Shop advice: Yes, bathrooms matter with women
As a shop owner, there are many things you can be doing to help make your business more appealing to a female audience, and first impressions are very important.
Management
Ever fire a customer? You shouldn't lose good ones because of bad ones...
“The squeaky wheel gets the oil." The end of the day is closing in and it’s apparent not everything will get done. So, who do you call to get a car held over? Do…
Raising rates without anyone noticing?
Raise your rates! I see this comment a lot in discussion groups. Here's how to do it without anyone noticing.
Developing women leaders in the aftermarket
There’s roughly a four-to-one ratio, men-to-women in employment in the automotive industry. Our industry has over the past four to five years begun to see more clearly the value of having not just women, but women in leadership, and influential…
Benefitting from Cause Marketing
For many shops, hiring women is about putting forward an atmosphere of friendliness and trustworthiness, particularly to women customers, who, as we all know, account for 85 percent of all purchase decisions. It turns out that hiring women involves more…
R-E-S-P-E-C-T
For many shops, hiring women is about putting forward an atmosphere of friendliness and trustworthiness, particularly to women customers, who, as we all know, account for 85 percent of all purchase decisions. It turns out that hiring women involves more…
The Millennial Investment
Within the past few years, millennials have been the subject of much conversation in the automotive industry, as well as in society at large. This discussion seems to echo the same theme, that the generation is lazy, unmotivated and wants…
The Remote-Control Owner: Can your business operate without you?
Can your business operate without you? As I began investigating how shop owners felt about this topic, I discovered that not everyone thinks the same. The answers I received ranged from “Yes” to “No” to “Wouldn’t that be nice!” One…
Peevy: Drive your success with not-so-obvious ways to create sustainable competitive advantage
EDITOR’S NOTE: To receive AMi credit for reading this article, create or login to your “MyAMi” Profile at: https://ami.knowledgeanywhere.com. Purchase and complete the short quiz at: https://ami.knowledgeanywhere.com/Implementing-a-Learning-Culture. The article is worth .25 credit hours toward the achievement of AMi’s professional designations.…
Secrets of a Succession Plan
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is Part Two of a two-part series on Succession Planning. Family businesses are the backbone of America. About 95 percent of all businesses in America are family or privately held. A 2014 study revealed that there are…
The Successful Succession
Editor’s Note: This is the first of a two-part series on auto-shop succession planning. What is the difference between a dream and a goal? While many shop owners dream about selling their shop and retiring, for most a dream is…
The Millennial Dilemma
With the average age of a shop owner in America at 55, they’ve been through many generations of customers. But when considering marketing to millennials, many shop owners say, “I’m not sure who they are, and I’m not sure anyone…
Management: And Don’t Forget to Smile!
Customer loyalty is much more elusive and difficult to acquire than ever before, and to maintain your customers, you have to continue to “wow” them by providing exceptional service that glues them to you. Customers will leave and go to…
Women: The Key to a High ROI
Follow these 10 proven marketing techniques to better communicate your message to female consumers. You’ve heard it before: Women are the majority purchasers and influencers in the automotive industry today. This has been true for more than a decade now,…
Why Interns Are a Must
Believe it or not, they could be the key to the future of your shop – and the future of your industry. For those of you who don’t know me, my wife, Deb, and I started ASA-Massachusetts in 1993 while…
Feeling the Burn?
Has one of your customers gone negative online? Don’t get mad. Also, don’t get even. Try these tips for turning a negative into a positive. The biggest fear many small businesses have about social media is how to handle negative…
Small Shop, Big Ideas
The essential questions you must ask, and answer, before spending a penny on marketing your services and yourself. “Marketing” is such a broad term. It includes everything from a billboard to a tweet. How do you deal with your marketing…
When Shop Spirits Sag?
What it takes to rebuild your employees’ morale and get everybody working toward the same goals. I was reading an article from the Society For Human Resource Management and came across this statement: “With a daily diet of news about…
