How to Increase Auto Repair Shop Customer Satisfaction and Revenue through Text and Email

Are you looking for cost-effective ways to increase customer loyalty and return visits? Or maybe you’d like to reduce costly no-shows and ensure customers attend their appointments. 

Or, on the service side of your business, is your team tired of playing phone tag with customers, trying to communicate the results of vehicle inspections, or getting approval on a repair?  

Text and email can be essential parts of how your auto shop communicates, both in terms of sales and marketing and during the inspection and repair process. Texting offers convenience and immediacy for both your team and your customers, allowing the repair process to proceed faster. Email complements this approach by allowing you to maintain contact with the customer after the appointment with cost-effective outbound communications, like special offer emails, service reminders, and appointment alerts. 

Phone calls aren’t just an inefficient way of doing business. They are also increasingly unpopular with customers. 90% of customers indicate that they prefer texts over phone calls from businesses like yours. So, making the shift to digital channels not only increases your team’s efficiency but also brings your shop into line with changing customer preferences. 

If your auto repair shop isn’t already getting the maximum benefits from a modern, text and email-based communication strategy, here are three great places to start: 

Reduce Costly No-Shows  

When customers make an appointment and fail to show up, it’s a missed opportunity for both revenue and customer engagement and a real drag on your bottom line. Statistics show that 10-15% of appointments with small businesses become no-shows. To see how your shop compares, just do the following: 

  • Track your total number of no-show appointments  
  • Divide that number by the total number of appointment slots you offer 
  • Multiply the result by 100 to get your no-show percentage 

If you track metrics like Average Repair Order (ARO) value and labor cost, you’ll be able to turn your no-show percentage into an estimate of revenue loss quickly and easily as well. The results may startle you, but knowledge is power, and once you recognize how much revenue you are losing to missed and late appointments, you’ll be motivated to explore how to reduce no-shows. 

You can combat a high no-show rate by sending appointment reminders to your busy customers, through digital channels like email and text. Some shops even find success by sending multiple messages across several channels – for example, an email the night before the appointment combined with a text one hour before the appointment. Most customers aren’t skipping their appointments on purpose, they are simply disorganized and far too busy, and they’ll appreciate your assistance. 

Customers who receive a timely reminder aren’t the only ones who benefit from a system of automated text and email reminders. If your other waiting customers have been impacted by late arrivals or have struggled to book an appointment because of limited capacity, their experience will be improved when more people arrive on time for the appointments they book. 

Increase Transparency and Speed up Approvals 

Once your customer’s vehicle is on site and the inspection process has begun, text communications can be used to speed and streamline the in-shop process as well. 

One of the biggest time wasters in auto repair can be the back and forth between customer and service writer, as an inspection is completed and a quote is written up for the repair work, then approved by the customer. 

Getting approvals is quick and easy when you provide professional digital estimates via text.  

Using auto shop management software with integrated Digital Vehicle Inspection (DVI), you can take photos and videos from your mobile device, mark up photos, and add notes to help customers understand recommended services. Then you can text the details to the customer and get a near-instant customer approval.  

You can also use text messages to keep customers posted on the status of their repair, and to advise them of any additional issues your technicians uncover as they proceed. Text messaging throughout the repair process keeps customers informed and can allow you to secure additional revenue during the repair as well, as your team can complete more additional repairs during the appointment, or document concerns for a later service visit. 

Encourage Reviews, Loyalty, and Repeat Visits 

Outside of the repair process, text and email communications can become the heart of your broader customer loyalty and communication strategy. This strategy should wrap around service visits and keep your auto shop top of mind for customers. Such a strategy can include the following messages: 

  • Thank you messages 
  • Satisfaction surveys 
  • Requests for reviews 
  • Referral requests 
  • Invitations to connect on social media 
  • Customer loyalty programs 
  • Seasonal car care tips 
  • Regular service reminders 
  • Special offers 
  • Appointment reminders 
  • Service updates 

UNLOCK THE POWER OF TEXT AND EMAIL MESSAGING WITH R.O. WRITER 

To take advantage of the efficiency and effectiveness of text and email messaging, your auto repair shop needs a marketing solution that is fully integrated with your auto shop management software, so you can automate messages like service reminders and reach all your customers with the right message at the right time, though the channels they prefer. R.O. Writer 3.1 even allows you to text customers right from the main screen of the software, so you can share information effortlessly! 

To get started, book a demo with one of our experts. A world of quick and convenient communication awaits.