Having Trouble with customers!

M

mohamedmaark

New member
Hello Autopia, need help! Let me explain my situation real quick, I started my buisness about a month ago, really wanted to get money for detailing so i started looking for a garage and found a spot to work in, in a Performance shop where they work on performance cars, the owner gave me a spot to work in and all i have to do is pay rent. Fair enough so i started and the first week was actually booming! Anybody that would come in for mechanical work saw me working and was interested in my services. So after the first week is started getting slower and slower and slower, so i decided i had to advertise. I started off by making a facebook putting up pics of my work (will put a link below) and then i paid a desighner to design for me a brochure/ flyer that i could pass out which turned out looking real nice and i passed them out but still no customers! Heres the thing, all my customers were extremely happy, i know my work is not the problem, im pretty sure the prices are not the problem either because im sure that people on this forum charge probably double what i charge. So what do i do now, hopefully you guys are able to help because im sure you guys have been in my situation. Oh and by the way im located in Clifton, New Jersey, and the buisness name is Dedicated Detailing.

https://www.facebook.com/mohamed.maark.100

Thanks!
 
Where is your Website ?

A lot of very wealthy people will not use Facebook to look for Detailers.. I am pretty Internet savvy and I would never use Facebook to look for Detailers either. It is a social media site to me..

I know, a lot of people put everything on there and maybe it works, but you have to have people either knowing about your business or Following you to get it moving I believe...

You have way too many pictures and the majority of them are out of focus when viewed.

There are too many pictures of the same thing..

Very few if any pictures of finished perfect work under good lighting from the sun first, and then from inside under great lights..

Most people just want to know -

...about you - a little history very brief, a current, clear, picture.. Head shot is fine
...about your business - just a few lines of text, perfect grammar, no misspelled words
...about your rates - not a zillion prices or combinations if possible.. Gets too confusing..
...see your work - great, clear, hopefully in the sun, pictures, showing perfect, clear, glossy paintwork
...Before and After shots are good if not too complicated, and have to be perfect if you want to attract those high end cars..

It is Winter - most Detailers slow down now..

It IS possible to stay busy but you have to have Clientele - either new or returning..
Find a really nice, big clean houses and nice car neighborhood, find the HOA, see if you can leave nice, professional business cards there. See if you can pay to put an AD in their nice HOA monthly Calendar, etc., that goes out to the Homeowners...

Assume that very few future and current Clients are car enthusiasts or know anything about Detailing, period...

They just know their X5-6-Range Rover-Escalade-etc., is dirty and needs to be cleaned up..

We talked once about getting a feel for the Client when you talked or met them and then tailoring your conversation to fit their understanding of the business you have here..
How are you doing with this part ?

Good luck with this -
Dan F
 
Dan has many good points and advise. Personally I make a lot of money off of Facebook, but it took a long time to build a following. Even with a good FB page, I'm lacking the great website (which will be launched soon). Build a website, and hit Google hard. Google is where its at..without it you'd might as well not exist on the web. Winter is coming fast and we will all be slowing down soon. Use the slow winters to work on your business plan and marketing strategy for next year.
 
I'm not in the trade, but I think setting up demonstrations at week-end events like car meets and charity events would attract attention and promote business. You need exposure with people who can afford detailing and reconditioning.
 
Stokdgs said:
Where is your Website ?

A lot of very wealthy people will not use Facebook to look for Detailers.. I am pretty Internet savvy and I would never use Facebook to look for Detailers either. It is a social media site to me..

I know, a lot of people put everything on there and maybe it works, but you have to have people either knowing about your business or Following you to get it moving I believe...

You have way too many pictures and the majority of them are out of focus when viewed.

There are too many pictures of the same thing..

Very few if any pictures of finished perfect work under good lighting from the sun first, and then from inside under great lights..

Most people just want to know -

...about you - a little history very brief, a current, clear, picture.. Head shot is fine
...about your business - just a few lines of text, perfect grammar, no misspelled words
...about your rates - not a zillion prices or combinations if possible.. Gets too confusing..
...see your work - great, clear, hopefully in the sun, pictures, showing perfect, clear, glossy paintwork
...Before and After shots are good if not too complicated, and have to be perfect if you want to attract those high end cars..

