With summer being the busiest time of the year for mechanical shops, according to AutoInc.'s How's Your Business Survey, it's tempting to let the advertising slide. Some shop owners assume word of mouth has reached the ears of prospective customers who need their assistance. That approach works for shops that have established name recognition and created a strong community bond. For the other shops, designing a strong advertising campaign is important.

On average, mechanical shops spend $17,446 a year on various forms of advertising. Sounds like quite a bit, but when you consider that the average shop performs 70 jobs a week with an average ticket price of $295, the amount spent on advertising becomes slight. Although parts account for approximately $95 of the $295, and labor gets a fair share ranging between $100 and $125 for administration and employee payout, there's money left over.

By allotting $5 of every order to advertising, a shop owner can increase the advertising campaign by almost $20,000. If you are currently advertising, then you have doubled your marketing potential and increased your business work orders. If you are not currently advertising, you have now established a built-in mechanism for accumulating advertising dollars and increasing business.

If you are interested in creating an advertising campaign, ASA's Informa-tion Center has collected information about the various forms of advertising and examples of campaigns that worked to increase traffic and build a positive image for shops.

For advertising tips and campaign examples, contact Denise Caspersen, ASA's research management specialist. Or search the Information Center by logging in to the Members' Only section of ASA's Web site.

Stat Corner is written by Denise Caspersen, ASA's research management specialist. She can be reached at (800) 272-7467, ext. 236.

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