How to get repeat customers

A

AudiOn19s

New member
I've been detailing on the side for a couple of years in my local community and surrounding communities. I do this as a mobile service. I am by no means a huge business but just trying to do something that I'm passionate about that I can also share with others.



My question is this. My business is very small (50 - 60 clients currently) But I'm not having much luck with getting repeat customers. I take pride in the work that I do and I feel as though I do a very good job and will do whatever it takes time wise to get the job done. I can recall many instances where I've spent 5+ hours on a vehicle to make it presentable and still only asked for ~$100 for my services. Anyhow...MOST of my work comes through referrals which tells me that I'm doing a good enough job to have people referred to me BUT of my customer base only 3 of my customers have turned into repeat customers over these past 2 years. I've sent out fliers to customers advertising of specials and what not but still to no avail.



So anyhow...only 5% of my customer base is repeat customers...what if anything can I do to increase this number?
 
I send out christmas cards for the holiday. I call each customer after 2 months to check in and offer the wash and wax service. And i send out semi-annual reminder cards telling them that it is time for another detail. It is generally a picture of a real nice car on the front (always a different customer car, and they know that theres might be there eventually), and the back is just the standard give us a call thing.
 
Building trust = repeat customers.



1) Start out with a car wash first. Earn their trust with the quaility of work you provide. I started out trying to sell each/every potential client on a full detail. Now I focus on selling a weekly wash, after performing that service a few times I try an upsell.



2) Follow up calling. Make sure your customers are happy with your work. You might not be getting called back because you did a bad job. I know if I have a bad experience, I won't call...just won't go back!



3) Explain to them the benefits of having their vehicle...."fill in the blank!"





There is more, gotta go, I'll chime in later...
 
SouthernZ71...I'll try the callback thing. I started to send clients comment cards with return postage asking for any input and adding that I'll take $15 off of their next service upon return of the comment card. I've recieved many back but still no return customers. The only real criticism that I have recieved was from a customer that just wanted a cheap one-step detail (which I do for $60 mind you) and they were upset becuase they thought that it would include shampooing the carpets rather than merely vacuuming the interior.



On the flip side I recieved some very positive comments as well...but still no return business.



What percentage of your customer base should you consider will be regular clients?



I'm thinking that the other thing that is hurting me here is that this is not a full time business for me. I don't have a big commercial truck or Van that I show up with. Sometimes I think that the mindset of the people in my community (very upscale place) is that they don't trust me showing up in a personal vehicle to detail their cars as opposed to paying nearly twice as much for the same quality work.
 
I'm not a professional detailer, but I'm curious as to the type of customers you have. What type of cars are they driving? Mercedes, Lexus, BMW, Porsche or Toyota, Honda, Ford, etc. ? Are these people truly image conscious? Are their cars being detailed by someone else after you do it? What type of condition are the cars in before you detail them? How often do your customers wash their cars? Where are they washing them? Who is washing them (ie. the customer, a family member, a drive thru place)? You mentioned you live in a very upscale place, but I'm curious as to exactly how much money your customers have. It may not be that they don't like you product. It may just be that they only see it as an every 2 year event due to finances or their level of image consciousness is rather low compared to "repeat customers."
 
You might be onto something further there. When passing out fliers in local neighborhoods I got the least response from the nicest neighborhoods. I don't even bother with the neighborhods where you cannot purchase a house under 1 million anymore becasue I've found that it's simply a waste of my time. I tried and tried on these neighborhoods thinking that the people with the most expendable income would be my most likely clients BUT have found otherwise...maybe their butler does this for them already...or they simply don't care and they take it through the complimentary drive through car-wash at the local dealer?



The majority of my customers that I have "recruited" have either:



a) niceer cars that are decently maintained such as BMW's, Lexus, Mercedes, audi, ect(not exotics).....OR

b) minivans that have been run into the garage 3 times and they want the white paint removed from the side of it.



All of the exotic business that I get is from a local shop that sources me for their detail work rather than having a full time detail guy. Works out for me and for them BUT I never get much personal interation with the client because of the "middle man".
 
From what it seems to me, its not the income level of the customer or the brand name, but more so of their attitude towards cars. Perfect example is where I live. The median house price around here is 500k. Surely I should have a lot of customers if my service is good right? Nope. I actually commute to another area (also expensive) for my jobs because its a more metropolitan vibe.



A lot of customers want their vehicle detailed for sale. Other customers want their vehicle detailed to 'restore' it. Meaning the vehicle can be ignored for a long time and that by detailing it, its just like replacing the clutch (ie you are good to go for another 100k). Repeat business essentially means that the customer realizes how great a clean vehicle looks and that it is something that requires regular maintenance like oil/fluids/etc. I'm probably presuming too much, but I think that is a very tiny minority of the general population.
 
I'd have to agree with the income level comment. I know plenty of people with "money" :rolleyes: that never seem to take good care of anything. God bless my parents for teaching me to value what I buy and keep it in "like new" condition.



