Business Owners, a question

[tmleadr03]

Have you tried Google Adwords (paid search)?

Yes, the return on that was nothing. Seriously. Saw no uptick in business or traffic to my website.

[Skip]

I would be careful OP. I have a family member that is math challenged and he actually lost money on the deal.

You do good work on high-end vehicles for what is already a discount from the dealership. I would spent that money on advertising. But I'm no expert.... In my business (IT) I have a sales guy who does all this for me.

[Jim B]

Yes, the return on that was nothing. Seriously. Saw no uptick in business or traffic to my website.

Kinda surprised. If you target the right (specific) search terms, you're advertising to people that are likely in the market for what you're selling. (Say, "BMW service Denver", "BMW repair Denver" or "European car repair Englewood".)

[dirtrulz]

Just because a business had a bad experience with groupon does not mean it is groupons fault. Offering a coupon for cheap products does not guarantee success if the product sucks. Had some coupons for a restaurant a while back. Apparently groupon started selling them for less that the restaurant wanted them to, even though their contract said that the price would drop after so many days until sold out, to sell whatever groupon had left. The restaurant then refused to honor the value of any of the coupons, even though we bought them when they were first available and paid standard price. They only wanted to give us 5 dollars for a 20 dollar coupon we paid 10 dollars for. I told the manager he was full of $hit and that I would never be back, paid the bill and left. That is a crappy thing to do to your customers, that is between you and groupon, not the customer. The same time we were there there were two other couples who left never to return over the same problem. Their food was ok but not great.

It is what it is, a way to get traffic, but dont expect it to be a miracle. Automotive shops would be tough. Most people are somewhat wary of upsells. You offer a 19,99 oil change special and then tell them they need 300 dollars worth of work that needs to be done "right now". Most will say you are just trying to upsell and drive away and then post a crappy review of you somewhere. The crappy chain shops out there have ruined it for the good shops, they seem to be the worst at upsells that dont need to be done. Dont expect an oil change or radiator flush to win you over customers who use coupons.

Does your shop show up on any review sites? Maybe you could figure out some kind of reward system for you customers to post some reviews. Seems pretty much everyone googles the shop before they take their vehicle there. I have steered away form places with bad reviews. Do you have a website? Do you specialize in any particular service? When people do a search for a particular service like transmission problems do you show up near the top of that search, there are ways to make you show up more and near the top in searches. Maybe offer 5 dollars off next oil change if they bring in a printout of a review they posted, good or bad.

[Jim B]

Maybe offer 5 dollars off next oil change if they bring in a printout of a review they posted, good or bad.

$5 off for posting a bad review?

[spqrzilla]

By the way, these criticisms of Groupon don't just come out of the south end of our alimentary canal. These criticism of Groupon's performance can be widely found in articles about the business and others' experiences with it with the most ordinary of internet searches.

[dirtrulz]

$5 off for posting a bad review?

If you dont then it would be seen as you buying good reviews. Why would you take the time to go to a site and post a review to get a discount at a place you wouldnt do business with. The chance of some one coming back in who disliked you enough to post a bad review would be slim. But telling a customer you only get a discount with a good review makes you look like an ass.

[spqrzilla]

Yes, the return on that was nothing. Seriously. Saw no uptick in business or traffic to my website.

Ditto

[ChunkyMonkey]

Yes, the return on that was nothing. Seriously. Saw no uptick in business or traffic to my website.

Specific product keyword placement. Ie instead of bmw service, maybe e36 transmission swap.. The link shouldn't go to the main site either.. If you have a blog in that topic, link it directly there. Post your specials on that page too. In your analytic chart, check your bounce rate.. The longer your viewers are on your page, the more likely they will use your service.

The average bounce rate on google Adwords traffic is under a minute. If your bounce rate is under 50% and over 2-3 minutes, you hit a gold mine.

On fb, buy likes by keywords. Those who click like on your fan page, may not need your service today, but intentionally sign up to see updates and specials.

Best method is mirror back links of a successful car shop. Go to alexa to see where they advertise, what keyword, and duplicate it. No need to reinvent the wheel.

Full disclosure: I am no longer in comm art or marketing since 2001

[tmleadr03]

Just because a business had a bad experience with groupon does not mean it is groupons fault. Offering a coupon for cheap products does not guarantee success if the product sucks. Had some coupons for a restaurant a while back. Apparently groupon started selling them for less that the restaurant wanted them to, even though their contract said that the price would drop after so many days until sold out, to sell whatever groupon had left. The restaurant then refused to honor the value of any of the coupons, even though we bought them when they were first available and paid standard price. They only wanted to give us 5 dollars for a 20 dollar coupon we paid 10 dollars for. I told the manager he was full of $hit and that I would never be back, paid the bill and left. That is a crappy thing to do to your customers, that is between you and groupon, not the customer. The same time we were there there were two other couples who left never to return over the same problem. Their food was ok but not great.

It is what it is, a way to get traffic, but dont expect it to be a miracle. Automotive shops would be tough. Most people are somewhat wary of upsells. You offer a 19,99 oil change special and then tell them they need 300 dollars worth of work that needs to be done "right now". Most will say you are just trying to upsell and drive away and then post a crappy review of you somewhere. The crappy chain shops out there have ruined it for the good shops, they seem to be the worst at upsells that dont need to be done. Dont expect an oil change or radiator flush to win you over customers who use coupons.

Does your shop show up on any review sites? Maybe you could figure out some kind of reward system for you customers to post some reviews. Seems pretty much everyone googles the shop before they take their vehicle there. I have steered away form places with bad reviews. Do you have a website? Do you specialize in any particular service? When people do a search for a particular service like transmission problems do you show up near the top of that search, there are ways to make you show up more and near the top in searches. Maybe offer 5 dollars off next oil change if they bring in a printout of a review they posted, good or bad.

Just a side note, I couldn't buy a filter for the cars I work on for 19.99... Much less the oil and do the job.

I have quite a few excellent reviews. One bad one, angry Russian is angry.