You may operate a top shop, but does your local community know it? Do your customers and prospects alike know about the range of your shop’s services, the extent of your investment in top-of-the-line tools and equipment, your commitment to using the highest-quality parts in the repair process and your dedication to restoring their vehicle to peak performance levels?

While advertising is a primary medium to target your message to the masses, there are other ways you can communicate to consumers about all that your shop has to offer. Getting involved in your local community is an ideal place to start.

  With the goal of providing you with input on ways to get involved in the community, Babcox Research asked a sample of shop owner readers for their ideas on the topic. Some of those responses are listed below.

10 Ways To Get Involved In Your Local Community

1.  Attend local car shows, so you can personally talk to members of the community. Remember that consumers tend to do business with people they know and trust.
2. Hold an “Open House” at your shop to tout your shop’s services and techs’ expertise, and to promote all the value you bring to the vehicle repair process.
3. Interact with young people in local schools to give them positive feedback about careers in the automotive industry. Consider on-the-job training for high school students (co-op educational programs), or “job shadow” programs.
4. Sponsor local sports teams; it’s a highly visible way to get your name out in the community.
5. Donate to worthy causes — i.e. United Way campaigns, local charities, police and fire departments, and food banks.
6. Offer tire pressure checks and child car seat installation inspections at your shop.
7. Participate in a call-in radio car care show — an opportunity to educate the public about the value of routine maintenance and a chance to promote your shop in the process.
8. Hold car care clinics at your shop. One reader offers free car clinics for single moms and the elderly as part of his community outreach efforts. Another helps the needy through church outreach programs.
9. Volunteer to speak at Career Day events, and mentor future techs by getting involved in the local vo-tech school.
10. Participate in “scout” troop activities and offer the use of your flatbed trailer or truck for local parades.

If you have any ideas you would like to offer, just send me an e-mail and we’ll add them to our listing on the website.