For those who own their own detailing business, how do you market yourself against the competition? I'm in Connecticut, a pretty small state and there's a decent amount of detailers located all over the state. I'd like to get myself out there but I'm just one guy and sadly have to charge more than a shop who can make use of multiple employees. So what's it like for you guys with your own business? How do you justify your prices to clients? How often do you run into, "well they charge this much for this, how come you charge so much more?"
I do a few things. I have a facebook page and a blog that are linked together, a website, business cards, and a flyer with base prices and info for customers who ask. I also go to local car shows/hang outs and just talk with people. Don't go up to people and ask them if they need services, but usually it will come up in conversation. When I go to these shows I usually take a few products in case anyone wants to see me do something. This has lead to quite a few jobs. Also I am active on several car specific forums which has also lead to jobs. Other than that it is pretty much just word of mouth.
Im planing to have T shirts for some girls I know, they will be selling my bulk towels with my flyer in it, so I will let you know how that goes in a month
Car forums are huge for me to get business. Most of my work comes from guys on the audi/vw forums, and coincidentally references I get from guys on here too. I'm in the process of having some real nice business cards made (thanks ev!), so that should help a lot too.
I have a full A4 sized brochure I hand out at clubs and social gatherings, as well as to neighbors and the area surrounding my place (I physically talk to each person though, not just a drop off). I am going to have a half page ad done for a local paper and am going to start writing Car Care articles for the local magazine and paper. Other than that, I get a lot of business from work of mouth and some from the various Saab forums I am on. Always keep this in mind: if no one knows about you, it doesn't matter how good you are. If you don't ask, you don't get; the money is sitting there waiting to be spent so why not spend it on a nice detail from yours truely?
This is so true. I get up everyday thinking everyone wants to give me their money ( they do!) You just have to ask for it. I haven't had business cards or advertised in about ten years. A few things that worked for me in the past.... 1. Awesome business cards - don't let your local print shop design your cards. They are printers, not graphic designers. Spend a little cash on fantastic looking cards. Always print on front and back of the cards. Its only a little more and you double the area you have to get your message across. Folded cards are the best value. 2. Fliers - Keep it simple. Company name, short message, one or two PROFITABLE packages and your LARGE phone number. Don't use fliers to try and get full correction jobs. Use it to attract clients with less expensive packages and up sell them once you have them in the door. Everyone can afford a wash and wax. Very few people can afford a two stage polish. I get them printed on bright paper. Orange, yellow etc so if your flier winds up in a stack of paper, it'll still stand out. 3. Make sure that you always do the best possible job. That way you will never have to justify your pricing. If a client brings up a cheaper shop, tell them that when you are done, if they don't think your job was worth the extra, you'll match the cheaper shops price. I've never had someone tell me my job wasn't worth what I was charging.
I am more on the chemical side than the service, but I worked in specialized automotive services for years. One of the biggest things you have to keep in mind (that a lot of people have a hard time grasping), you are NOT going to be right for everyone. You win some and you lose some. The ones you lose aren't worth sacrificing your reputation. Seth Godin has this concept about making things "remarkable". Remarkable doesn't necessarily just mean "cool" or "different," but remarkable means "worth making a remark about". Think about this. The whole concept is, you need to stand out. There needs to be something about you that makes people talk. It might not always seem positive either. We have people that talk about our stores saying, "Yea, this store in the mall that sells $275 wax! Ridiculous! What idiot would buy a car wax for $275? What a stupid store! What's it doing in a mall?" To me, it makes me happy to hear people walk past the stores, saying things like that--they are talking about us. Now, right there, they are making a few important points. The first, they know where we are. Secondly, they know (some of) what we sell. Granted, what we sell doesn't interest them (sometimes it even offends people), but if a year from now they are talking with someone and someone mentions detailing, we are going to pop up in that conversation. Most importantly, they are talking about us. Now to the service part. The important part about a service is realizing it isn't a clean start and stop transaction--you are always working. If you want to be taken as a professional, you need to act like a professional. Take this however you like. If it means always