9 Sales Promotion Ideas for Your Car Repair or Detailing Business

Auto repair and detailing shops have a lot of competition these days. Fortunately, you also have a lot of options for sales outreach and promoting and marketing your business that you may not have had in the past. Promotions are the key to growth. You can’t just expect new customers to show up and business to grow without putting in the work. Fortunately, it doesn’t actually have to involve that much “work” at all—here’s some inspiration to get you started. 

1. Run a contest or drawing 

People love winning things. If you’re trying to promote business and get new clients, consider holding some type of drawing or contest. It can be a simple “sign up to win” contest, or you could get creative. For example, if you’re a body repair and detailing shop, you could do an “ugliest car” contest and award the winner with a discount on your services or a free service entirely. This builds brand awareness, generates leads, and shows people you appreciate them. 

2. Offer discounts on services or BOGO deals, etc. 

You know as well as your customers do that car repairs are costly. However, you also know that they don’t have to break the bank. While the other guys are gouging on labor and losing customers left and right, consider offering discounted labor for big jobs, free inspections with repairs, and so forth. If you sell parts and accessories, you could even run specials there. A lot of tire shops have BOGO specials on tires, for example, to help customers get better deals on a full replacement instead of just buying one or two tires. 

3. Email marketing 

Are you using email marketing? If you aren’t, it’s time to get on board. Here, you can promote in several different ways. First, you can offer a discount or incentive for people joining your email list in the first place. Then, you can use the actual emails to promote special offers, highlight services, and so forth. It gives you a chance to generate leads and to connect with audiences on a whole new level. 

4. Partner with insurance companies and brokers

This is a creative way to increase your business when you are in auto repair and detailing. Vehicle accidents happen every single day, all over the country. You’re not trying to capitalize on anyone’s misfortune here—you’re genuinely connecting with people that could need your services. And when people are dealing with the aftermath of an accident, referrals are always helpful, and often even sought after. See if you can partner with local companies and offer to refer people to them when they need insurance to give them something in return. 

5. Offer referral incentives

Word-of-mouth marketing is still one of the best and most valuable marketing tools that people have today. If you don’t already have a referral program in place, you should create one. Your clients will love being rewarded for telling their friends and family about your business. Not only that, but you can also offer something for the person being referred. Then, everyone wins, and you’ll guarantee that your referral programs work. It doesn’t have to be a huge discount or incentive—people like anything that is free or seems like a deal. 

6. Direct mail coupons 

Direct mail is still one of the most valuable marketing tools that a business has. Especially now that people are getting less mail than ever before, you can stand out if you do it right. Direct mail coupons and flyers can help your repair or detailing business generate more customers. You can even win back old clients by sending these flyers to them as a way to ask for another chance. Include coupons or special offers on the mailer that will entice people, and make sure that there’s a variety of options to cover all the services that you provide. 

7. Social media promotions

Social media isn’t a “set it and forget it” thing. It’s an interactive, engaging task that requires a lot of your attention. You need to communicate with your audience. Promote your business. Share valuable information. Consider starting a hashtag campaign or giving a discount for anyone who shares your latest YouTube video about detailing leather interiors, for some examples. You need to actively promote your business through all the relevant social media platforms and when you do it with an incentive for the audience, it’s going to be an instant success. 

8. Start a YouTube channel 

YouTube is a popular promotional tool, but it’s often overlooked by small businesses and solo-owner shops because it seems too time-consuming. The fact is that if you take a few hours a week to set up and create content for your YouTube channel, you’ll be able to draw in a different type of audience. You can show videos of your shop, your staff, and even the work that you do. Just make sure that it’s relevant and engaging. You could even offer discounts for those who mention your channel. 

9. Partner with Smith.ai for outreach promotional assistance, and more

Once you start implementing the new promotions, you’re going to see an influx of new leads and clients. You need to be prepared ahead of time with systems in place to meet this new demand, including a 24/7 answering service that can ensure you never miss a single call. When you partner with Smith.ai, you’ll get a team of dedicated virtual receptionists to handle incoming calls at all hours of the day and night, along with support for lead intake, appointment scheduling, and so much more. 

We can even take the reins from the start if you don’t have the resources, thanks to our teams that can provide solutions for outbound sales and manage your outreach campaigns. There’s so much that we can do to help you grow your business and we’ll tailor the perfect solution for your shop, no matter what that might be. 

Schedule a consultation to learn more about what the virtual receptionists at Smith.ai can do for your promotions, communications, and more. You’ll also reach us at hello@smith.ai or (650) 727-6484.