Customer communication is key to growing just about any business. After all, a well-informed customer who fully understands your product, or the services you’ll provide, is much likelier to be happy with the outcome. Happy customers might even tell their friends, helping to generate that all important brand awareness for your business.
As a business that relies heavily of word-of-mouth and referrals, auto body shops in particular suffer from a lack of consumer education and transparency. What’s really happening to your car, possibly the most expensive thing you own, after you drop it off?
Video, a highly effective teaching tool, can help bring transparency to your business, and educate your customers. In this post, we’ve come up with impactful, engaging tips for using video to share your expertise and services.
Before you get started, spend time with your data.
If you don’t have time for questionnaires or guesswork, Google Analytics is THE place to learn about your customers. Once you know more about the demographics of your ‘best’ customers, you’ll be able to develop an effective content marketing strategy and apply it to video.
Who are your best customers? Look for those who spend the longest time on your website, and who book or buy online, if you provide these services.
Then, look at popular mechanical videos for inspiration on what fascinates viewers. Combine the specific needs of your audience, with a format that’s working well elsewhere, and you’ll have a winning concept on your hands.
Your research might even highlight large gaps in terms of potential customers who are not engaging with your service. Learn how to reach out to new customers with our blog How to Stay Relevant: Using Video to Reach a New Audience.
Too technical? Make it interesting and memorable using video.
People remember what they like. Let’s look at an imaginary customer, John. He has little interest in auto repair, and his vehicle is running just fine right now. Who will he contact when his car does break down? The auto body repair shop that made the hilarious but educational video he enjoyed watching.
Of course, it’s important that viewers understand you and your team are experts. But, a video that focuses only on the inner workings of a carburetor might not have the mass appeal you’re seeking.
Here’s where you can use video to entertain as well as educate. This could be as simple as a video showing your team quickly repairing a vehicle to allow a busy mother to collect her children on time from school. Make a video that’s memorable and interesting, and you will soon see your referrals growing.
Always be testing.
Working out what your audience will respond to is an art. The best way to understand which video works best is to carry out A/B testing.
You can test the title, the length, the voiceover artist, or even the font size. The list of things you can test is endless! For your auto body repair shop, you might find it useful to test the type of car your mechanics are working on (perhaps the audience might respond better to a particular brand), or the actor who is getting their vehicle repaired (would gender make a difference to viewers’ responses?). Find out more about A/B tests in our blog How to Maximize Engagement by A/B Testing Videos.
Try a new video campaign every month.
If you offer a wide range of services, don’t try to shoehorn them into every single video. Instead, run a video campaign that focuses on one of your services each month. This is where you can show off your team’s expertise to viewers.
How-to videos are really popular. Tap into that online enthusiasm with a series of videos on basic car maintenance. The idea is to educate and inform consumers about the everyday things they can do to improve how their cars run. Not to show them how to take an engine apart!
There’s no reason to worry this could help potential customers repair their own vehicles rather than coming to you. The specialized equipment and experience required for actual car repair is clearly out of reach for the average person. Let’s be honest – it takes a trained professional to do a great job.
Make a feature of how you’re different.
If you’re located in a town where there’s a lot of competition, it’s even more important to ensure customers know how you’re differentiated. Use video to show how you’ve set yourself apart from the other auto body repair shops.
Do you offer a bilingual service? Perhaps you’ve just invested in super fast wifi in the waiting area. Maybe you offer a free shuttle service to nearby shops while customers’ cars are repaired. These features will translate well to video.
There’s nothing quite like a happy customer.
When it comes to showing new customers that your auto repair shop is the best, there’s nothing quite so persuasive as a video featuring a happy customer.
It can be difficult to find someone who is confident appearing on camera, so try approaching long-standing, loyal customers who will have plenty to share and have already developed a relationship with your business. Everything else you need to know about making an effective video testimonial is right here: How to Get Great Customer Testimonials on Camera!
Conclusion: Video helps you develop a relationship with your audience.
From the latest sports car to an older car that’s traveled many (many) miles, your customers treasure their vehicles. They will use the services of an auto body repair shop that they trust.
Video is an ideal medium to show that your shop is a hub of auto knowledge, filled with personable, trustworthy mechanics. It’s a way to build relationships, and ultimately, to build your business.
Is word-of-mouth providing enough referrals for your business? Do customers often have basic questions you wish they understood better before engaging with you?
If you’re a small business owner and are looking for actionable suggestions on using video to promote your organization, get in touch below or on Twitter. We’d love to help!
