ADetailedFinish said:
ok sounds good.. I'm still in the process of building up the business.. I've had a lot of business lately. As far as the postcards going with the individual picture of their car that's an awesome Idea and all, but also tryin to get stuff made in bulk, I think it would be more expensive if I were to go get a couple postcards made with different pictures.. As far as the wording goes for the postcard, what do you think? also I'm buying a domain for my website, do you think that would help direct traffic too... My grandma is a social media manager and was telling me to get a domain and fan page for facebook and twitter and start blogging, so I think I might do it.. But I just want some opinions.. Thank you john and hockeyplaya. John I still need to come up north and introduce myself and check out your shop!
Re: Postcards- Yea, it would be more expensive to get them individually done. I'd only recommend this for people who have purchased a full correction detail or maybe some one-steppers. Basically anyone that has a) given you lots of business/referrals, or b) will/could be a repeat customer. Then for the bulk of your customers who you have a feeling were a one-time deal, maybe just a wash/wax, interior only, etc...People who aren't super into getting their car detailed, just send them the bulk ones. But I feel like giving the "important" people a personalized card, you'll be more likely to get another sale from them, and might continue getting referrals. Besides, if they give you a lot of business/referrals, the extra cost is a moot point because they've already more than covered it, right?
As for the wording, I'm not sure about putting ANY words on the front, other than maybe your logo kinda small in a lower corner (for the people that are getting personalized cards, for everyone else, go for it). If you've got a good after picture of their car, just put that alone on the front and your logo kinda small, and hopefully they'll keep the card just for the sake of having a quality pic of their car. Who knows, maybe some of them will display it on their kitchen counter or prop it up somewhere, and at some party a friend will see it, comment on it, and get your name and number, and bam, you've got another customer. I mean obviously that won't happen with every one, but you get my point. Gotta think about all the options. If you put words on the front, that sort of thing will never happen. They'll look at it, read the back, and then trash it. Just my thoughts on it. And the wording on the back looks fine to me. But again, for the personalized ones, maybe modify it per person and, depending on how many you wanted to do, maybe even hand write them. (Again, you wouldn't be doing a lot of these, just your biggest customers/referrers). Ie:
"Hey Ken, it's Scott at ProImage Detailing. I just wanted to let you know that the protection to your Corvette we applied last time is probably starting to wear off, and it's about time to reapply it. Give me a shout and we'll set up a time to get you taken care of.
Also, are you gonna be at the National Corvette Homecoming this year? I was thinking about going down for a day and thought maybe we could ride together.
Thanks!
Scott"
I just think by doing it that way you make your business much more personal, and it shows you are actually interested in serving them, rather than just taking their money.
As for a domain/facebook/twitter/blog, I say definitely. You absolutely need a domain. They are cheap, and you can create your own website without too much trouble. Honestly if I'm searching around on Google for local detailers, and they show up on Google Maps but don't have a website, I don't consider them legit. It doesn't mean they aren't, but in my mind if they won't take the time to create a website, they probably won't take the time to do things right when detailing. I know that's not
always the case (in b4 people flame me), but generally thats the case with hacks and such. Also, paint correction and why it's important is kind of hard for the average joe to understand without visuals. Your website gives you a way to display the difference it makes and help people justify spending more money on you than a $100 hack.
Facebook/twitter is great because so many people use it, and it's an excellent way to stay fresh in peoples' minds, display your work, and make new contacts. Say you have person A, who is a fan. Person B is not a fan, but is a friend of person A. You post some before after pictures, and person A comments and says holy cow, great job, etc. That shows up in person B's news feed because they are friends with person A. They click on it, see your work, become a fan, and have your contact info. You could then have another customer. It's viral. Then if you start blogging, maybe about car care tips, it will drive even more traffic to your site, and help develop credibility. It's weird, the more you give information, the more you get business. Doesn't seem like it would be that way, but its the truth.
If you want info on how to use Facebook successfully, check out Detailed Image's fan page, if you haven't already, and become a fan. I tell you what, they do everything right. Their updates always pop up on my news feed, with some discounted item, or blog post, or something like that, and I
always end up at their site looking at all these things I "need" to get. And then they are on my front doorstep lol. You definitely need to explore that.
