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Debbie Block
Coastal Imports |
What type of shop do you have?
We have a general repair shop that's 99% imports and 1% domestic. The shop has nine bays and nine employees.
Before doing the Advanced Marketing Program, what kind of promotion or advertising were you doing?
Not much. We'd place ads in playbills and programs for operas and symphonies. We did "thank you" notes occasionally. We also sponsor "Car Talk", the NPR radio show. The show is fairly effective actually, because we have customers tell us they heard about us on the show. But we never tracked the results of anything we did before the program.
What was the biggest problem you faced in terms of getting new customers into your shop?
Well, we were less concerned about getting new customers in and more concerned about getting them to stay loyal with us once they came. There was a lot of word of mouth out there about us. But I never tracked the referrals either.
What changes did you make in your marketing after doing the Advanced Marketing Program?
We became more public-relations oriented. We take the time to get in touch with our customers on a more personal level. Customers really do appreciate the personal touches we have added. We learned how to take customer service to a new level and provide our customers with more than they expect.
When I started sending out service reminder cards, we saw a 17% increase in sales. People respond when they see that you care about them and genuinely appreciate their business.
What stands out in your mind as the best thing you learned on the Advanced Marketing Program?
Surveys, surveys, surveys! I've finally learned what my existing and potential customers really want. We found we were doing things that were very important to them, but we didn't realize just how important these things were until we surveyed.
With this information we have been able to really deliver. We can continue doing what makes us best in our customers' eyes. It just keeps them coming back to us.
What advice would you give other shop owners considering doing this program? 
I highly recommend this workshop. I have gotten more useful information from this program than from any college marketing course or seminar. If you want to consistently increase your sales each month, you have to go to this workshop and apply the fundamentals you learn when you get back to your shop. There is no way you can fail with this training under your belt. It will make you excited about getting back to work and getting started with your next marketing campaign.
Is there anything else you'd like to add?
Yes. After attending all of the other Management Success workshops, the only "black hole" we had left to handle was marketing. It was more of a black eye, really! I always felt we should be reaching out to our customers more and showing our appreciation, and I learned exactly what to say and do to accomplish that.
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