When it comes to repairing a ding on a windshield or replacing a cracked window, consumers have choices. If you want your auto glass business to stand out from the competition, you need to market your business.
No matter how small or large your auto glass company may be, it needs a marketing plan. This plan should be a combination of online and offline marketing tactics that reflect the amount of resources you can allocate to ensure its success.
Whether you have a big or small marketing budget, an outsourced or on staff marketing professional, or an employee who performs some marketing along with other duties, your business should be doing some form of marketing each and every day.
This list of marketing ideas for auto glass companies will help you get started formulating a marketing plan. It provides online and offline marketing initiatives designed for auto glass businesses of all sizes and budgets.
A good marketing strategy is to conduct a few marketing initiatives at one time and compare their results to see which ones increase business.
Online Marketing Ideas for Auto Glass Companies
1. E-mail Newsletter
Start by creating an e-mail newsletter call to action on your website or blog so visitors can opt-in. To encourage those driving around with dings or cracks on their windshields to register for your e-mail newsletter, consider a limited time offer to all new subscribers.
Next, plan to e-mail a newsletter to your list every month. The content can offer information about your products, services, employee of the month, the process of repairing or replacing vehicle glass, and why it’s so important to get damaged vehicle windows and windshields fixed immediately.
You also can consider adding video, audio, or social sharing functionality to your e-mail newsletters.
2. Online Advertising Campaign
Create a digital ad (or hire a digital marketing firm to do it for you) to run on relevant advertising sites, like RepairPal or AutoMD, that pertain to the auto glass repair industry. Also consider consumer sites, like Angie’s List and Yelp Advertising.
3. Online Marketplace Offer
Groupon, Living Social, and Dealsaver are among the popular online marketplace websites where you can offer a promotion for a limited time. For example, you can offer a percentage off savings or a set price, and set the expiration date for the offer.
4. Blog Posts
Add a blog to your website and write keyword targeted articles on a regular basis. Be sure to add share buttons to your blog so readers can share the content via social media sites.
Also, seek out opportunities to write a guest blog on popular blogs pertaining to the auto glass industry and auto safety. Since your name and your company’s name accompany the blog article, guest blogging extends your market reach and provides reputable backlinks to your website that help its ranking in search engine results.
5. Internet Marketing Campaign
You can do this yourself, but hiring a digital marketer to conduct pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns and analyze their results will get you to the top of the Page 1 local search results for your keyword faster. Some popular PPC campaigns are Google Adwords and Bing PPC.
6. YouTube or SlideShare Presentation
Images sell, especially creative ones that go viral. A short video can go a long way toward marketing your business. Post it on your social media accounts or YouTube channel, or use it as part of your YouTube paid advertising program.
Likewise, you can create a slide presentation and post it on SlideShare. This marketing tactic is ideal for B2B marketing.
7. Webinar or Podcast
A webinar or podcast is a great marketing tool to share information whenever people are seeking it out. Since safety is a key reason for getting a vehicle’s windshield repaired or replaced, this topic lends itself well to a webinar or podcast.
8. Photo Contest on Instagram
Instagram makes it easy to hold a photo contest. Consider having people submit photos of their dings and cracks and the worst one receives a discount off your windshield replacement or repair service.
Photo contests also provide user-generated content that you can reuse on your website, blog, other social media platforms, or printed marketing materials.
9. Social Media Marketing Campaign
With the majority of consumers on some form of social media platform, it makes good business sense to run a social media for business marketing campaign.
Some platforms to look into are Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram, YouTube, and Pinterest.
10. Shared Website Marketing
Partner with other local websites that complement your windshield repair or replace services and offer a cross promotion on each other’s website, e-mail newsletter, Facebook page, etc.
11. Claim Your Business Listings
There’s free or low-cost advertising out there just waiting to be claimed and it’s as simple as claiming your business listing on the various local business directories. These include Google My Business, Bing Places for Business, YP, Superpages, Yahoo Localworks, Yelp for Business Owners, Yellowbook, CitySearch and your state’s Better Business Bureau, just to name a few.
By claiming your business, you’ll optimize your website’s local SEO, which helps to rank it higher in search engine results pages.
12. Link Your Social Media Accounts to Your Website
Since search engines like sites with credibility, one of the best ways to establish this is by linking all your social media accounts to your website. It’s a simple marketing tactic that delivers better search results rankings.
13. Business Source for Journalists
When journalists and reporters are working on a story, they need to tap into experts in various fields to supplement their facts. You can be a resource in the auto safety and auto glass industries by signing up to Help a Report Out (HARO). Not only will it establish you as an expert in your field, it also gives exposure to you and your business.
14. Backlinks to Your Website
Another helpful SEO marketing tactic is acquiring backlinks to your website. These are links on other reputable websites that link back to your website. Seek out backlink opportunities on authoritative websites, like business or charitable partners, trade and industry websites, business organizations, and relevant associations.
15. Online Reviews Initiative
Online reviews are critical to local SEO because positive reviews lead to a higher search engine ranking for your business. Plus, most people rely on reviews from such sites as Google, Yelp, Angie’s List, and the Better Business Bureau (BBB) when deciding which local business to patronize.
Start a marketing initiative that encourages customers to leave an online review rating for the windshield repair or replacement work they had done to their car or truck.
