Client Success: Growing a Local Customer Base for a Newly-Opened Auto Shop

Opening a new business is always a leap of faith. But when the global pandemic disrupted businesses and industries around the world, it also created enterprising opportunities for entrepreneurs ready to fulfill their lifelong dreams or launching a business of their own.

No matter what type of business you choose to start, your success is dependent on your ability to establish and grow your customer base. When one Las Vegas-area auto-detailing professional decided to follow his passion and start an auto-detailing business of his own, he quickly recognized the importance of building his brand and connecting with potential customers in his market—and reached out to Cox media for help.

The Goal

Auto detailing businesses are particularly reliant on inbound phone calls when scheduling appointments for both new and existing customers. For an auto shop still in the early stages of building up its client base, building brand awareness and visibility to drive those phone referrals is incredibly important.

With that in mind, the owner of the upstart auto detailing business wanted a marketing and advertising strategy that would build a sustainable funnel for new customer scheduling. But, as a new business working with limited resources, the company also needed to be mindful of customer acquisition costs, and prioritized ad campaigns that could offer the most cost-effective approach to meeting these goals.

The Solution

Based on the clients’ goals and constraints, Cox Media developed an advertising strategy that emphasized search engine marketing as its primary source of audience engagement and phone referrals.

This SEM campaign was targeted to high-income households and communities in the Las Vegas area, and later expanded to include additional neighborhoods and keywords determined to be of high relevance to the business’ target audience.

SEM also offered a natural fit for driving click-to-call referrals through branded advertising on mobile devices.

The Results

Within the first few months of launching its campaign with Cox Media, the Las Vegas auto detailing shop achieved the following results:

• A total of 87 inbound phone calls driven to the business through the SEM campaign—54 percent of which lasted longer than 60 seconds;
• A 4.47 percent click-through rate on ads;
• A total cost-per-click of $1.51;
• More than 43 online reviews of the business—up from zero reviews generated in nearly a year of running the business prior to partnering with Cox Media.

While the SEM campaign continues to offer value in driving results for the business, the company’s long-term brand visibility is improved through the online reviews motivated through this campaign. Even if the company decides to end its SEM campaign, the value of these online reviews, and this bolstered online presence, will help the business attract new customers for years to come.

Want to deliver the same growth results for your young business? Cox Media can help develop a custom advertising solution perfectly suited to your company’s unique challenges and goals. Contact us today to get started.