A well-designed website is the best salesperson on the internet, serving your loyal customers and impressing potential clients. For an vehicle repair shop, it is essential that the online presence mirrors the order and functionality found in the workshop. Such an approach makes it easier for customers to find your workshop and consume your services, giving you a significant advantage over competitors.
Quick Calls are a Must
The website must allow users to make quick calls – even with just one prominent button. Despite being in the 21st century, most people prefer calling in urgent situations rather than posting on social media. No one has time to search for a phone number on different pages while dealing with a broken-down car in the middle of an intersection. Customers should be able to call you with just one button press.
Help Customers Find You
Integration with Waze and Google Maps on the website is mandatory. This helps customers locate your workshop quickly. In addition to displaying the location on the map, quick options for finding the best route should be emphasized. A simple picture of the workshop building adds a lot. The more visible you are, the better.
Services Generate Revenue
Certainly, the services offered by your workshop must be prominently displayed because they are the only things that bring in revenue. Customers need to know if their problem can be solved by your services. Additionally, describing your services contributes to visibility in Google search results, also known as SEO. It’s not always necessary to have a separate page for showcasing services; sometimes, a price list is sufficient.
Talking About Money is Not Taboo
Displaying prices is a good way to provide transparency regarding the cost of your services, build trust, and save both the customer’s and your employees’ time. Yes, vehicle repair can be complex, and there may not always be a fixed price, but at least hourly rates should be shown.
People like to check prices before picking up the phone. If possible, offer this option to your potential customers. Prices are often not displayed due to the fear of sensitive customers, which is an unwarranted fear because vehicle repair is a necessity-based service. A clear pricing policy helps avoid price shoppers, saving valuable time for all parties involved.
Make Bookings Easier
It is very difficult, or practically impossible, for a customer to specify in your interactive calendar the exact services their car needs or how much time you should spend on repairs. It’s like sending an approximate height and waist measurement to a tailor via email and determining the time it takes to sew a suit.
However, for clearer and defined services, this is possible. For example, technical inspection, regular maintenance, car wash, or tire change. Booking through the website reduces the administrative burden on the workshop, eliminating many reservations via email and phone. Real-time scheduling of repairs is a fast, convenient, and modern solution for the customer.
Connect the Website to Your Workshop Software
Many modern services use specialized vehicle workshop software to make managing cars and customers convenient and to easily find completed work in the service history. The workshop’s website should be compatible with this management software to provide additional options for automating operations.
For example, integration automates the synchronization of information received from reservations between the website and the management software. No need to manually enter contact information from incoming requests. Click less, work more.
How to Find a Web Developer?
The most crucial factor in creating a website is finding the right developer; this determines the success of the entire process.
Certainly, the web developer must be competent in their field and able to create a website according to modern standards. The goal is a long-lasting and mobile-friendly solution where all necessary add-ons and integrations work even after software updates.
People at the workshop don’t have time to write website content or create project briefs. The web developer must be familiar with the vehicle repair industry and understand what is important when creating a website to meet the client’s needs and make the workshop attractive online.
A good web developer must respect their and the client’s time and be able to perform most of the work independently. Building a website should not take much time or stress the workshop owner too much.
The best advice is not to just look for a website developer but rather find a collaborative partner who can think along with your business and help successfully achieve the desired goals.