It is Winter - most Detailers slow down now..

It IS possible to stay busy but you have to have Clientele - either new or returning..
Find a really nice, big clean houses and nice car neighborhood, find the HOA, see if you can leave nice, professional business cards there. See if you can pay to put an AD in their nice HOA monthly Calendar, etc., that goes out to the Homeowners...

Assume that very few future and current Clients are car enthusiasts or know anything about Detailing, period...

They just know their X5-6-Range Rover-Escalade-etc., is dirty and needs to be cleaned up..

We talked once about getting a feel for the Client when you talked or met them and then tailoring your conversation to fit their understanding of the business you have here..
How are you doing with this part ?

Good luck with this -
Dan F
Click to expand...


Wow Stok alot of helpful information really appreciate it!:yourrock Hmm where do i start, Well the website, you are absolutely right now that i think about it, facebook should not be my way of advertising on the internet i need a website, will see if i could make one soon, And the pics on my facebook page are not good at all i completely agree with you, its just because i just got started with taking pictures trying to get better at it, and i have more pics to post up of paint correction, 50/50 shots. And when you where talking about HOA that kind of means like go to a place where there is a nice hotel right? I will take that into consideration and will make my buisness cards very soon, and at the end when you asked me about how i communicate with my customers, any of the customers that come to me i give them a really good explanation which gives them a good understanding of the services i offer.
 
Stokdgs said:
Where is your Website ?

A lot of very wealthy people will not use Facebook to look for Detailers.. I am pretty Internet savvy and I would never use Facebook to look for Detailers either. It is a social media site to me..

I know, a lot of people put everything on there and maybe it works, but you have to have people either knowing about your business or Following you to get it moving I believe...

You have way too many pictures and the majority of them are out of focus when viewed.

There are too many pictures of the same thing..

Very few if any pictures of finished perfect work under good lighting from the sun first, and then from inside under great lights..

Most people just want to know -

...about you - a little history very brief, a current, clear, picture.. Head shot is fine
...about your business - just a few lines of text, perfect grammar, no misspelled words
...about your rates - not a zillion prices or combinations if possible.. Gets too confusing..
...see your work - great, clear, hopefully in the sun, pictures, showing perfect, clear, glossy paintwork
...Before and After shots are good if not too complicated, and have to be perfect if you want to attract those high end cars..

It is Winter - most Detailers slow down now..

It IS possible to stay busy but you have to have Clientele - either new or returning..
Find a really nice, big clean houses and nice car neighborhood, find the HOA, see if you can leave nice, professional business cards there. See if you can pay to put an AD in their nice HOA monthly Calendar, etc., that goes out to the Homeowners...

Assume that very few future and current Clients are car enthusiasts or know anything about Detailing, period...

They just know their X5-6-Range Rover-Escalade-etc., is dirty and needs to be cleaned up..

We talked once about getting a feel for the Client when you talked or met them and then tailoring your conversation to fit their understanding of the business you have here..
How are you doing with this part ?

Good luck with this -
Dan F
Click to expand...

Also can i send you a pic of the brochures/flyers that where designed for me and tell me what you think?
 
mrclean81 said:
Dan has many good points and advise. Personally I make a lot of money off of Facebook, but it took a long time to build a following. Even with a good FB page, I'm lacking the great website (which will be launched soon). Build a website, and hit Google hard. Google is where its at..without it you'd might as well not exist on the web. Winter is coming fast and we will all be slowing down soon. Use the slow winters to work on your business plan and marketing strategy for next year.
Click to expand...


