Times are tough and everyone is tightening their belts; obviously you want to maximise the number of customers coming to your door.

There are two ways of getting more business – one is advertising/marketing, the other is to maximise the retention of your existing customers – and a nice byproduct of this might be gaining more by word-of-mouth referrals.

This what factors might help in customer retention:

Doing a good job – goes without saying but ensure your equipment and training is up to date.

Good presentation – not fancy but make sure everything is clean and tidy, if you have a waiting area make sure you have the basics – customer Wi-Fi so customers can work, tea and coffee and current reading material, make sure courtesy cars are clean and tidy, and the fuel gauge is not on E.

Good communications – make booking simple, ensure you update clients on any delays or need for extra work.

Surprise and delight – anything from a little treat in the car (could be a branded air freshener or some sweets) to a free car wash – getting something unexpected is always a nice surprise.

In terms of word of mouth, the workshop I use obviously does much of this right as each time anyone new asks for recommendations for car servicing, theirs is one of the names that comes up, from others as well as from me (big ups to Gordon and the team at 0800 My Mechanic in Mount Manganui) – this really is advertising money can’t buy! In this area there are 20-30 workshops and two or three consistently get the recommendations.

Have a look at your business from a customer’s viewpoint – what do you do well and what could you do better? it usually does not cost much and can give great returns.