Picture this…

Your auto body shop receives a glowing review from one of your adoring customers, so good in fact that as you sit atop your building overlooking the city below, you think to yourself – you couldn’t have written it any better.  The suns warming rays are shining thru a double-rainbow, trees are dancing, and the animals are all your friends now… you are in a very happy place indeed.

So after a few hours of basking in your glorious self, you scrape that review from Google and paste it to your website so everyone else can see your awesomeness.

Yep – I’ve been here before too.  No doubt, it’s a good place to be.

You should be proud that your customers thought enough about your business to slow themselves down and share their experience as a Google review.  This is certainly worthy of celebration!

However, did you know that you just diluted the marketing potential of that review by posting it on your website?  Yep – you did.  Moreover, if (when) Google sees that it has been duplicated on your website, they just might remove it from their index… [read more]

by Chris Sheehy | Sidewalk Branding Company

By Chris Sheehy  |  published with permission by MarketingProfs.com; as re-published by ABRN

We recognize all these name iterations as simply different terms for auto body repair businesses, but do search engines see it the same way as we do; and could selecting one over the other influence our visibility to search engines?  Po-tay-toe or po-tah-toe; it’s still just apotato.  Right?

With the internet proving to be a significant lead generation tool for small businesses – the auto body industry included – businesses are discovering that local marketing is a hyper-competitive marketplace and being discovered online is getting increasingly complex.  The days of set-it-and-forget-it website marketing are long gone, today’s businesses need a better strategy with quantifiable results for their marketing spend.  With respect to online marketing – this means selecting the right words that will enable your business to rank well on search engines thus be discovered by more people searching for what you have to offer.

Regardless of what the name is on the sign outside your body shop – the wording you use for your online marketing plays a significant impact on both overall visibility and brand recognition by your customers and prospects searching for you online.  A businesses ranking on Google for example – is often the first impression a new customer has of your business.  Conversely, for your older customers who haven’t needed your services in a while who look your business up on the internet instead of searching for your business card that they most likely misplaced, your ranking on search might cause them to be lured away from your business by your competition who appears more prominent in the local auto body repair scene – judging solely by that businesses higher ranking on the search engines.

High ranking on search engines for your auto body business is all in the words – choose the right ones, and they will come.  {more}

02 Feb 2011

With AutoFocus, Audatex now provides the strongest suite of estimating and management system software in the industry.

San Diego, (Feb. 2, 2011) – Audatex North America, Inc., the leading provider of software and services to the automobile insurance claims processing industry, today announced that it has purchased NewEra Software LLC, a U.S.-based provider of body shop management systems (“BMS”).

NewEra’s expertise coupled with Audatex’s distribution capabilities will provide our 12,000+ collision repair customers in North America with an integrated management solution that controls the vital operational elements of the collision repair process. By further expanding its product offering, Audatex continues to provide collision repair facilities with better tools to gain a competitive edge.

The combination of Audatex’s customer base and platform with NewEra’s scalable and modular BMS will allow us to deliver more high-value services to our collision repair customers, enabling them to more effectively manage their operations and administrative activities with vendors, insurers and customers. We are very excited about their proven volume-based scheduling and workflow management tools which will include the ability for collision repair facilities to display and intelligently manage vehicle repair status that can be tracked real-time by customers, rental car agencies and insurance professionals via an electronic device of their choice.

“The NewEra body shop management system, AutoFocus, will be a key offering in our body shop suite of products, and underscores our commitment to bringing essential and value added products and services to our customers”.Elias Olmeta, CFOO of Audatex North America.

About Audatex North America, Inc.
Audatex is the leading global claims solutions provider serving the automotive industry. Active today across six continents, Audatex provides world-class claims solutions that help customers automate their processes; managing millions of claims each year efficiently and effectively, and resolving billions in claims settlements. Beyond a leading presence in automotive claims, our growing footprint also extends into the automotive related financial services and medical claims solutions markets. As part of the Solera group of companies, Audatex, Sidexa, Informex, ABZ, Hollander and IMS draw on unique global experience to develop and deliver the latest technologies, market intelligence and best practices on a local level. For more information, please refer to the Company’s website at www.audatex.us.

“so – what do you do?”

Your answer to this chance-encounter could either unremarkably answer the question OR your answer could build a lasting impression of you and your business; resulting in either a longer conversation of your remarkable company or a prospect/referral opportunity.

Reality is that most businesses don’t have an Elevator Pitch and just wing-it when faced with this opportunity (notice I said opportunity), so click on the box below and give it some thought.  It took me no less than 3 tries to get it right – so don’t be disappointed if the first few go-around don’t sound good (like mine).

