Branding building is a fundamental and essential component of strengthening your auto repair shop’s value to your customers, and maintaining a positive reputation in your community. Branding yourself is more important today than ever before, mostly due to the growth of Internet and an increase in the places where your brand can be broadcasted. And if your brand isn’t broadcasted in those spaces, your competitors’ will be.

So what exactly is branding? Your brand consists of your name, logo, design, and brand message, and the combination of all of these to identify the services you provide, and what differentiates you from your competitors. But even beyond that, your brand is a continuous feeling and message that’s carried throughout everything that comes from your shop: your customer service, your integrity, and your work. Your brand directly reflects the personality of your business!

Now that you know what branding is, the next step is building it. You probably already have some of the necessary components: a logo, color scheme, website, etc. Building on your existing brand means taking it to new places; and what better place for your brand to be seen than the Internet. This is called marketing your brand.

To market your brand, first think of your website as the anchor for all of your Internet marketing. Your website is the anchor that holds it all in place, and is the hub for all of your Internet traffic to come through. From there, you can build upon your online presence in several different ways.

-Become active in social media (Facebook, Twitter, and Google+). This is a great way to build lasting relationships with your customers and your community, and achieve a level of trust with them.
-Invest in pay-per-click campaigns. PPC is a relatively inexpensive way to be seen on searches for ‘auto repair’ in your area, and helps you acquire new customers. It’s also a good channel for your name and your brand to be seen consistently, and helps you stay top of mind.
-Establish your shop as an expert in the industry, but pushing content and special offers out to your customer base through the use of e-newsletters and direct mail.

Consistently broadcasting your brand through these channels, using your website as the anchor, and maintaining the positive message that your brand prides itself on, will eventually foster a feeling of brand loyalty in your customers that will spread throughout your community. Remember, there’s no “silver bullet” when it comes to branding and marketing your shop. It’s all about a comprehensive, consistent plan that will drive consistent results.