Thanks for the helpful info, question and you dont have to answer if you dont want to, how much customers do you get on average a week? also how long did it take for you to get your buisness "running" as in a good flow of customers
 
mohamedmaark said:
Thanks for the helpful info, question and you dont have to answer if you dont want to, how much customers do you get on average a week? also how long did it take for you to get your buisness "running" as in a good flow of customers[/QUOTE/]

I've been building a customer base since I was 15, and I'm nearly 33 now. Some of those first customers are still customers to this day. I work 7 days a week and have for years.
I spent several years doing very difficult restoration details for a commercial truck dealership, and when I left, I left on good terms because they need me. On rainy days and during the winter months, I work there. Its not glamorous but its the job security I need to stay afloat in the winter. As far as Facebook goes, it took me about a year before I really saw the traffic I wanted to see. Something that has generated a lot of buzz is my May Giveaway that I do every year. I raffle off a full detail, and people have to comment to be entered, or share for a double entry. I've seen 30 new likes in a week just from that. My business is no where near where I want it to be, but its getting there. I've managed to build it to what it is with no help or support from family, banks, investors, or anyone else other than what I've learned from my late father and what I've picked up along the way from working in body shops, dealerships, and countless hours on here. Hang in there..I'm living proof that you can do it. :bigups
Click to expand...
 
mrclean81 said:
mohamedmaark said:
Thanks for the helpful info, question and you dont have to answer if you dont want to, how much customers do you get on average a week? also how long did it take for you to get your buisness "running" as in a good flow of customers[/QUOTE/]

I've been building a customer base since I was 15, and I'm nearly 33 now. Some of those first customers are still customers to this day. I work 7 days a week and have for years.
I spent several years doing very difficult restoration details for a commercial truck dealership, and when I left, I left on good terms because they need me. On rainy days and during the winter months, I work there. Its not glamorous but its the job security I need to stay afloat in the winter. As far as Facebook goes, it took me about a year before I really saw the traffic I wanted to see. Something that has generated a lot of buzz is my May Giveaway that I do every year. I raffle off a full detail, and people have to comment to be entered, or share for a double entry. I've seen 30 new likes in a week just from that. My business is no where near where I want it to be, but its getting there. I've managed to build it to what it is with no help or support from family, banks, investors, or anyone else other than what I've learned from my late father and what I've picked up along the way from working in body shops, dealerships, and countless hours on here. Hang in there..I'm living proof that you can do it. :bigups
Click to expand...

Amazing! Im going to try to be patient then!
Click to expand...
 
mohamedmaark --

No, what I meant by the HOA is --- in very nice neighborhoods, where there are very nice, expensive homes with expensive cars, the homeowners have a Home Owners Association = HOA.. This neighborhood has a set of Covenants, or Agreements, that all the Home owners agree to keep, and the HOA is run by people from the neighborhood and they have monthly meetings to talk about how the neighborhood as a whole is doing..

For example, where I used to live going on couple of years ago, the neighborhood had a nice Clubhouse with a Yacht Club, mooring for lots of boats, swimming pool, etc...
They also had a bulletin board and a monthly newsletter...
Find one if possible and go meet them and see if you can can leave some of your business cards, see if you can get an Ad in their Newsletter, and hopefully, some one will call you... Perhaps even talk to the people in the office first, and see if you can sell your Services to them.... If you can, they might become your biggest fans and their word alone to all the people who come in, will help move your business forward..

I did all this for the 10 years I lived there, and I never had a day off all year, unless I decided to not take work in..

Hope this helps !
Dan F
 
Stokdgs said:
mohamedmaark --

No, what I meant by the HOA is --- in very nice neighborhoods, where there are very nice, expensive homes with expensive cars, the homeowners have a Home Owners Association = HOA.. This neighborhood has a set of Covenants, or Agreements, that all the Home owners agree to keep, and the HOA is run by people from the neighborhood and they have monthly meetings to talk about how the neighborhood as a whole is doing..

For example, where I used to live going on couple of years ago, the neighborhood had a nice Clubhouse with a Yacht Club, mooring for lots of boats, swimming pool, etc...
They also had a bulletin board and a monthly newsletter...
Find one if possible and go meet them and see if you can can leave some of your business cards, see if you can get an Ad in their Newsletter, and hopefully, some one will call you... Perhaps even talk to the people in the office first, and see if you can sell your Services to them.... If you can, they might become your biggest fans and their word alone to all the people who come in, will help move your business forward..

I did all this for the 10 years I lived there, and I never had a day off all year, unless I decided to not take work in..

Hope this helps !
Dan F
Click to expand...


OO ok im going to give that a shot very soon, i think i have the perfect place in mind.
 
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