One of the main things about marketing is that it should attract the right sort of work. We will come back to this later so let’s first look at what marketing actually is. It can be put into two main categories:
- identification of consumer/customer needs
- implementation of strategies to meet these needs.
The first of these is about consumer behaviour and devising an effective marketing strategy. The second is about the processes known as the seven Ps:
- physical evidence
- process
- promotion
- product
- price
- place
Figure 1 The 7 Ps of marketing (Source: Wikimedia)
Our product is the service and repairs that we sell. Where we place it in the market is a key decision. Two simple examples to compare are when doing a promotion. Leaflets stuffed through every letterbox in your area, will attract a range of customers, whereas a targeted Facebook advert will reach a specific type. There is nothing wrong with either approach, but the type of customer you seek should match your type of business.
Attending EV shows could be a method of presenting your product directly to a specific group of customers. Having an open day at the workshop may be a good option where you could invite everyone or specific people.
Looking at how you physically present your business may help you develop your ideas further. Do posters and signs indicate what you can do and what you specialise in? Is your workshop clean, bright and dripping with all the equipment you need? Do the customers have a comfortable reception to wait in and drink free cappuccinos with those funny little biscuits? Alternatively, and there’s nothing wrong with this, do you work in a barn down a farm track with none of the frills? You can still offer an amazing service that includes, for example, collection and delivery? The key point is to make you business attractive to the type of people you want.
The price you charge will put your business at a certain place in the market. I often hear of people complaining they have far too much work and can’t cope. Putting your prices up will reduce the workload because you will lose some customers, but you will keep the level of income.
Figure 2 Plug in hybrid vehicle (PHEV) – make sure you customers know you can work on all types of vehicle
In the final part of this series, we will look at what comes next and why you may also need to become a myth buster!
Read the rest of of the series: