It’s a well-known fact in the auto-repair world that summer is the busiest time of the year. As the weather heats up and families start going on road-trips, more and more drivers bring their vehicles into the shop for maintenance.
Service advisors are an integral part of running your shop.
Not only do they have to greet every customer and learn what they need, but they also need to connect a lot of moving parts, whether that means sending repair orders to guests, making sure they’re getting approved, coordinating with technicians, or literally tracking down parts for repairs. that service advisors keep a cool head.
Making sure every job makes it through the repair process without fault while providing guests with kind and diligent service can be tough, but there are tools and habits that can make the job a breeze.
Here are a few actionable tactics you can start using immediately at your shop so service advisors can stay brisk in spite of the heat.
Get to Know Your Guests & Their Vehicles
When it comes to guests, the mileage may vary. Some guests are easier to work with than others. Some will throw you the keys and approve whatever work needs to be done. Others will only approve a small amount of work and call every few minutes to check on the job.
Service advisors may not be able to directly change how guests behave, but we are able to know what to expect. Customer notes are a great way for service advisors to know the attitudes, behaviors, and preferences of each individual guest. Taking detailed notes and checking them before or during a customer interaction can make it easier to work with even with the most difficult clients.
Leverage Your Shop's Information
In addition to customer notes, some shop management solutions offer customer metrics and other tools that help service advisors know even more about their customers.
1. Use Lifetime Stats: Percent Close Ratio
Shop management systems like Tekmetric can actually show you the lifetime stats of a customer, including how much they’ve spent at your garage and the percent of repairs they close on. Knowing the guest’s percent close ratio can help you know how much time you should spend attempting to sell a customer on jobs, especially when the shop gets busy.
2. Shared Customer History
CARFAX vehicle reports can also tell you a lot about the customer. For instance, if it says that the customer brings their vehicle in every 5,000 miles, they probably care about keeping their vehicle maintained and are more likely to approve work.
Master Your Workflow
When it comes to service advising, you have to be able to flow quickly between talking to guests, assembling repair orders, authorizing repair orders, working with technicians, ordering parts, answering the phone, and receiving payments.
It’s a lot to keep track of! Leveraging a digital job-board, or shop dashboard is probably the best way for service advisors to keep track of all the responsibilities they have to juggle.
A good shop dashboard will show you the status of every vehicle in the repair order process and send alerts to technicians, parts suppliers, and even the guest when it’s their turn to take action.
Repair order sent? The guest should get an alert to approve.
Did the part arrive? The technician should be alerted so they can get to work.
If your guest is in a hurry, you may want to make a note on their job in the shop dashboard and set the right expectation.
By glancing at the dashboard and seeing that you have a number of cars being worked on, are waiting on several parts, and have more cars in the queue, you should be able to let the guest know that they’re going to have to wait at least a couple of hours.
But if things are less busy, you can leave a note so that the technicians can be mindful that the guest needs to be somewhere, especially if their notes indicate that they’re a loyal, well-paying customer.
The Secret Lies in Good Shop Management Procedures
Shop management systems are a fundamental tool for service advisors, and a good one will allow you to easily take customer notes, track the repair process, and be an excellent service advisor.
Especially this summer when there’s a pandemic, a shop management system with text and email repair order approval and text-to-pay options will make offering curbside service simple and easy.
Make sure that you have the tools to get the job done, and have trained your service advisors before the heat kicks in.
We can't deny it, we're customer obsessed. That's why we went out of our way to visit shop owners who rely on Tekmetric every day! And part of why we're so customer-obsessed is because of how much our customers love Tekmetric, and its ability to empower shops.
That's why we’re celebrating another season as the leaders in the industry for shop management software!
Once again, for the third time in a row this year, G2 users have chosen Tekmetric as the leading solution for managing and revolutionizing their independent auto repair shop.
We've said it before, and we'll say it again, this is all because of shops like yours!
All the amazing independent shops that do great work every day with Tekmetric, the shops that keep people's vehicles safe and reliable. The heroes that get their customers back on the road every single day!
We were just chosen because you all love us so much!
There’s Always More to Come!
Thank you! Thank you for partnering with us, and thank you for helping us create the best possible solution for running an independent auto repair shop!
We're excited to be awarded and regarded so highly, and we strive to keep that level of excellence and support at every step in your shop.
Tekmetric is always being updated, and we’ll never stop working with and supporting shops to help them run efficiently and with fewer headaches, so you can focus on doing what you love!
There are many reasons you might want to sell your auto repair shop.
You might be ready for another venture; you might be trying to fund your retirement; or you might just be curious about the value of your business if you do decide to sell.
Whether you're actively in the market to sell your shop, or you just want to know how to value an automotive repair shop just in case, you’ve come to the right place.
How to value your auto repair shop
The industry standard for establishing a sale price for an automotive repair business is to use total owner benefit (TOB) multiplied by four (or TOBx4).
So, if you took home an average of $50,000 a year for the past three years, the price of your business will likely be valued around $200,000. Keep in mind this TOB value does not include property value.
For those who are reading this with the hopes of selling in the near future, that valuation method might seem low to you. And it is.
The good news is that you can go above and beyond the industry standard, and sell your shop for a higher value, if you stay on top of your numbers.
Not only will diligent reporting and good customer service increase your TOB, but you’ll also have more leverage when negotiating offers from buyers.
Here are three steps you can take to improve the valuation of your business and secure the money that you worked hard to earn.
Should auto repair shops focus on social media marketing?
How many people do you know who spend a substantial amount of time on Facebook? Or hours watching YouTube? How can your business take advantage of how easy it is to get in front of potential customers?
Social media became the leading online activity in 2013 and has grown ever since. According to a Backlinko study, there are 5.24 billion global social media users that average over 2 hours a day on social media platforms. The top three social media platforms are Facebook, YouTube, and WhatsApp.
Chances are that your potential new customers are spending more time online than anywhere else. Is your auto repair shop doing everything it can to reach them?
Source: https://backlinko.com/social-media-users
Social media channels are key for boosting your shop's reputation and make a big difference when it comes to driving referrals and repeat customers. Engaging your local community will keep you top-of-mind as a reliable, trustworthy place for your guests to get their vehicles repaired.
10 effective social media strategies for auto repair shops
Social media channels are one of the most powerful forms of word-of-mouth advertising; more and more people go on social media to make purchasing decisions as well as socialize with friends and family members.
By having a strong social media presence, it makes it easier for the people you serve to share information about your shop, whether that be promotions, insightful posts, or even fun photos that your auto shop shares. But there are so many ways to engage the people in your service area on social media that it can be tough to know where to start.
To make things easier, here are ten ways that your auto repair shop can use Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn, TikTok, Twitter and other channels to interact and socialize with potential customers and loyal guests.
1. Think local
It’s important to remember that social media channels—especially Facebook—are places where people often go to talk about a shared experience. A lot of times, those experiences are local. Whether it’s how the sports teams in town are doing, where people like to go, or upcoming events, the bulk of many online social media conversations is still driven by what’s happening in our own communities.
Businesses are a big part of that conversation. How often have you seen friends or family members post a question on their feed like “Know any good restaurants in town?” People also post public reviews and recommendations of the places they go and the businesses they use on Facebook, Google, Yelp, and other channels.
While it may not be direct marketing, starting a dialogue about what’s going on in your community may be a good way to start some conversations. Are there any new happenings? Are there charitable or uplifting things that people are doing in your community? You can even talk about the local driving experience, highlighting best roads to take during certain times of the week and any ongoing construction projects that drivers may want to be careful when diving past for the sake of their vehicle.
These are just a few of the things that you can address on your Facebook page to get guests talking and make your shop more approachable.
2. Local charities and events
Looking for ways to play a bigger role in your community? Consider using your social media pages to focus on other businesses, events, and charitable activities in your town. While this may seem to take the focus off of your shop and services, it shows your neighbors and guests that you care about the well-being of your community at large.