To further what ncal said, I agree that a small minority of the population truly wants a clean vehicle every week, let alone every day. Yet, the customer base is even smaller than that because we have to remember that a percentage of the population who enjoys a clean car every week generally takes pride in their vehicle and may take pride in doing it themselves. So now we are looking at repeat customers that: have a nicer car, enjoy looking good in it, realize that to look good it should be cleaned and detailed regularly, and do not want to do it themselves or do not have time to do it themselves. Those people are hard to find, but I believe ScottWax and others on here have found customers just like that. I'd PM Scott or get him in on this discussion to find out how many of his customers are repeat customers.
 
Back again!



Some good things have been added and I'll touch on my personal experience with getting, repeat, clients.



1) this is a very personal industry. There are too many "fly by night" companies that have burned people in the past. I went door to door with roughly 3k flyers and didn't get any major biz. I feel the reason being, I was just another flyer... Getting personal is easy. Make up a professional card that is simple to understand. Don't get into offering % OFF, free this...you will paint yourself in a corner. Have these cards on you at all times. When you see someone with a dirty vehicle (doesn't have to be an expensive car) go hand them your card and say "I noticed your vehicle is dirty and I just opened a new biz., I would love to come clean your vehicle, my contact info. is right here" and leave it alone...unless they inquire futher. With this method I've had a pretty good call back and a good % of repeat biz.



2) Make sure to go above and beyond their expectations. My biz is very young and I do anything and everything to make their experience with me a positive one. Case in point, yesterday, I was detailing a vehicle at a biz complex off a referal from his co-worker. I did the original guys vehicle last Fri. and it needed a little cleaning so I pulled out the poorboy's spray & wash and went over it. Both people came out to inspect the fresh detail and the original guy asked if I did anything to his cause it looked good! He ended up booking me to do his wifes car. Took me 20 mins. a couple bucks, but the return is worth it.



IMO there it is... trust+getting personal+referal = longevity/repeat biz. (Obviously price place a part, but you have to get through the above before that comes into play)



Of course all this goes out the window when you are an anomaly like ScottWax and people just flock to you....:xyxthumbs
 
75 to 80% of my business is repeat with the other 20% being referal. It's all about giving your custromer what they can't get somewhere else. We offer free pickup and delivery, free loaner vehicles, and a much better detail than they can get elsewhere. My warranty is the best in the industry. Integrity, passion and commitment to excellence are just a few things that will set you apart. My main competition is a multi-million dollar car wash/ detailer. They have all the money, but we have the business. The just don't cater to the customer the way we do.
 
Auto Care USA - out of curiosity, what type of loaner vehicles do you offer? I was thinking how useful that would be, but if you have a nice detail on a Lexus or BMW, I can see how the owner might not want a loaner Geo or something like that, lol.
 
Honestly, I am not sure how I ended up with a very loyal customer base other than always treating my customer's cars like they were my own. I don't offer specials or coupons or any other discounts to get repeat business. I did in the begining by handing out a 'care' sheet (telling customers how to best care for their freshly detailed car) with a $5 off coupon for a wash/wax and $10 for a detail. I didn't get many back. :nixweiss



I got a high end client early on and I think that neighbors driving by and seeing me cleaning his Rolls Royce Silver Spur and lowered Mercedes 560SEL nearly every week made them confident that I could also handle their cars. Things just kind of took off from there. Sometimes that is all it takes to really get into a neighborhood. I have several customers in another neighborhood and it was the same deal. People would drive by and see me every single week cleaning these people's cars (at the time, a Land Rover and S600) and they would stop and ask for my card.



It also helps that the Dallas area is very car conscious.
 
My method in our shop...



Befriend them and be sincere to them. I'm a relatively friendly person and almost always smile when meeting people. Chat with customers a lot and really get to know them (by letting them talk).



Works like a charm, they'll pass by just to have a chat, and of course, they'll usually tell my guys to clean their cars or wax them whatever while we're chatting and having drinks...



When I passed on my daily duties to my partner to re-enter the workforce last may, I was so surprised with the number of messages I receive asking me where I went... And in days where I do work in our detail shop, customers who just happen to pass by and seeing my car parked outside drop by just to say hi and catch up.



Got so many new friends since opening our shop... When you upgrade customers to friends, you won't need repeat customers as much.



When they refer your business, they won't say "I know this really good shop that does detailing..."



... they'll often say "A friend of mine has a good detailing shop..." Referals gain more confidence if a friend refers them to another friend...



Kinda like Friendster hehehe.
 
Thanks for the responses guys....I'm going to try to make an effort to be more personal with potential clients in order to build that base of repeat customers
 
I'd give your current clients a bunch of business cards...or brocures if you have them.....and let your good work and current customers spread the word!
 
I think theveed has a good point. I'm much more likely to go back to any business, if I like the owner/staff.



Have you tried sending a handwritten thank you card to clients? Or, especially, to clients for a referral? If you want, I can post some suggestions of what to say in a thank you letter.



Upscale neighbourhood? Hmmm.... maybe you aren't charging enough?
 
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