours.

So, if you haven’t staked your online claim yet, now is a good time.

Just follow the three steps below:

1. Ensure that your physical location is listed on your website (in HTML not a graphic). Even if you are a mobile business, it is critical that you show a location in order to be found in appropriate small business local searches.
2. Create a Google Places listing and make it as complete as possible with content about your services, contact information, web address, hours of operation, photos and video. Eye-tracking studies on Google’s SERP (search engine results page) show that users heavily gravitate toward any Places’ listings, whether they are mixed into organic listings or concentrated in a grouping in the middle of a page.
3. Build a presence in the main social media outlets for your business, i.e., Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn and Google+. Retweets on Twitter, Likes on Facebook, blogging and other social sharing can heavily influence search rankings today and search results are becoming more personalized.

Other Helpful Hints

• Check your current online business presence and determine what might be lacking by going to GetListed.org.  The site will give you a check list of the key sites that you should claim while establishing your online presence.
• Encourage your customers to recommend your services on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Yelp, which will boost your search engine optimization (SEO) efforts further. Besides SEO value, having a presence in the social media outlets can help your lead generation activities as well. Studies reveal that more than 57% of companies have acquired a new customer through LinkedIn.
• As you create content for each listing, make sure it is written with your customers in mind, not robots. Think about what terms (keywords) they will use when conducting local searches and make sure to include those keywords in the listing.
• Another way to draft the right content for your listings is to think about the questions your customers might ask when looking for your service and create content that answers these questions.

Remember, people search—robots help them find the resources they need. Go ahead and stake your claim, so you don’t miss out on local searches that can bring in more customers. Good luck.

Marketing Your Glass Repair Business in a Down Economy

Tough economic periods are precisely the time when marketing plays a key role in the success of your business. Marketing is an ongoing conversation with your customers. If you cut it short, they will forget what you were saying. When you stop marketing your glass repair business, you lose touch. You stop understanding what is important to your customer base…and they will forget about you and the services you offer.

We all know that budgets are tight and times are tough for all businesses these days. So, what do you do in this tough economic climate? Let’s start with how you are currently marketing your business. Are you advertising? Is your message consistent? Do you have frequency with your audience? Are you leveraging relationships with your existing customers? If not, now is the time that you should be investing in marketing more than ever. Marketing should be viewed as an asset to your business not an expense. Many believe that customer service and marketing is more important in a recession than at any other time.

Marketing messages are processed by consumers based on frequency and reinforcement of the message. If you are not marketing your business, you are losing momentum with your audience. Our short-term memory activates long-term memory based on how frequent, how recent, and how well you elaborate your brand message. If you are not constantly building and reinforcing your brand with customers you will quickly become out of sight and out of mind.

This is very important to remember, considering that acquiring new customers can cost 5 times more than satisfying and retaining your current customers. Investing in retaining customers has the same effect on profitability as cutting your costs, and in the long run, will solidify your position and recognition in your marketplace.

If your competitors are slashing their budgets, you can gain an edge simply by maintaining spending, or minimizing your cutbacks. The key to success during a downturn is to keep your wits about you and focus on four things: your competition, your brand, your customers, and your communication. Take charge rather than calling a retreat. Now is the time to take the hill and charge forward with a plan to communicate with your audience on a consistent basis.

In the words of American Express CEO Ken Chenault, “In tough times your instinct is to hold back, but your competitors are going to be distracted. That’s the time to be aggressive and on the balls of your feet! …invest in your own success while others are afraid and burying their heads. As a result, your public relations program will stand out among your competitors … and give your organization a clear competitive advantage with sales, reputation growth and brand management.”

Another thing to keep in mind is that everyone in your company and every point of contact you have with your customers – from your voice mail message or receptionist to your website – says something about your business. Building your reputation and brand isn’t solely the job of public relations or marketing folks. It’s a company-wide effort, top to bottom.

Embrace new ways to connect with your audience and reinforce your brand with social media (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Blogs, etc.). This just gives you one more avenue to be visible and connect with your customers. However, keep in mind that social media does not replace good old fashioned advertising. It is a great public relations tool to help you connect with your customers and other audiences, but is to be used in addition to traditional marketing efforts.

Be visible. Get yourself and your company on the agenda for an upcoming panel discussion on windshield repair or glass scratch removal conducted by your local chamber of commerce, Rotary, or industry group. Get involved. Keep reminding yourself of the old saying, “Out of sight, out of mind,” to inspire you to stay visible. Believe in what you have to offer and present yourself as an expert in your field. Become a resource for your local media and associations on the importance of glass repair emphasizing the environmental benefits, economic benefits, safety benefits, etc.

Proactively marketing your glass repair business in a down economy will help you stay ahead of your competition and stay actively in the minds of your customers. Now enough of the pep talk troops…get out there, keep your head up, market yourself and see an increase your glass repair business!