The key to repeat business

[audipower]

Share the knowledge!



I do everything to be "personel" with my customers. Treat them like a friend. Do extra stuff for them like Scott said. I always say to tell them, "Oh, I went ahead and shampo the carpets". They will brag about getting something to there friends for free. People love free.

Also, If they have a car show, go to it! To show you have there support to win.

Never speak negative. Customers hate complainers, negative people.

[imported_mirrorfinishman]

12 - Always offer your customers FREE promotional items (with your company name and contact information) such as; custom pens, air fresheners, state road maps, magnetic business cards, calendars, etc.

[kompressornsc]

:up



(Since I happen to be in the Promotional Marketing Product Business).:D



*And if anyone wants, I can do a post about getting the most for your money when buying promotional products-from an insider`s view

[stilez]

Excellent post Scott :up



Very useful tools for those getting started or looking to expand their client base.



Also, excellent added points from other members.



kompressornsc: I think we all would be interested :D

[Scottwax]

Originally posted by newagain

Those customer [YES] Because they respect your work and extra EFFORT. But you what I`m talking about Scott.



I just donated A free Complete Detail to one of my customer Charity went for $525.00 that I will do for free. They are GREAT customers and I understand what you are stating Thanks



Actually, I didn`t know what you were talking about because you didn`t include any qualifiers like long term customers.



I agree, when you first start detailing for someone, just concentrate on doing a great detail.

[imported_mirrorfinishman]

13 - Always reward your customers with price discount incentives that they can use towards their next detailing, when they send you new customer referrals.

[boywonder]

Nice thread, guys. keep it up.

[SilverLexus]

I have to say that I am impressed by the commentary here.



I think all of these points have an underlying theme....customer service is so bad is so many ways (and other areas outside of car care) that when you deliver good service people will definitely remember you as a "go to" person.

[boywonder]

I`ll ask if this thread can be stickied in here because it`s the cornerstone of any successful detailing business.

[Scottwax]

Originally posted by mirrorfinishman

13 - Always reward your customers with price discount incentives that they can use towards their next detailing, when they send you new customer referrals.



I`ve found that just doing a little extra for them works better than a discount. Of course, that probably has a lot to do with the fact that much of my clientel is very high end and saving $5-10 really doesn`t mean much to them. In a more middle income market, discounts would probably work very well.



I guess we all need to fine tune the basics based on who our customers are. :)

[imported_mirrorfinishman]

Scott, I hear ya.



Even though I offer a Twenty Dollars Off referral reward to all of my customers who send me new clients, sometimes many of them just hand it back to me the next time they get their car detailed. It`s easy to see that they just like the idea of telling there friends and family about my services and they are really not interested in the discount.



However, I have some customers who always seem to be sending me new customers and many of them really do appreciate the $20 Off discount for each referral.

[imported_ajbarnes]

Great thread. Very good advice and ideas! I utilize several of the mentioned great customer service methods and it does work. A few of my most popular methods are doing a little extra for my regular customers, free gifts, free additional services (carpet mats shampoo with a Wash N` Wax, etc.), and referral discounts.

[tpgsr]

Originally posted by ajbarnes

Great thread. Very good advice and ideas! I utilize several of the mentioned great customer service methods and it does work. A few of my most popular methods are doing a little extra for my regular customers, free gifts, free additional services (carpet mats shampoo with a Wash N` Wax, etc.), and referral discounts.



Exactly





I will post up my refferal cards later so that you guys may take advantage of the design time i put in to them

[tpgsr]

OK, here are the cards i use for refferals, PM or e-mail me if you want the original Photoshop files



what i do is tell the customer to write their name on the card and give it to a friend. when the friend gets it, they get a small discount, and i send the customer a nice thank-you note with the $20 Cift certificate that they get as a refferal bonus. Most of my customers love the idea, even the richest of them. One of them said he loves it because of the age old quote "the rich dont get rich by spending their money" I laughed since he has more expensive cars than he could ever "need"



anyhow here is what i use for a business card and a refferal card all in one:



Front:

http://ubrf.ddetail.com/1f.gif



Back:

http://ubrf.ddetail.com/1b.gif

[imported_mirrorfinishman]

Originally posted by Scottwax

6. Every once in a while, do something extra for your regulars. Not something that takes an hour to do but maybe clean the floor mats or apply a spray wax after a stretch of rainy weather. Just a little something extra occasionally as a thank-you for their continuing business.







I got this email from a new customer as a reply for sending him pictures of his freshly detailed Infiniti G35.



As a little something extra, I always take along my digital camera on detailing jobs so I can take pictures after the vehicle gets detailed. Below the email are a few of the photos I sent him.

---------------------------------------------------------------------



From: "John K" <johnjk@...com>

Date: 2004/12/04 Sat PM 08:27:03 EST

To: "`Frank Canna`" <canna@verizon.net>

Subject: RE: G35 Detailing Photos



Frank,



Thanks very much, the car looks great! Please let me know if you need an endorsement or testimonial, and feel free to use the photos for promotional purposes on the web or whatever.



John K.

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http://autopia.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=10391&papass=&sort=1



http://autopia.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=10390&papass=&sort=1