I have been running Showroom Mobile Automotive Detailing for 3 years now and thought it might be good to share what I have learned.
16. Find a way to relate to your customer, People will like you more if there is something similar between you.
1.Good customer service is usually more important than the detail itself. Customers value the intangibles like service quality and respect.
2. Make sure to follow up with all of your customers. Customers feel appreciated when you call to check in after the detail.
3. Word of mouth will open more doors than any other form of advertising. Give out more than one business card to every customer so that they can recommend you.
4. Be friends with your suppliers, they will help you out with costs and new products as well as demo equipment to try out.
5. Make a professional website and be sure to list everything about your business. Intuit websites makes a great tool for building your own for 20 a month.
6. Make sure your customers can find you! Websites like yelp,manta,city search,local,merchant circle, yahoo and google offer free business pages which will help when customers are searching for detailing in your area.
7. Adwords are a cheap way to be on top of google when other SEO tactics are not working.
8. Have a diverse set of chemicals. There is no product that does everything and from what I have found most chemicals have multiple uses.
9. Take time, most customers are willing to give you all the time you need to make their car perfect.
10. You cannot please everyone, no matter what eventually you will have a dissatisfied customer don't take it to heart, do everything you can to please them but don't dwell on it.
11. Put your logo on everything you own. Vistaprint.com offers affordable marketing products
12. Never stop improving your process. Look for new and innovative ways to detail(products,services,ect) HID kits, windshield repair, Paintless dent repair, paint protection film and interior repair are some add on services that are options.
13. Steam is awesome, get a steam cleaner it saves on chemicals 10 fold and you only use hot water.
14. Rv's can be a huge help to your business and Meguiars makes a killer RV line of products.
15. Talk to everyone about your business. Most everyone has a vehicle that can be cleaned(well most everyone) and just about everyone will take your card if you supply it.
17. Find another detailer you can rely on, If you are mobile most likely you will not be able to take care of everyone especially during the summer(I’m usually booked 3 wks in advanced) I have found another mobile detailer in town who has comparable services to mine so that when I’m overbooked I can send business to him and when he is overbooked he sends business to me.
18. Up sell on services show that a service is needed. IE clay bar on paint or scotchgard to minimize stains, customers will usually understand especially if you can demo the product for them and show a difference.
19. Determine where you want to be in the market. What I mean by this is either be low cost or differentiate your services do not be stuck in the middle. My strategy being mobile is to keep prices low and work on volume since my overhead is low. I also offer one premium package that customers also like so that I still get the high end clientele.
20.My final tip is to take a day off, detailing will not be fun if you do not give some time for yourself.
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