For example, Casey’s Automotive in Chantilly, Virginia promotes and partners with the local charity, Ellie’s Hats, an organization that raises funds to support children who have been diagnosed with cancer. Every year, Casey’s and Ellie’s Hats hold an annual Spring Fling car show where the kids get to help hand out prizes for different cars and people get custom-built trophies made out of car parts. By partnering up, Casey’s is not only helping make the world better by living out their values but also engaging the community and gaining potential future referrals.
3. Teach your followers something cool or valuable
Showing guests how to do something is a great way to give them something of value, establish leadership, and build trust. A good auto shop owner can always appreciate guests who take care of their vehicles between visits, so showing guests how to take care of their car may be worth sharing and demonstrate that you truly care about your guests’ vehicles.
Tek-Tip: Use video.
Consider using videos. They are visually engaging, which is good for teaching something, and they have a strong track record of driving web traffic in search engines and on social media. According to Marketingland, 62% of Google universal searches include video; per Hubspot, social video posts garner 48% more views than other kinds of posts. Christian Brothers Automotive posts regular video tips on their Facebook page, like this one about tire safety.
In addition, some guests may find things that are simple for technicians and other experienced vehicle owners, such as performing an oil change or rotating tires, to be difficult or more of a hassle than they want to take on, and will instead bring the job to you.
Tek-Tip: Consider your audience.
If your shop helps the average daily driver, you may be able to teach them something basic like how to refill their wiper fluid or change a tire. But if your shop services clients who already know the basics, you may want to show them something more exciting and sophisticated like: -How we installed a 10 point roll cage in a Jeep Liberty. -Lift kit tipsHow to install a winch and/or lightbar to an off road vehicle How to reset the oil light on particular vehicles
4. Show gratitude and understanding
Guests are the backbone of any auto repair shop. Without them, you wouldn’t be in business. Show your guests that you value them! Sometimes this is better done in person, but if a guest is particularly loyal, or you provided them with some interesting, exciting repair work, you may want to ask them if you can feature them on social media and thank them for coming in.
If someone leaves a 5 star review on Facebook, Google, Yelp or somewhere else, or says something positive about your business, be sure to thank them for taking the time to do so. If the review was not made on a public site, and you got it from a customer by email or text, you should ask them permission to share their review before posting it on social media.
If the review was not made on a public site, and you got it from a customer by email or text, you should ask them permission to share their review before posting it on social media.
The best way to handle negative reviews (and chargebacks, for that matter) is to prevent them from happening in the first place by providing excellent customer service and communicating clearly with your customers. That said, there is always the chance that something will slip through the cracks or that someone will post something because they’re having a bad day. Not all negative reviews are within your control.
Most channels allow you to respond to guests. Talk to your service advisors and technicians to find the specific circumstances of the complaint being made so you have all the facts before responding.
Then, respond in a timely manner; you don’t want to let a review linger for days before responding.
When you do respond, stay courteous and professional, no matter how rude or out-of-line the customer’s review is. If you are able to encourage them to take the conversation offline by calling you, do so. Sometimes, a little attention will encourage the customer to remove their negative review.
If not, at least the public can see that you paid attention and took every possible step to meet their needs. If the review is entirely fabricated, you may be able to challenge it through an official appeal process on the site; Yelp, for example, allows you to flag a review for removal.
It’s also helpful to be proactive about gathering positive reviews so they drown out the negative ones and lessen their impact on both your potential customers’ shopping experience and your overall average business rating on the review site.
6. Highlight seasonal holidays & events
The holidays are a natural part of the yearly newscycle. They’re also fun for a lot of people, and a time when families and friends come together to celebrate something important. By highlighting holidays and using proper hashtags, your shop can gain more attention, inspire action, and be a part of the community's seasonal activities.
Don't forget to use the proper hashtags for seasons and events in your posts. These can help gain attention, but only if you use hashtags that show up in news feeds!
Some holidays move around on the calendar, but here are some dates and hashtags to use for certain holidays and events that take place over the course of the year:
January
1st, #NewYearsDay
16th, #GetToKnowYourCustomersDay
20th, #MLKDay
25th, #ChineseNewYear (1/25 - 2/8)
February
4th, #WorldCancerDay
14th, #ValentinesDay
17th, #KindnessDay (Random Acts of Kindness Day)
22nd, #NationalMargaritaDay (Don’t drink and drive!)
