Many brick and mortar businesses have recognized the significance of having a presence on the major social networking sites. Reputation management and monitoring social media accounts is especially important for auto repair businesses since many consumers are generally skeptical and distrustful of repair shops to begin with. Most of us have heard horror stories about folks being overcharged for car services. All it takes is one negative online review for potential customers to avoid your shop. Here are a few tips to help you navigate the social media channels and establish a trusted online presence.

Monitor Review Sites

Read reviews about your business on sites such as Yelp, Google Places and Judy’s Book. This will give you a good overview about how customers feel about your pricing and services. Sites like Yelp allow business owners to claim their page which will allow you to upload photos, update business hours and address details and most important of all address negative reviews. Yelp gives you the ability to write a response explaining your side of the story which gets posted right under the review you’re addressing. You may even want to offer the unsatisfied customer a complimentary service or fix a particular problem for free if it wasn’t serviced correctly the first time. This will show potential new clients that you take customer satisfaction seriously.

Sign Up For Google Alerts

Google Alerts is a free service that alerts you every time your business is mentioned online. This lets you monitor your business reputation online and address any negative feedback. Google Alerts is suitable for big large companies such as Enterprise Car Sales as well as smaller businesses.

Ask Satisfied Customers For Reviews

If you have a satisfied customer in your shop why not ask them to write a review there on the spot? You can even offer them a nominal complimentary service in return for their review. Positive online reviews are important because they have the potential to affect search engine rankings.

Interact With Customers Via Social Media

Open a Facebook and Twitter account for your auto repair shop. This will allow you to answer questions from prospective customers and interact with current ones. Customers are more likely to trust businesses that they can interact with and know that their questions will be answered. When it comes to content and updates you can post articles related to car maintenance, service and anything else you may feel that your visitors will be interested in.

Written by Jacqueline Starz – Brick and mortar businesses such as Car Repair Atanta can benefit from having a presence on social media sites. More automotive businesses are advertising and interacting with customers online than ever before.