Marketing ideas for Auto-Detailing Business

Marketing Your Auto Detailing Business

The automobile community is a tightly knit one. Put out the quality work and people will naturally be attracted to your auto-shop, undoubtedly. But if you’ve ever wondered whether there are any more innovative ways to market your auto detailing business in today’s all digital world, we’ve got 17 great ideas for you.

1. Through Your YouTube Channel

If your business has anything to do with aesthetic appeal, YouTube is the place for it. The car community is a huge one, and automobile videos are one of the most viewed genres of videos on YouTube, according to SocialBlade.com. Use this to your advantage by posting “how-to” videos to give people DIY tips and insights about car detailing. You can also showcase and document the process behind the cars that you detail to give people an idea of what a good job you do!

2. Promoting Through Other YouTubers

Speaking of YouTube: there’s no better way to market your auto detailing business better than be mentioned by a popular YouTuber. Car owner YouTubers have tons of subscribers. You could follow these three steps to getting a lot of referrals for your auto-shop:

  1. Shortlist a few popular car-owner YouTubers in your area.
  2. A great way to make friends with them is to detail their car for free in return for a mention on their YouTube channel
  3. Take it one step higher by giving the YouTuber a personalized coupon code that other customers can use to get like a 10-20% discount.

YouTubers like effspot have done this in the past, giving auto-shops and detailing services a huge deal of online branding and coverage.

3. Getting Certified

Marketing is all about projecting your strengths to potential buyers. Getting certified by associations such as the Detail King, Simoniz USA and the IDA will make your auto-detailing business seem more credible in the eyes of customers. Moreover, getting certified gives you the right to market yourself as a business as a certified one on every brochure and banner that you print.

4. Instagram

It’s no news that Instagram is a great avenue to market your auto detailing business. With the new follow hashtag update on Instagram, it’s become an even better place to get more people to know about your business. Post pictures of the shiny new cars that you’ve just detailed, and it’s bound to receive the appreciation that it deserves. You can even use apps such as Instazood to increase your Instagram following.

5. Listing Your Business On Online Directories

Making sure that your business is listed online on major platforms such as Google, Facebook and Yelp. You can also list your business on the auto-detailing business industry specific sites like Carwash.com and Car Detailing Directory. Getting listed on online directories and websites increases the likeness of your business being found by customers who are searching for you on the internet. Make sure that your information is consistent and accurate across all websites, and especially on the major ones!

6. Local Car Meets

Going to local car meets is a great way to meet car enthusiasts who might later turn out to be your clients. Hand out coupons and discounts that they can use on their first time with you. Talk to them, compliment on the condition of their cars, get to know them more. A simple gesture can sometimes go a long way!

7. Referral Marketing

Business owners who have figured out how to generate referrals from their existing customers are said to be more likely to survive and thrive. One of the most common ways customers can find you other than online listings is through a referral from a friend/family. Use a tool like Referral Rock to automate referral generations for your business. You can also

8. Partnership Marketing

Teaming up with a business that helps with car decals or tunes cars in your neighbourhood can turn out to be a great option to get more customers for your business. Partnership marketing is a great option for business owners to collaborate and increase the number of leads that they get. Suggest your customers who come for detailing to tune their car and recommend your partner. In return, your partner will do the same for you, and you’ll start seeing an increase in leads soon.

9. Stalls/Kiosks in Auto Expos

Is there an auto expo happening in your city? Buy a stall/kiosk there. There’s no better place to market your business than in a place where everyone’s gathering with the singular intention of looking at shiny new cars. You’re bound to find people who want to meet someone who helps make shiny new cars shiny.

10. Responding to Reviews Online

Responding to reviews of your business online are helps you maintain a great rapport with your clients. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a review by a happy customer or an angry one. Make sure that you engage with reviews that customers leave behind, since it is a reflection of how your business treats its customers. You need to also be polite when responding to reviews from dissatisfied customers. If the fault really was on your business, then apologize and tell them that you will do everything in your power to set the record straight. If it is within your budget, you can even give them promotional coupons that might help retain them as a customer.

11. Previews on Your Website

If you own an auto detailing service and you want to market it well, then having a website is an absolute must. You can hire someone to get a website designed for you for a one time fee or, even better, you can make one for yourself using a service like Squarespace. Once you have a website up and running, post images of your storefront and the jobs that you’ve done. The best way you can convince someone to buy your service is by showing them how good you are with pictures of your past projects. You can also post “before” and “after” images of the cars you’ve detailed side-by-side to give them an idea of the difference detailing can make to a car. No better way to market your auto detailing business then showing them the value in it!

12. Social Media!

You can ask past customers to always tag you on their social media profiles if they’re posting about their newly detailed automobile. And once you get tagged in these posts, engage with your customers by liking and commenting on these posts. Tell them how much you loved working on their car, and show them that you’re happy seeing them happy. Apart from developing a good relationship with the customer, this act also shows others that you’re an auto detailing business that cares about its customers.

13. Organizing Charity Drives

If you have a lot of customers who own high-end supercars, organizing a charity drive can be a great idea for getting your auto detailing business some brand exposure. Bring them all together and make it a ticketed auto show, and give all the proceeds that you receive from this to a charity of your choice. Apart from raising money for people who need it, it’ll be

14. Forums

There can be no great marketing guide without suggestions to frequently visit industry-related forums. Forums can be a great place to answer questions that others are posting, which will improve your thought leadership in the auto-detailing industry. Other than that, it will also help you build a network of contacts. Some forums that you can frequent to meet more people in the auto-detailing industry are:

  1. The Fast Lane Forum
  2. Autopia Forums
  3. Auto Geek Online

Bonus

Just to make things more interesting, we thought that we’ll host a challenge about carpet cleaning marketing. Try any 5 of the aforementioned marketing campaigns, and write to us about your experience with them at [email protected]. Tell us about your process and whether it was successful or not. If we find your email interesting, we’ll feature you on one of our future posts.