Running a successful auto repair shop takes more than just being great at fixing cars. You need a marketing strategy that consistently brings in new customers while keeping current ones loyal. Here’s how you can leverage some of the best marketing tactics—along with Shopgenie’s tools—to drive growth for your business.
When customers need repairs, they’re likely Googling “auto repair near me.” Optimizing your Google Business Profile is a crucial first step. Make sure your profile has complete, accurate information like business hours, services offered, and updated photos. Use keywords such as “oil change,” “transmission repair,” or “brake service” to help Google better understand what your shop offers. Higher local rankings often translate into more leads and foot traffic.
Pro Tip: Keep your profile active with regular posts, offers, and fresh photos. The more active your profile, the more Google will reward you with visibility.
Social media is a powerful tool for connecting with your community and showing off the personality behind your shop. Platforms like Facebook and Instagram let you share success stories, car care tips, and even behind-the-scenes content from your garage. Consistent social media engagement helps you build brand awareness and loyalty.
Engagement Tip: Host a social media contest where customers can win a free service for tagging your shop or sharing a post. It’s a fun way to spread the word and bring in new followers.
Email marketing is still one of the most effective ways to stay connected with your customers. Shopgenie can help you set up automated email campaigns that deliver maintenance reminders, service offers, and even follow-ups after a visit. Personalized emails keep your shop at the forefront of your customers’ minds and can drive repeat business.
Email Strategy: With Shopgenie, you can segment your email list based on customer behavior and service history. Target customers who haven’t visited in a while with a special offer to bring them back in.
Loyalty programs are key to keeping customers coming back. Shopgenie can help you create a seamless loyalty program that rewards your customers for repeat visits and referrals. Offer points that can be redeemed for discounts or free services, and track it all automatically within your Shopgenie dashboard.
Idea: Link your loyalty program with Shopgenie’s CRM for easy tracking and to make sure rewards are applied without any manual work from your team. View our loyalty integrations here
Reviews are digital word-of-mouth, and they play a major role in how new customers find you. Shopgenie’s automated review request system makes it easy to ask satisfied customers for reviews right after their visit. Plus, you can track and respond to reviews all in one place, helping you build trust and improve your local search rankings.
Referral Strategy: With Shopgenie, you can create a referral program that rewards both the referrer and the new customer, offering discounts or credits for every successful referral.
Your website is often the first impression potential customers have of your shop, so making sure it’s optimized for search engines is crucial. Shopgenie offers website and SEO services that focus on local search optimization, including service-specific landing pages and keyword-rich content. This helps your shop rank higher when people search for things like “brake repair in [your city].”
Content Strategy: Shopgenie can help you regularly post blog content that answers your customers’ common questions. Quality content not only helps with SEO but also establishes your shop as a trusted expert.
Online advertising through Google, Facebook, or Instagram allows you to reach potential customers exactly where they are. Shopgenie can assist you with running targeted ad campaigns that focus on the services you want to promote. For example, if you want to push more brake services, we can help you create ads that appear when people in your area search for that specific service.
Getting involved in your local community builds loyalty and spreads your brand through word-of-mouth. Whether it’s hosting a car care clinic or teaming up with a nearby business for joint promotions, being active in the community keeps your shop visible and relevant.
A well-integrated CRM can make your marketing efforts much more effective. Shopgenie connects seamlessly with your shop management system to automate service reminders, follow-ups, and review requests. For example, when a customer is due for an oil change, Shopgenie can automatically send a personalized reminder. Plus, our platform helps you intelligently respond to reviews using data from the repair order, ensuring you’re providing contextually relevant and professional replies.
Automation Tip: By integrating your shop management software with Shopgenie’s CRM, you can set up triggers for specific marketing actions based on your customer’s service history. View our shop management system integrations here
Final Thoughts
Success in auto repair marketing isn’t just about having a good strategy; it’s about having the right tools to execute it consistently. With Shopgenie’s full suite of marketing services, you can automate, optimize, and personalize your marketing efforts to keep your shop growing. From SEO to loyalty programs and CRM, Shopgenie is your partner in driving long-term success. Book a free 20-minute demo here
Ever since we came on with you guys, revenue-wise, it's over $190K worth of people that booked an appointment online, and came back to us.
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