if you build it, will they come?

T

tssdetailing

New member
There are a lot of new developments in my area, most of them are retail/restaurant zoned. How does one go about procuring a shop? and as the title states, will a shop bring customers just because it exists or would there need to be significant advertising done? Does being in/around new developments equal customers or would something cheaper and off the beaten path be better from a risk perspective? Ultimately what does it take to but/rent a place
 
You'd have to be right on a main road with heavy traffic if you want to get customers without doing significant advertising.... and even then you really need to promote it if you want to bring in clients at first. Once you have an established reputation in the area you might be able to back off a bit on the types of advertising you do, but even then you can't just sit there and expect people to come in droves.



Think of it this way: you probably could get a few people without any advertising (outside of the sign on the building) but will you be able to cover your overhead with a low volume?
 
My first shop was on the busiest road in my city of 130,000 people. I got very few customers from drive by traffic. My new shop is off the beaten path a little bit, but still has good frontage and is in and automotive area (dealerships, several mechanic shops, etc). From what I can tell I get more business from the surrounding businesses than I ever got from drive by traffic.
 
"Somebody has to beat the drum!"

Think about it, you in a mall, you are at a local festival for whatever, something gets your attention, some noise, something gains your attention, and so you go take a look, right?

Beating that drum can be accomplished in many ways, many manners, some may come by the advertising, some by the signage, some by the word of mouth, some by the location, it may be traffic count (and along that subject), sometimes, like gas stations/convience stores know, which side of the street does the traffic go by and is it going to work or coming home?

Then, it's also a matter of "income demographic's", do those who drive by have the expendable income to pay for a detail, are they of what age group that is going to move into the area, are they buying or renting, when possible,take a little time and drive about, looking, are there a lot of mini-vans, regular sedans, high dollar European vehicles in the driveways, check out if most are leases or purchases,etc.

Sorry, as you can tell, I don't have a easy answer, but I hope I opened up some things to think about and consider in your quest.

Grumpy
 
I personally like commercial/business districts better. Having been in a high traffic area 80% were window shopping out of convenience.



Yes here I do have to work to market but I can interview on the phone before wasting time in the shop. At least when they walk in the door we have already discussed the basics.



Another thing space is about half of the cost (at least around here). I'd rather have double the space and have to market a little more. I don't even advertise my address. I just made sure I'm centrally located to most larger cities. Serious people will call with effective marketing in place.



Plus if you are working on certain vehicles and publicly posting them do you really want people just coming by to look at cars?
 
Location is very important when you're doing retail work, but it's gonna cost you an arm and a leg typically. Regardless, you really need to have a solid business plan in place BEFORE opening up any kind of business to make sure the area you are planning on locating to can support your effort.
 
When I had my shop I was in the back of a building with a couple dealers. I got business from them almost automatically just because I was there, but I had no driveby traffic and wasn't allowed to put a sign out front so I had to advertise and eventually got some good word of mouth going, but when the never loyal dealers switched to someone cheaper, I chose to close the shop because the location was no good for getting new retail work without spending $ advertising. I was getting word of mouth business but not enough to live on only that. The shop had cheap rent but it didn't make up for not being in a better location. If I ever open another shop, it will definitely be in a much more prime location, the extra expense, IMO is worth it, to a point anyway. One problem I had was someone sees my ad somewhere, comes looking for me and has a hard time finding me being in the back of the building, so you need to make yourself visible and never assume a landlord is going to let you put up a sign just because you are paying rent, lots of dirtbags out there.
 
Ron Ketcham said:
And lots and lots of city laws regarding signage as well.

Grumpy
Click to expand...



True, but that wasn't the problem with me not getting one though. It was more "you're just a small shop space so I don't feel like putting up another post for a sign for you".
 
So I built it....and they came!

Shop1.jpg




 
Thank you David! It's been thrilling. We committed to a lease on March 15 and by April 1 i was booked two weeks out. The coolest part about the studio space is that customers are more willing to leave cars (particularly "enthusiast cars") for extended periods of time if they have other vehicles to drive. This gives me time to work on them a little at a time when I have to flip other cars faster (be they valeted, or morning drop-offs).
 
That's great news. I really wish you the very best of luck with this! Please keep us posted and feel free to advertise your business here anyway you'd like.
 
I guess I'm just the opposite... I have been detailing at my home for years - until code enforcement cracked down on my runoff. Their prerogative. Rules are rules. Anyhow, an opportunity presented itself that allowed me to move into the back of a building used by a commercial cleaning company. It is in an industrial area surrounded by used car shacks in Warren Michigan. Not sure of the square footage, but I can easily fit three cars. It has a bay door and is heated & cooled. I was lucky enough to take almost all of my existing customers with me. However, without any advertising and no sign out front, I have had a steady influx of new customers. I'm sure from referrals as the new building offers me more of a professional image as opposed to working under an EZ-Up canopy in my driveway.



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