Repair Shop Websites has been building and managing websites for automotive repair shops for 13 years. The company recently reached out to auto repair shop owners from across the United States this past spring to survey them on their marketing investments, and their happiness with those investments. Two hundred and eighteen shop owners completed the survey.
The resulting 2018 National Independent Auto Repair Shop Marketing Survey has been released in the form of an infographic, which can be seen here. Below are five key points found in the data:
- Nearly half (48 percent) of shop owners said that online search (which includes website, review platforms and online marketing) provides them the best return on investment when it comes to attracting new customers, putting it in first place by a wide margin.
- When it comes to bringing back existing customers, 24 percent of the shop owners chose customer programs (including loyalty programs and referral programs) as their best return on investment. Online Search was second with 22 percent.
- When asked about their satisfaction with their marketing investments, 60 percent of all shop owners said they were happy with the ROI of their online search investment. The next highest category was community (including sponsorships, events and giving back) at 54 percent. Traditional Media (including TV, radio, newspaper, yellow pages and billboards) was the lowest category at 26 percent, although nearly half of the group said they don’t use traditional media.
- Of the seven categories included, shop owners spent the most marketing dollars on online search, with emails or social media posting being the next biggest expense.
- When asked “Which of the following factors do you emphasize most in your marketing?” the most popular answer was work quality, with customer service close behind. Price ranked fifth out of seven.
Repair Shop Websites says it plans to conduct surveys twice a year on various trends in the independent auto repair shop industry. The next survey is scheduled to launch in the first quarter of 2019.
