Neglected auto care almost always means much higher costs down the road in the form of more extensive repairs or lost vehicle resale value. You know that all too well, but your customers don’t necessarily buy into that concept.
That’s where educating your customers about how much money they can save with proper vehicle maintenance, and how it will keep their vehicle in safe, top-running condition, comes into play. That will help get them in the mindset of taking a proactive role in regularly maintaining their vehicle.
Consider holding a car care event, with help from the Car Care Council. The CCC’s Industry Toolbox (www.carcare.org/industry-tool-box) offers promotional tools and information designed to educate customers and help shops take advantage of opportunities created by National Car Care Month (in April and October), and all year long.
Check out this car care event flyer from my local Nissan dealer that I recently got in the mail. A free “100-point” inspection sounds too good to pass up. It’s likely there are a lot of similar promotions being pushed out to the market, so you need to tell your customers that your shop is the place to go for routine maintenance, not just when their vehicle is exhibiting a problem. Or else, you risk that the wide net cast by others will catch them first.