By: Chris Sheehy – Auto Body Consultant at Autobody Consulting Group LLC www.AutobodyConsultingGroup.com

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photo and tool credit: Harvard Business School Alumni: http://www.alumni.hbs.edu/

So – you have a website – GREAT – now how to you get people to find it?

Unless someone types in your website address (URL), they are most likely to find your business online by using a search engine.  Getting your website recognized on these search engines and thus be found by your prospects and customers is not rocket science – but neither is replacing a quarter panel.  Both however require unique tools, some forethought (strategy), ingenuity (innovation), and a person with the right skills to get the job done.

Replacing a quarter panel isn’t a job for the inexperienced; similarly marketing your business online isn’t kids play.

These steps are sure to get you headed in the right direction – this isn’t article fluff, this is the same tactic I use for my clients.

1. Start with your website!  A website that scores high in Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Compliance – yes, there is a tool for that – is the foundation for social media because all your online and social media profiles should point here.
2. Content and Compliance are king when it comes to ranking on search engines.  What you say; and how you say it – makes all the difference between ranking #1 or #101 on the search engines.  The art of crafting word-content that increases your search engine ranking (and thus more people see your site) is referred to as Search Engine Optimization – SEO for short.
3. Constantly source and link-to online networks like LinkedIn, profile pages such as Yahoo!, maps including Google, and directories – MerchantCircle and YP to name a couple.  This is referred to as link-building.  The more online connections you have, the greater visibility your business will have to search engines.  There is a direct and well-published correlation between social media activity, and link-building that will improve your ranking on the big three search engines – Google, Bing, Yahoo! (listed in order of influence) and thus elevate your website exposure to more prospects and customers.
4. Engage with people who engage with you – simply stated; if someone comments, likes, or shares your post; at the very least send them a thank you.
5. Inter-link all of your online activity.  FaceBook allows you to link to Twitter and several other communication sites – take advantage of this, it will make it easier for your viewers to connect with you and hear your message.  Many social media channels have this inter-connectivity – look for it.  Also, don’t forget to add your social media badges to your website home page (also called a landing page).
6. Be consistent – schedule time to commit to social media and stick to it!  If you post two posts each week, stay resilient.
7. Reaching Business-2-Business (B2B) through your vendor partners is a great way of extending your social media audience.  Combine this with your Customer-2-Business (B2C) activities to increase your chance of your social media affecting your search engine ranking.
8. Lastly – share other people’s stories if it is in-line with your strategy and make sure to give them ample credit, as you would expect to receive.  (try it out with this story)

Sometimes having all the answers still isn’t enough – applying the theory is often more difficult and complicated than it seems on paper.  If this sounds like your situation, or if the article above might as well have been written in Navajo, consider hiring a pro – it’s an investment that could be a game-changer for your business.

By: Chris Sheehy – Auto Body Consultant at Autobody Consulting Group LLC www.AutobodyConsultingGroup.com

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I was doing some reading recently when I came across a quote in Forbes magazine that I haven’t heard of in a long time . . .

Because the purpose of business is to create a customer, the business enterprise has two – and only two – basic functions: marketing and innovation.  Marketing and innovation produce results; all the rest are costs. Marketing is the distinguishing, unique function of the business.”  Peter Drucker – 1973

I frequently meet people who are at a quandary of whether their business will be better off with more marketing (traffic to their door) OR with better operating efficiencies and standard procedures.  Drucker reminds me in his quote that it is both and as a consultant, my job is to find the balance of implementing marketing innovation and business innovation in a manner that brings the quickest and most quantifiable ROI to my clients – from a financial as well as results perspective.
Here’s a quick breakdown on what Marketing and Innovation means for our autobody industry – from my point of view.

Marketing, creates brand awareness, trust in the brand, and top-of-mind awareness of your business (brand being your business name).  In other words, marketing makes people aware of your companies name, logo, and location.  When done well, people will have trust and confidence in doing business with you – even if they haven’t met you before.  Social media usage coupled with the recent search engine changes (for your website – you have one – right?) online marketing vastly extends your word-of-mouth marketing.  Marketing is certainly one area where you don’t want to put all your eggs into one basket – a solid strategy could consist of online, face-to-face, paper, radio, television, social media, community, cause, or guerrilla marketing tactics.  The first thing to do is to allocate an annual marketing budget (3% of overall revenue is a good goal) and to put a strategy together.  The second step is to stay true to this commitment.  Lac k of commitment is one of businesses biggest failures – motivation is the multiplier to success though, so try your hardest to stay focused and on-task.