25th, #MardiGras (Same as above)
27th, #NationalRetroDay
March
6th, #EmployeeAppreciationDay
8th, #InternationalWomensDay
17th, #StPatricksDay
23rd, #NationalPuppyDay
25th, #WaffleDay
28th, #EarthHour
30th, #NationalDoctorsDay
April
1st, #AprilFools
15th, #TaxDay
16th, #HighFiveDay
22nd, #EarthDay
May
4th, #MayThe4thBeWithYou (National Star Wars day)
5th, #ThankATeacher (National Teacher’s Day)
10th, #MothersDay
12th, #NursesDay
15th, #ChocolateChipDay
21st, #AccessibilityAwarenessDay
25th, #MemorialDay
June
5th, #DonutDay
6th, #HigherEducationDay
8th, #BestFriendsDay
12th, #NationalAutomotiveServiceProfessionalsDay
14th, #FlagDay
15th, #NativeAmericanCitizenship
21st, #FathersDay
30th, #SMDay (Social Media Day)
July
1st, #TellAJoke (International Joke Day)
4th, #IndependenceDay
7th, #WorldChocolateDay
14th, #BastilleDay
17th, #WorldEmojiDay
19th, #NationalIceCreamDay
26th, #ParentsDay
30th, #InternationalDayOfFriendship
August
15th, #NationalRelaxationDay
19th, #WorldPhotoDay
26th, #NationalDogDay
September
5th, #InternationalDayOfCharity
6th, #ReadABookDay
7th, #LaborDay
21st, #DayOfPeace
29th, #NationalCoffeeDay
30th, #InternationalPodcastDay
October
4th, #NationalTacoDay
16th, #NationalBossDay
31st, #Halloween
November
3rd, #ElectionDay (2020)
11th, #VeteransDay
13th, #WKD (World Kindness Day)
26th, #Thanksgiving (2020)
27th, #BlackFriday (2020)
28th, #ShopSmall (Small Business Saturday, 2020)
30th, #CyberMonday (2020)
December
1st, #GivingTuesday (2020)
3rd, #IDPD (International Day of Persons with Disabilities)
9th, #ChildrensDay
10th, #HumanRightsDay
25th, #Christmas
31st, #NewYearsEve
Tek-Tip: Stay ahead of the calendar.
Since holidays come at the same time every year, you can work them into your social media marketing and your marketing calendar as a whole. Planning out your holiday tactics in advance gives you the time to study consumer trends and behavior as well as outline your campaigns so you don’t have to think on the fly. Map the holiday calendar in advance for less stress, more insights, and stronger returns.
Tek-Tip: Don’t forget to include local events!
If your service area has a local festival or event (like the Bluebonnet Festival in Burnet, Texas or the Art Car Parade in Houston), don’t forget to highlight them with the proper hashtag, too! You may even consider reaching out to the event organizers to help sponsor the event.
7. Social media contests
Everyone loves a raffle, and everyone loves a gift card. Gift card lotteries are a simple way to encourage people to like your posts, share your posts, and provide you with a good review.
We often see auto shops use monthly gift card drawings as a way to continually drum up engagement. It’s also a good way to work in some general education for your customers.
For example, you can make the gift card amount match the exact amount of an oil change to remind customers that they need to get that done to take the best possible care of their vehicle.
Photo contests are another way to get more exposure and traffic to your social media page. You can pick a topic and encourage guests to post or submit their photos on social media and tag your auto shop. Create an award, like a service certificate or gift card, and pick a winner!
8. Like, share, and comment
It’s not enough to just post content and hope people engage with it. Remember to like, share, and comment on your own posts and on other people’s, too, when it’s appropriate.
Sometimes reminding page visitors to like, share, and comment on your own posts is all that’s needed to encourage them to engage.
Here are some example posts that you can try on your own feed:
"Like us and share your experience on social media and get $5 off!"
"First 5 people to share and comment get 15% off their next visit."
“We’re proud to support first responders. Share this post if you are, too.”
