Marketing Slow Times, Time Blocking, and Taking Care of Yourself with Chris Cotton [E070]

This episode was born out of a question that was asked in our Facebook group, The Auto Repair Marketing Mastermind. The question was, “What are you doing to market around the slow times that happen around the holidays each year?” Join your host, Brian Walker, as he talks with Coach Chris Cotton about marketing through the slow times, time blocking, and taking care of yourself.

Thank you to RepairPal for sponsoring The Auto Repair Marketing Podcast. Learn more about RepairPal at https://repairpal.com/shops

Show Notes with Timestamps

• Marketing Strategies for Slow Times (00:01:17) Discussion on marketing strategies for the slower months in the auto repair business.
• Importance of Car Count and Financial Stability (00:02:05) Highlighting the significance of optimizing car count and maintaining financial stability before focusing on marketing.
• Planning Marketing for the Year (00:06:20) Advice on planning marketing strategies for the entire year, considering the peaks and valleys in business throughout different months.
• Building equity in your marketing (00:06:52) Adjusting marketing strategies based on busy or slow times, focusing on SEO and trust-building tactics.
• Optimizing marketing year-round (00:07:48) Questioning the need for holiday-specific marketing if everyday marketing is not optimized, emphasizing SEO and Google ads.
• Lag time in marketing (00:10:09) Discussing the 60 to 90 day lag time in marketing campaigns and the importance of planning ahead.
• The importance of communication with marketers (00:13:46) Discussion on the difficulty of shop owners finding time to communicate with marketers and the impact it has on marketing results.
• Setting up appointments and follow-through (00:14:27) Conversation about the percentage of shop owners who make appointments but don't follow through, and the importance of timely follow-up for effective marketing.
• The significance of having a marketing plan (00:17:30) Explanation of the benefits of creating a real-world marketing plan, including the ability to anticipate and plan for events like state fairs and holidays.
• Planning for Business Growth (00:21:09) Discussion on the importance of having a plan for business growth, including factors like adding technicians and bays.
• Time Blocking for Marketing (00:21:53) Importance of time blocking for marketing activities and the need to set aside uninterrupted time for creating a marketing plan.
• Incorporating Workouts into the Workweek (00:26:21) The benefits of including workouts as part of the workweek, with examples of successful entrepreneurs who prioritize their workouts for better productivity and creativity.
• Putting marketing on the calendar (00:28:32) Importance of planning marketing strategies in advance, specifically mentioning Halloween as an example.
• Foundational marketing and business practices (00:29:41) Emphasizing the need to focus on foundational marketing and business practices before targeting specific holidays or times of the year.
• The importance of basics and foundations (00:30:42) Highlighting the significance of getting back to the basics and foundations of the business, such as answering calls, inspecting cars, and improving sales skills.

How To Get In Touch

Group - Auto Repair Marketing Mastermind

Website - shopmarketingpros.com 

Facebook - facebook.com/shopmarketingpros 

Get the Book - shopmarketingpros.com/book

Instagram - @shopmarketingpros 

Questions/Ideas - podcast@shopmarketingpros.com

Lagniappe (Books, Links, Other Podcasts, etc)

Blog: How To Know When You’re Not Ready for Marketing

Book: They Ask You Answer

Guide: Creating a real world marketing plan for an auto repair shop