Innovation is, by definition; “the introduction of something new”.  Nearly everyone will have their own interpretation for what is innovation – but to me, it’s the willingness to continually try something new to better your business results or to provide a greater customer experience – Kai-zen in Lean terms.  This term also loops-back to the first – Marketing, in having the willingness to try different ways of marketing your business.   To many, innovation represents Lean, Mobile-Estimating,  or Blueprinting  –reality is, that it’s usually more simplistic than that.  Realistically, having firm business processes alone defines innovation for the majority of the businesses.  No matter – innovation is innovation, and as long as it’s centered on your business needs; then you’re headed in the right direction.

In the big picture, marketing brings customers to your door and innovative approaches to customer service, repair quality, and meeting consumer expectations (i.e. cycle time) will bring them back.

No doubt about it, Drucker was right on the mark way back in 1973 with his statement, and nearly 40 years later it’s still true that marketing and innovation need to play a pivotal part of your daily operations.

By: Chris Sheehy – Auto Body Consultant at Autobody Consulting Group LLC www.AutobodyConsultingGroup.com

Twitter | FaceBook | LinkedIn

Is social media only about being social – or is there more to it than that?

While it is true that social media can convert Twitter or FaceBook followers and friends into customers; and it is also true that these social media channels offer a great way of staying in-touch with these customers as well as cultivate new ones through lead-generation – but there is something else social media can do – and it’s a game changer.

Social media activity can increase your ranking on Google and nearly every other search engine and drive more traffic to your website and ultimately to your door – and that’s exactly why we have a web site; isn’t it?

I’m sure to get some comments on this statement, but it’s OK to post on social media sites with the sole intention of effecting higher search engine rankings and without intending on being social.

The job of crafting words on a web page (or online profile or social media post) with the purpose of increasing search engine ranking is referred to as Search Engine Optimization (SEO).  The art of word-crafting is referred to as “phraseology”, and it’s interesting to note that SEO is an integral part of phraseology – literally.

Understanding the specific set of standards and using phraseology when posting messages on social media channels – like Twitter and FaceBook, are a great way to boost your search engine ranking AND give you more exposure on the search engine results page – referred to in the marketing industry as SERP.

Google recently made some significant changes in the way it ranks websites and in a surprising statement cited – among other things – that being active in social media will positively reward a website’s ranking.  I’m paraphrasing here, but that’s the gist.

Google, Bing, and Yahoo! are the three biggies when it comes to search engines – nearly everything else is somehow connected to them.  Each search engine has a different set of rules and standards when it comes to website listings, and these standards change often.

The days of establishing a website and leaving it there to do its job are gone.  Today’s websites need up-keeping to stay current with the latest code and listing standards in order to maintain good search engine ranking.  For instance – a website title needs to be crafted within a specific character length and of sufficient keyword density (having enough relevant key words – aka: search words) to be considered by Google for better ranking, too short or long in character length and you’ll suffer a low ranking.  Bing will ding you for having too many characters in apage description, and Yahoo! will drop rank for stuffing too many key words into a web page – a tactic called “keyword stuffing” which was a widely published SEO strategy until recently banned by Google with their new Caffeine algorithm (that’s the tool that spiders websites to rank them for inclusion on the search results page).

The kicker here is that there are no playbooks for this SEO stuff as each search engine considers the details of how they rank businesses to be proprietary and confidential business intelligence.  Hiring an experienced SEO marketer for your online activity who keeps up with these standards and best-practices can really pay dividends…

So, the next time you’re crafting words for your website, your social media profile, or the next time you post a message on Twitter or FaceBook consider phraseology and remember – you don’t always have to be social in social media.

By: Chris Sheehy – Auto Body Consultant at Autobody Consulting Group LLC www.AutobodyConsultingGroup.com

Twitter | FaceBook | LinkedIn

I often speak to groups of people and over the years have gotten quite comfortable with it, but that wasn’t always the case – to be honest, it used to freak me out at first.  Having had a lot of experience and having received so much great advice from others over the years, I have crafted speaking/presenting into a deliberate routine which has enabled me to be so comfortable with speaking and presenting in public that I yearn for the next opportunity.

By: Chris Sheehy – Auto Body Consultant at Autobody Consulting Group LLC www.AutobodyConsultingGroup.com

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Click HERE to view the floor map of the show (N947 highlighted).

iAutoFocus by NewEra Software is a uniquely feature-rich solution (without being overly complicated) focused on providing just what you need; just when you need it.

View the demo, and then give us a call to discuss how putting a management system into your business will enable you to be more competitive in your era. 877-447-4707

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uefmpo6k3DA

measure it – manage it