Myth #1: More website traffic means more customers.
½ True: When it comes to your overall website traffic, it boils down to quality over quantity. While you should always strive to get more traffic to your website, it’s crucial that the traffic you get is high quality. This means that all of your marketing efforts should be working together to drive customers to your website, but only customers who are actually in need of your services and are most likely to convert.
Myth #2: People don’t scroll on mobile.
False: Several years ago, you would have found it really important for most mobile websites to place important information right at the top, otherwise they would be unsuccessful. People would struggle to find the information they needed, and the instant impression of the first page would be all there is to it. However, after years of mobile becoming more and more prevalent, people have become so familiar with the nature of mobile websites and platforms.
Think of Facebook, Instagram, Google search results, etc. They all involve a massive amount of scrolling and the user is happy to do so in order to find the information they want. When it comes to your mobile website, scrolling down the page has become second nature. Users even prefer to scroll through a long section of text than to click to the next page or screen to finish reading.
Myth #3: Negative reviews online are bad for business.
½ True: People are now as trusting of online reviews as they are of a friend or acquaintance’s personal review. If you receive a large number of negative reviews, that will of course have an impact on your business long term. However, a negative review also does three good things for your business:
- It shows you’re real, and that your reviews aren’t paid for. If you see somewhere that has never gotten a bad review, you’re going to start questioning it. Why? Because there will always be at least 1 customer that is unreasonably disgruntled, no matter how hard you try to provide the best customer service around.
- It allows you the opportunity to showcase your customer service. You should think of review responses as a public display of your shop’s customer service because your new potential customers will be reading them. You’ll want to address the review in a professional and diplomatic manner, and even offer to make up for the poor experience in some way.
- It gives you the ability to find flaws in your business, whether with a particular employee, phone handling skills, or the services you provide. When a review points out issues your customers have experienced, and especially if you see a repeating pattern, you have the ability to weigh their experiences and find solutions.
Myth #4: Coupons make my business look cheap.
False: You may think that offering coupons or specials will make your shop look “cheap.” Perhaps you don’t have a huge markup on your labor or parts, so offering a discount would really affect your bottom line. Maybe you service only high-end makes or performance vehicles, so luxury comes with an expectation of high cost. In any case, keep in mind that your customer also has access to the websites of all of your competitors. Many of them will be offering some sort of coupon on their services, and that could be the make-or-break decision between your shop or theirs. In today’s world, people expect there to be a way to save because companies have provided it. If you’re in need of coupon ideas, talk to our marketing team for inspiration!
Myth #5: My competitor did “XYZ,” so that will work for me, too.
½ True: Consider this: Your buddy plays the slots and wins BIG. So if you play the same slot machine, you’ll win too, right? Of course, there’s always a slim chance that you could win, but in reality you’re much more likely to win on a different game. This translates to show that although you might hit the same success as someone else, there is never a guarantee. When it comes to your marketing, it’s great to gather ideas, inspiration, and knowledge from what your competitors’ shops are doing. However, when it comes down to applying it – make sure that their approaches are going to fit your business model and your shop’s overall goals. Chances are, your shop is very different from theirs and will find its own success on a unique path.
Ready for more? Continue to Part II
Joel Fogleman