Here is the thing. Your customer comes in to pick up their car. You go over the things you’ve done on the vehicle and walk around it. Then you hand over the keys. Your customer made a short comment that the quality of your work is incredible and is excited to drive their vehicle off the lot. But will they leave a review for your shop?

More Reviews Are More Important Than Ever

But your customer disappears until they eventually need your services again. You don’t know if they genuinely liked your service. Maybe they had one thing in mind but didn’t want to say anything.

Or they were disappointed with what you promised vs. what you delivered. Either way, you will never find out unless they show up again as a returning customer.

I interviewed over 80 automotive business owners, mixed between detailing, window tinting, and repair shops. I found that their most significant source of new business comes from word-of-mouth.

When looking at their digital marketing performance, I would strongly agree. Why?

Because their online presence does not provide enough information on whether or not the services provided are good enough for the customer. 

More Reviews For Your Auto Shop

“Why bring my car to a shop nobody reviews or doesn’t show any project results? I rather look for more options.”

Now, how do you get more reviews, aka online referrals?

That is what I will cover today — 5 ways to get your customer feedback.

Before, I want to highlight the importance of FEEDBACK & REVIEWS, whether positive or negative.

????The “Keys’ Moment. When handing over the keys and walking around the vehicle to show your work. Simply ask your customer has one minute to scan a QR Code and leave a review for the service you performed. 

????The Follow-Up Call or Text, you can send a text or call your customer one day after they pick up their vehicle. Say something like: “Hi Mr. Customer, we calling you to make sure everything went well, and on a scale of 1-10, how likely would you recommend us to one of your friends? – Can you submit this in your review by simply clicking on the link?”

????The Follow-Up Email is similar to the point above with the disadvantage of personalizing the experience. However, there is an upside to this; you can attach one photo of your customer’s vehicle. So, they can upload it by clicking on a link that leads them directly to the review page and submit it.

????The Featured Opportunity is a great way to make your customer feel extremely valuable. First, give them a chance to win a tag with the pictures you took before delivery( I hope you take photos like before/after, BTS, and end-result photos.) Then let them submit a review, and notify them when you choose them.

????The Broadcasting Approach is less efficient. And use it with caution. Don’t overuse this because it will result in more unfollows than reviews. Instead, make a post about leaving a review. Create a story behind it, e.g., “We want to expand, and every review counts,” or “We want to create a better experience next time you visit us. Can you leave feedback so we can improve? 

 You also can reward them with a sweepstakes campaign. But, again, DO NOT overuse it!

Your Reviews Are Your Salesforce

If you wonder how to improve your auto business marketing, DM me and schedule a 30-min strategy call to learn how to dominate Social Media and get more customers from it.

You Got More Reviews — Now What?!

After talking to over 80 shop owners, I asked the exact question: “What happens when you get the Reviews? Will you reward them? Are you going to respond? Do you share them on any medium?”

The answer was shocking to me: “Nothing. “Out of the 80 businesses, 63 don’t do anything with their reviews if they’re positive. 

Content Hack For An Auto Repair Shop

Now, here is a content hack that will instantly increase your engagement on social media and the review platforms themselves.

Follow these six steps, and you can be sure to get more engagement and increase your brand authority.

Step 1: Respond to the review. DO NOT just say, “Thank you for the review.” Make it personal. Be delighted that the customer took time out of their life to publicly leave a meaningful comment. i.e., “Thank you, Mr. Customer, we are happy to have you, and we are pleased to see you happy with the SERVICE we provided. We’re excited to see you soon for XYZ.”

Step 2: Take a screenshot. Publish this on Facebook and see if your customer likes & follows your Facebook Page. Tag them and write a meaningful caption to the screenshot. Something like this: “Mrs. Customer came in the other day and got SERVICE done. She was pleased with what she got and spared 5 min to leave a review. We wanted to thank you for taking the time, and we’re happy to see you soon in our shop.”

Step 3: Go to Canva, and use an IG Post Template. Write down the review and add the associated stars to it. Then, download the image ( 1:1 Ratio ) and go to Instagram. Create a Post and upload the template you just created. Use the carousel feature to upload the screenshot.

Bonus Step For Your Reviews Game

If you are slick, you’ve taken a result picture (before/after) of the car, so you can upload this photo in addition to the review.

Then Use the exact text you’ve written on your Facebook post and add this to the caption. 

Step 4: Tag products, manufacturers, and business partners in this post.

Step 5: Publish it!!

Lastly, Step 6: Share posted feed posts on your story, which you can share on both Facebook & Instagram. 

So, you’ve created a post that shows 3 things. First, your work is notable. Your customers value your services as much as you do. And lastly, you publicly appreciate and thank your customer.

This is a guaranteed way to drive more sales to your shop.

Ready to get started?

V Eight Marketing is dedicated to drive more traffic to Automotive Service Providers and convert them into customers.

We as a leading full-stack automotive digital marketing agency. We’re helping automotive businesses focus on closing the deals and make sure their online presence brings in new customers. Our end-to-end solutions help you to save time, increase the revenue, and allows you to have full transparency on what we do.