For example, you can send a thank you e-mail as a service follow-up and request an online review. Be sure to provide links to the online review sites to make it easy for customers to leave their comments. And make a point to reply to reviews left for your business, whether positive or negative.
You can also showcase these customer reviews on a “Reviews” page on your website, another plus for boosting local SEO.
Offline Marketing Ideas for Auto Glass Companies
16. Direct Mail Special Offer Postcard
A direct mail campaign can get your local auto glass business promotion into the homes of your target area. The U.S. Post Office offers an Every Door Direct Mail program that allows you to select the zip codes or routes you want to target.
This allows you to try multiple promotions and test which mailing has the most impact. Just be sure your direct mail postcard includes a call to action.
17. Customer Appreciation Program
A customer appreciation program goes a long way toward building word of mouth business. A few days after completing a customer’s auto glass work, send a thank you card expressing how much you appreciate their business and how honored you would be if they would refer your business to others.
18. Speaker’s Program
Community groups, senior citizen organizations, nonprofits, police community events, associations, and schools all hold events that feature guest speakers. Offer to speak at these groups about the important safety aspects of getting windshields and windows repaired or replaced immediately.
You might want to ramp up your speaker’s program during key industry events, like National Car Care Month in April and Fall Car Care Month in October.
19. Event Sponsorship
Having a presence in the community you serve helps to build customer relationships. There are various types of event sponsorships you can implement based on your budget and staff and time constraints.
Some options include sponsoring a Little League team, having an information booth at a craft fair or festival, sponsoring a hole at a golf tournament, or sponsoring or participating as a business team in a walk-a-thon.
20. Charitable Involvement
Choose one or more charitable groups in your local community and have a presence at their charitable events. Your decision on which charities to support can be based on those with a personal connection to you or your employees, or those that tie into your auto glass business.
21. B2B Marketing
Business to business marketing allows you to work with other businesses to promote each other’s business. Partner with businesses related to the auto glass industry, but not in direct competition with it.
Some avenues to explore are:
- Companies that rely on vehicles for their business, such as corporations with company cars or sales people on the road;
- Companies with a fleet of vehicles, such as limousine services, funeral homes, local couriers, etc.
- Local insurance representatives;
- Food delivery companies;
- Car washes;
- Auto detailers;
- Auto clubs;
- Car and truck dealerships.
Also consider tapping into promotions run by automotive or auto safety companies that are nationally, regionally, or locally based.
B2B partnerships can feature any type of activity, such as a promotional giveaway, a special event, a joint community project, sharing of leads, or simply putting each other’s brochures in each other’s place of business.
22. Vehicle Wrap
Putting your company’s name and location on your personal vehicle(s) is an inexpensive way to market your business around town. You can also ask to do the same on your employees’ vehicles in exchange for a stipend.
Some companies solicit people who drive a lot through their target market to put a vehicle wrap on their cars for an agreed upon price.
Depending on your budget, you can choose a full vehicle wrap or just a back window wrap.
23. Media Advertising
According to Glass magazine, a growing number of local auto glass companies are using radio and television ads to generate business. Additional media options include your area’s daily newspaper, weekly community newspaper, or local cable shows.
24. Networking Events
Seek out networking groups and attend one of their events. This is a great way to make connections with potential customers and to informally talk about your windshield repair or replace services.
Bring along small promotional items, such as pens, magnets, clips, key chains, plastic cups, etc., engraved with your company name and location to hand out.
25. Join Business Associations
Join the local chamber of commerce or area business association in the communities you serve. Be active in the meetings and events that they hold.
26. Press Releases
Getting the word out about your business helps to generate inquiries and sales. Submitting press releases to media outlets or organizations/associations you or your business belong to is a worthwhile marketing initiative.
Send out press releases to announce a new hire or promotion, an employee’s accomplishments, a new product or service, or a company milestone.
27. Trade Shows
Participate in trade shows that have a connection to your auto glass business, such as an auto show, a business expo, or a consumer safety show.
Rent a booth and plan some type of interactive presentation to attract attendees to your booth. Be sure to have some way to collect leads.
Some trade shows have staged events, such as demonstrations, where you can demonstrate the various types of auto glass damage or the process of repairing or replacing a windshield or window.
28. Be a Guest on a Local Television or Radio Show
Seek out local news shows, cable television programs, or radio shows that are related to the auto industry. Often times, these shows are looking for experts in the field to delve deeper into a particular program’s theme. Local newscasts, in particular, seek out experts in a particular field for a quote related to a news story they are working on.
Owners or marketing representatives of auto glass companies can speak to the importance of auto safety as it relates to fixing dings and cracks quickly to prevent dangerous situations while driving on the road.
29. Billboard Advertising
Consider billboard advertising in highly traveled areas in your community or along a local highway where people are more likely to get a windshield crack or ding.
30. Movie Theater Advertising
Local theaters sell ads on their big screens that run before the movie. Consider running a big screen advertising program when a car or truck related movie is showing.
So, there you have it, 30 proven marketing ideas for auto glass companies. No matter the outcome or how challenging a marketing campaign may be, the key is to always market your business, treating it as a daily priority to generate new business so your company continues to grow and be profitable.