“We’re always trying to improve our guest experience. What can we do to improve our service to you and our community? Tell us in the comments.”
9. Diversify your channels
Between Google My Business, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and even your shop’s website, there are a lot of places where potential guests may go for information. Posting on all platforms may seem complicated at first, but you can always reshare content. For example, if you post a blog or new service page on your site, be sure to share it on Facebook and Twitter. Did someone leave a good Google review? Post about it on Facebook and thank them! Just upload a YouTube video? Share it on Facebook!
Tek-Tip: Use online marketing management tools like Hubspot, Shopgenie, or Hootsuite.
Sometimes when you’re using multiple social media channels, it is best to view them all in one dashboard. Tools like Hubspot help you schedule posts, view post engagement, see analytics, and manage conversations all from a single dashboard. Some tools also help manage reviews, which can be beneficial as its own process for you and your shop. Different tools have varying capabilities and vary in complexity and pricing, so find the one that is right for you.
Some social media sites, like Facebook, have built-in scheduling tools that could make it easier to schedule posts without using an outside platform.
Also remember it’s okay to start small; you don’t have to use every single social media channel. If you find a channel does not drive leads by engaging customers or driving search traffic to your website or social media pages, don’t use it.
You are not obligated to use every social media network and may find that it’s only worth using one or two for your business.
10. Have fun!
Probably the most important tip of them all: have fun. Remember, social media is typically a place where people go to engage with socially engaging content. Content that is too serious may make your feed look stale, and make it difficult for potential customers to relate to your brand.
If you can capture your technicians, service advisors, and even yourself having a good time, it breaks the ice and may entice people to do more business at your shop. We’ve seen shops post pictures of team building events as well as pictures that show off their goofy side; the team at Casey’s Automotive has done a good job of posting lighthearted content and photos of their team having a good time, and it has helped them gain more than 2,000 followers.
On May 4th, you can have your team pose for a lightsaber battle. October 16th is National High Five day, so be sure to post some good high-five pictures and emojis on your Facebook page. 🙏👏
Social media post ideas for auto repair shops
Customer-Centric Content
“Car of the Week” Feature – Showcase an interesting repair job or classic vehicle that came through the shop.
Customer Spotlight – Share a short story or testimonial from a happy customer (with permission).
Before & After Visuals – Post transformation photos of a repair or detailing job.
Behind-the-Scenes Tours – Give a video or photo tour of your shop and introduce your team.
Educational & Helpful Tips
Seasonal Maintenance Reminders – Inform customers about what their vehicle needs in winter, summer, etc.
“Tech Tip Tuesday” – A weekly snippet of car care advice from your technicians.
Warning Signs 101 – Teach customers how to spot common issues (noises, leaks, dashboard lights).
Myth-Busting Posts – Tackle popular car care misconceptions.
“Guess the Problem” Game – Post a photo or video clip and have followers guess the issue.
Vote for your favorite car - Create a poll asking followers to pick their favorite car.
Customer Q&A Sessions – Invite followers to drop questions in comments for your techs to answer.
Throwback Posts – Share old shop photos or stories from the early days.
Trust & Transparency Builders
Meet the Team Posts – Personal bios, favorite tools, or “a day in the life” of a tech.
Explainer Videos – Short clips that walk through common repairs or shop processes.
Tool Spotlight – Show off unique or advanced tools you use and why they matter.
Customer Review Highlights – Turn your Google or Yelp reviews into branded quote graphics.
Fun, Culture & Promotions
Shop Culture Moments – Celebrations, birthdays, pets in the shop, or Friday playlists.
Contests & Giveaways – Oil change giveaways, “Tag a friend who needs a tune-up” style promos.
Local Business Shoutouts – Cross-promote other small businesses in your area.
Milestone Celebrations – Anniversaries, number of vehicles serviced, or team achievements.
Final thoughts
Remember, engaging guests on social media is just one way to improve your auto repair shop. There are other important marketing strategies to utilize such as search engine optimization, Google Ads, email marketing, and more. Lastly, always focus on creating an amazing customer experience to encourage customers to share their experience with others.
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