Many times during the course of a busy day I’ve started to eat lunch or a snack and usually get interrupted. Have you ever taken a couple bites from an apple and have to put it down to take care of something? The problem is that when you come back it has already started to turn brown and just doesn’t look as good as it did. The same thing happens to your labor margin. If you “put it down” or don’t pay attention to it on a constant basis you will find your labor margin…

According to this article found by Repair Shop Websites, women are beginning to play a more influential role on the automotive industry.  Independent repair shops should keep this in mind in their marketing efforts.  Does your shop use social networking? Beyond your website, consider creating a blog, Facebook or Twitter account.  Women are more prone to reading and engaging in social networking. 

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Marketing is everything.  It is even in your domain name.  As a part of Repair Shop Websites’ affordable and comprehensive packages, we offer personalized domain names with accompanying email addresses.  We register your domain and renew it so you don’t have to.  At Repair Shop Websites, your domain is safely held by us.  Remember: Your domain name holds the identity of your repair shop business.  Customers will often use the domain name to decide whether to click on your site among their generated search results.  So if you find yourself overwhelmed over website design or choosing/registering the right domain…

Repair Shop Websites wants to provides its over 1700 customers with some sound advice found in this article http://www.asashop.org/autoinc/july2010/manage.htm.  The article highlights how to get your message out effectively and boost shop morale.  It is important for the management of repair shops to communicate clearly to the rest of the team so everyone can work together towards the shop’s goals.

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Hard to believe we are halfway through the year already.  It won’t be long before we are goal setting for 2011.  If you are falling short of your 2010 goals so far, there is still time to turn things around and end the year as a winner!

The Don’ts

• Don’t stop marketing to save money!  There are so many marketing choices out there today…truly every business owner can afford to market.  If you don’t know which choices are the right ones for you, please contact me! 

• Don’t give services away!  Lowering your prices to level the competition may…

Rhonda Hiltbrand of NWZ WORX writes, “I have the privilege from time-to-time to work with service advisors behind the counter.  It is interesting to see how easy so many of you make it look when I can see it is so involved.  To the customer, it looks easy!  They just come in and drop the keys off.  The service advisor calls and tells them the service needed and the cost involved.  They return and pick up their finished vehicle and pay.  End of story.  Seems so flawless and effortless.

The majority of you do an outstanding job,…

Roy Lindahl knows all about the importance of keeping up with regular preventative maintenance, and the benefits it can reap for your car. He has been a proud Jeep owner for the past 17 years, and recently hit the 400,000 mile mark, surpassing even his own expectations. “It just goes to show that regular care of your vehicle pays off – you get out what you put in,” said Lindahl. He has been taking his Jeep to the shop on a regular basis since he purchased it.

A recent study done by Jiffy Lube International revealed…

“The average price Wednesday was $2.606 per gallon compared to $2.615 a year ago. The average per gallon price in the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill area was $2.59, 3.1 cents lower than a year ago.

The Charlotte metro also reported slightly lower prices, but other metros, including Asheville, Fayetteville, Greensboro-Winston Salem-High Point and Wilmington, continued to see higher-than-last-year prices at the pump.

A gallon of regular unleaded gasoline has averaged 72 cents more than last year over the first 165 days of 2010, AAA said in a statement.”

Read more: AAA Carolinas: Gas prices fall below 2009 levels – Triangle…

Repair Shop Websites partner story, by Automotive Training Institute

How many times have you purchased a bunch of bananas at the store?  I’m talking that perfect, firm, just the right shade of yellow and smelling exactly like a banana should smell.  You bring the bunch home and maybe even snack on one or two right away, thinking that all is right with the world.  Then, like a lot of other things, we take them for granted and forget about them.  The next time we look for that perfect banana, we find instead a soft, mushy, thing that…

If I’ve heard it once I’ve heard it a dozen times, how can I get new customers, I need new customers? The bottom line is that prospecting is extremely difficult and will always be difficult but a new tool has come on the market that just may give you the edge you’ve been looking for.

It is called Housing Connectors. This start-up company has an approach that gives you a huge leg up on your competition. I’ve been marketing for the independent repair industry for over 21 years and when I see a concept like this,…