Know-How Exchange : Advertising/PR

Here are a few quick ones. Connect with insurance companies for them to make recommendations or referrals. Connect with automotive repair companies for them to make referrals to you. Offer discounts for certain types of repairs that you know have loads of profit built into them. Do a home mail flyer campiagn. If you want thigh end, your marekting needs toshow and reflect that. ie. don;t show an old car in your ads, etc, show a MMW, etc. Walk the shopping mall parking lots and place a flyer on windshield of any car with damage or bad paint.

Go to where your customers are! Connect with them by providing tips for fixing damaged cars via traditional and social media. Engage with auto dealers that don't have their own collision centers. As Peter suggested, do the same with insurance companies.

Engage with potential customers so that when/if something happens to their cars, you will already be a trusted expert, and your company will be at top of mind.

Google AdWords - a well managed account is in front of searchers 24 x 7 x 365 on keywords that resonate with your target market. In combination with your website that converts, it will make the phone ring WHEN THEY ARE SEARCHING.

More structured companies probably have a policy about recommending a provider - you could at best be on a preferred / approved list without preference to any one shop.

Other methods like a police report would require you to be right on top of a report and mail asap because more that likely high-end decisions would be made quickly - less shopping.

We can discuss AdWords further and why it is effective, manageable, targeted, and cost effective. Contact me through the Profile.

Sincerely,
Bob

lasleepy,
My industry colleagues above have generated a plethora of ideas that work well and should help you enormously if followed promptly and accurately. I have a very small suggestion to add:

Many households own more than one vehicle so you might want to try direct-to-door advertising to support your other efforts. This medium can be quite effective if used appropriately. If you want to reach out to "high-end" customers, then find a direct-to-door distributor that offers geo-demographic mapping so you can identify high-income households areas where you can distribute the door hangers.

Good luck!

I work with HOSTNET UGANDA a Marketing Firm in Uganda, I would give you one affordable but unique marketing idea;

WHY NOT APPLY SOME FUN TO YOUR MARKETING STRATEGIES, AS YOU KNOW EVERY ONE ON EARTH LIKES FUNNY THINGS.

so here is the strategy, use "human billboards", get promotional Girls or boys and let them wear softboards with funny words intended to advertise your service on them.

For example; "AM BEING PUNISHED BY "YOUR COMPANY NAME" COZ OF THE BAD PAINT I USED ON MY CAR, DONT DO THEM SAME MISTAKE. CALL "TEL NO." FOR A BETTER SOLN" and so on.

it will be fun if you target traffic hours like in the morning and evenings as this will attract people's eyes hence turning them into customers.

Hope this will help

Am Martin Kawande
Managing Director
Hostnet Uganda