wearing dress clothes, do it. If it means making sure every car you ever step out of you could use in your portfolio, do it. You have to be yourself, with your own style. The bigger part is how you convey your professionalism. Smiles, eye contact, and standing straight go a long way to convince someone you are serious about what you do. When you talk about what you do, don't use memorized lines. Remember points, and contour phrasing and sentences to the conversation. Listen to all of your (potential) customers, and show that you are listening by incorporating their concerns into your conversation. You will find people that will talk, but never buy--those people are just part of the game. As a true professional, who takes yourself and your work seriously, you are already a huge step in front of most "detailers". You have to remember people are not just having their car detailed to have a clean car. There is a whole experience they are after--they want the feeling of getting in a car that feels new to them. Experience. When they think about their car they should think about the first time they talked to you, the first time you detailed their car, and the first time they got back in it after you worked on it. Professionalism (and a little style) will have you remembered. Now, business cards. ALWAYS have business cards. I cannot stress that enough. You never know where or when you will run into a potential customer. Get a case for them, or find some other way to keep them clean and crisp in your pocket. Once you end your conversation with a person you give your card to, that card is your identity to that person. Also, a clean card will stay out of the garbage longer. As nice as gloss (uv) coated cards look new, they get nasty fast (spot UV can be a really cool effect though). Look at aqueous coated cards on decent stock (14pt/100lb). I have had very good experiences (with my businesses and friend's businesses) with GotPrint.com and GreenerPrinter.com. Try your best to avoid bashing your competition--it only makes you look worse. If you know you are better, convey that you are better by explaining how good you are, not how bad they are. Now, some people wouldn't consider all of that marketing, but I do. I could go on forever (I'm not even going to start with social media), but I am going to stop myself, and go back to finishing my tax returns. I suggest you check out some stuff by Seth Godin and Andy Sernovitz. They are some of my favorite authors on the subject of business, and their resumes show they know a thing or two. Hope this helps, -Nick
Wow, some great stuff here everyone. Thank you! I'm definitely going to be taking the advice here and put it to good use in the coming months.
create an elevator speech, google it, it will come in handy. then read godin and levinson books, along with underhill books.
Already beat you to that Taking an entrepreneurship class here at school, have to do an elevator pitch in 2 weeks and I'm doing it on my detailing business.
Both of you, do us all a favor and Do Not be Elevator Guy. Nobody wants conversation in the elevator. Much less a sells pitch :shakehead: Punch your button, cross your hands and either look down at your shoes or up at the floor indicator :hmph:
Both of you, do us all a favor and Do Not be Elevator Guy. Nobody wants conversation in the elevator. Much less a sells pitch Punch your button, cross your hands and either look down at your shoes or up at the floor indicator < Well said!!! :applause:
I don't agree with this....just because you don't want an elevator speech does not mean others may not. Here's the thing, nobody here is trying to sell the person in the elevator something, instead we're offering a service that is actually beneficial to the person. The way I look at it, if people know what's good for their cars they would get it detailed by me and not the shops. I believe in my services and feel I do a far superior job than my competitors. So whats the harm in getting that message across? At the same time there is a way to go about it. The whole point or purpose of an elevator speech is to be able to get your message across in a timely fashion (30 seconds or less). This is a useful conversational skill that applies to every thing you say in life. haha I'll keep it simple...giving an elevator speech is like picking up women. open -> transition -> build rapport -> (attraction) -> close open with whatever else that has nothing to do with detailing then transition into cars. build some kind of rapport. No attraction since this is a business deal and finally give your business card. All done really fast. I've done this at different places and have had a lot of luck. It takes some practice but eventually you are able to do it without people thinking you're a no-good businessmen trying to sucker them. So in conclusion, there is a way to conduct your business and do some word of mouth advertising without being seen as the "guy that always tries to sell you stuff." My personal motto is to build relationships with my clients and be more than just their "car cleaner." With that approach and mindset I am able to build a strong, small list of returning clientelle. Plus they give me freebies all the time since some of them have connections. -Waseem
