Creating Lasting Customer Loyalty Before They Even Win a Race
While providing good engine rebuilding work is an essential component of customer satisfaction, perhaps even more important — when it comes to cultivating loyalty — is delivering exceptional customer service. After all, customers expect us to rebuild and engine or get more horsepower out of it. What they don’t expect is a convenient, easy and
Connecting With Your Customers: Firing Up Facebook for the Engine Shop
Facebook is great for exposure – it will help you grow a stronger relationship with your current customers and it will help you to reach your best prospects: your customers’ friends. However, you can’t think that by just setting up a page, people will find you, like you and buy from you. You need to put
How to Get Paid on Time
Due to current economic conditions, it’s likely that collecting on your accounts receivables is becoming more and more of a challenge. Strengthening your collection procedures may allow you to improve collection rates and shorten the aging days of your accounts receivables. The following suggestions will help your business improve its cash flow and tighten up
4 Ways to Personalize Your Website Brand
What makes you stand out from your competition? Whether you’re the customer service leader, have the best service techs in town or offer the widest selection of aftermarket wheels in the state, the unique value proposition you offer is your brand identity. Your website is your first opportunity to showcase that unique value proposition, so
‘13 SEMA Show Confirms Resurgence in Automotive Specialty Equipment Industry
The 2013 SEMA Show is history and has left no doubt that the automotive specialty equipment industry is stronger than ever. While final attendance figures are being audited, organizers report that more than 126,000 credentials were issued prior to the event, with thousands more processed onsite. The numbers represented a 7% increase over the previous
Tax Change Checklist for Engine Shops
It’s that time of the year again — time to pass out those W2 forms to your employees. And with the start of a new year, it’s always a sure bet that there will be changes to the tax law, and 2014 is no exception. From health savings accounts to retirement contributions and standard deductions,
MAHLE Clevite Changes Its Name To MAHLE Aftermarket Inc.
MAHLE Clevite Inc. has announced the transition of its company name to MAHLE Aftermarket Inc. According to the company, the changeover to the new company name, effective Jan. 1, 2014, serves a dual purpose: to bring MAHLE in line with all of the MAHLE Global Aftermarket divisions, and to highlight the substantial diversification of the
Richard Buck Named NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Managing Director
NASCAR has named Richard Buck, a NASCAR executive with a wealth of diverse experience in motorsports, as NASCAR Sprint Cup Series managing director. Buck will serve in the role held the past 12 years by John Darby, who will remain at NASCAR as managing director, competition. Buck and NASCAR’s two other national series managing directors
‘Fine Tuning’ Your Work: Customer Service After the Build
Customer satisfaction is every bit as important as the quality of your work if you expect to be a successful engine builder. You see, even when you build your customer the perfect engine, your customer must be happy with how their engine performs or your business and reputation will suffer. Far too many good engine
Motul USA Appoints Ron Aparicio as Director of Sales and Marketing
Motul USA announces the appointment of Ron Aparicio as its director of sales and marketing. A veteran of the automotive aftermarket industry, he previously served as director of sales for Walker Products Inc. During his 10-year service with Walker, he was responsible for aftermarket sales and the management of outside sales reps. In addition, he
How ‘Being Social’ Can Get More Traffic to Your Engine Shop Site
One question I get a lot when I talk to business owners about social media is “Will Facebook get me on the first page of Google?” My answer is always the same: yes and no. Let me explain why. First of all, I want to make clear that SEO/SEM (search engine optimization/search engine marketing) is
Identifying and Removing the “Time Stealers” from Your Shop
Your engine shop may be great at rebuilding powerplants for customers, but one thing your staff can’t do is build “more time.” Whether it’s silver, gold, platinum, diamonds, rubies or even cold, hard cash, we take numerous measures each day to protect our valuable items, some more drastic than others. We use locks, banks, safes
