By Colby Horton
Shop Site of the Month
25th Street Automotive - Phoenix
www.25thstreetautomotive.com
This site offers a clean design and easy navigation. Visitors have the ability to schedule an appointment online or use the "Ask-an-Expert" form to ask automotive-related questions. The "About Us" section offers great commentary from the shop's owner, including a recorded message for site visitors. The "Community Relations" section provides a glimpse of the shop's history in the community while the "Online Specials" section adds value to the site.
Web Wise
Targeting a Younger Generation
Ask "Gen Y-ers" to look in the Yellow Pages to find a reliable shop in their area, and they may look back at you blankly. The next generation of vehicle owners was raised communicating through instant messages, text messages and blogs. To compete in today's high-paced market, you need to find new ways of communicating your shop's message and capabilities in an electronic medium.
If you don't have a shop Web site, now's the time to invest in an online presence. A new generation of vehicle owners is turning to the Web to make decisions about vehicle maintenance and repair. According to a recent survey by the Pew Internet & American Life Project, the Internet was paramount for 16 million people in making financial decisions. If you think people aren't looking to the Internet to find a qualified repair facility in their area, think again.
Let's say your shop has a Web site. Great! But does it contain features that would attract that "Gen Y" customer? Online appointment schedulers are important in today's online environment. If you already attract a potential customer to your site, why not allow them to become a paying customer by scheduling an appointment online. Many visitors to your site will be surfing the Internet after hours. Don't rely on them to pick up a phone the next day and schedule service.
A new term is floating around among Internet experts. We are entering an age of Web 2.0 - a term used to describe the interactivity of the Internet. It's this term that the younger generation is grasping as they search the Internet. Does your site offer a way for visitors to ask you automotive-related questions? Does your site offer informal online polls? Perhaps it's time to integrate such services into your Web site.
Instant messaging is huge in the online arena. Repair facilities can incorporate instant messaging technology into their Web sites. Companies such as LiveHuman (www.livehuman.com) and LivePerson (www.liveperson.com) allow Web sites to incorporate such technology, allowing visitors to be instantly connected to your shop's office personnel or service advisers with a click of a mouse. This is a great way to stay connected with your younger customers.
And for collision shops, do you offer an online venue for your customers to view the repair process of their vehicle? Think about the phone calls such a mechanism could alleviate. Companies such as See Progress Inc. (www.autowatch.com) can help you create such a solution.
If you need help creating a shop Web site, or adding interactive elements into your existing site, check out ASA's Web Solutions at
webservices.asashop.org or give ASA a call at (800) 272-7467, ext. 234.
Net Numbers
Searches on Google accounted for 50 percent of all Internet searches in April 2006. Yahoo received 22 percent of all April searches, while MSN received 11 percent of all searches.
Source: Nielsen/NetRatings Inc.
ASA Web Ways
ASA Creates New Blog
Beginning this month, the Automotive Service Association will publish an online blog providing commentary about the automotive repair industry and association news. ASA's "President's Blog" will be written by Ron Pyle, ASA's president and chief staff executive. The blog will feature the ability for members to comment on published issues, with the goal of connecting members with the national office and board of directors. The new blog will reside in the Members Only area of ASA's Web site,www.asashop.org. Be sure to check it out.
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Net Worth is written by Colby Horton, ASA's electronic communications manager. He can be reached at (800) 272-7467, ext. 234, or by e-mail at colbyh@asashop.org.
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