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Would this work?

by Nick ASD
12 replies
Sorry guys I'm no expert on IM and have been researching as much as I can, I think I have an idea to gain more customers while creating quality-ish backlinks...Let me know if I'm wrong here before I waste my time and money!

Here's the scenario: my company sells automotive products both online to retail customers through our website and eBay, as well as locally directly to repair shops. We are trying to get more (repair shop) customers throughout the US that we can send the products to (most are small and lightweight, shipping shouldn't be an issue). To do this I want to offer these customers a free website, set-up and maintained, as well as free advertising here and there (local Craigslist ads and things like that).

The point of this is to get users throughout the US to find these shops and go to them for their services (I will set them up in Google, Bing, Yelp,etc), at which point I will have a relationship with these mechanics and there is a better chance they will buy from me. Also on that mechanics website I will be able to post ads to my website and create a backlink in the same category.

I'm struggling to grow the business both online and offline, as you all know finding loyal customers is hard to do! Any feedback is appreciated.
#work
  • Profile picture of the author John J M
    It seems like a fairly big endeavor, but it's definitely a great strategy.

    Creating sites that benefit you in several ways, including providing backlinks, is a good idea. But it's going to take quite a bit of investment upfront in either time or money.
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    • Profile picture of the author Nick ASD
      I definitely agree with you, I figured I would use a simple template for them as they don't need anything too crazy, and then there's always that long shot chance that in the future they would want to upgrade to a nicer site $$
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  • Profile picture of the author jessiewriter
    I think the key to bringing in these businesses and not getting overwhelmed would be to keep from getting scattershot. Conquer an area, move on to the next, or choose to target down a list in each area, and keep it all systematic.

    Remember that with enough customers, you'll need to bring more people on board, and be prepared to keep scaling.

    Good luck to you.
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    • Profile picture of the author Nick ASD
      Originally Posted by jessiewriter View Post

      I think the key to bringing in these businesses and not getting overwhelmed would be to keep from getting scattershot. Conquer an area, move on to the next, or choose to target down a list in each area, and keep it all systematic.

      Remember that with enough customers, you'll need to bring more people on board, and be prepared to keep scaling.

      Good luck to you.
      I currently have several customers in my area that I believe I can test this out on before I try anything crazy. I am having a list put together and was thinking about just hitting it state by state (thinking 99.99% of my letters and emails will be thrown away) and I need to do a lot of testing.
      Can't lose focus by spreading all over though. Thank you
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  • Profile picture of the author H.Miller
    How about creating a YouTube channel and creating a ton of videos showing car lovers how to install the the products you offer or showing them why they would need said products? You can then send them to your sales page to purchase the product. Just an idea.
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    • Profile picture of the author Nick ASD
      Originally Posted by H.Miller View Post

      How about creating a YouTube channel and creating a ton of videos showing car lovers how to install the the products you offer or showing them why they would need said products? You can then send them to your sales page to purchase the product. Just an idea.
      Not a bad idea at all, I had thought of that but I have a couple problems there.
      1. I would have to find people who need the products installed with the cars
      2. I would have to get a decent camera
      3. There are real big companies out there doing this right now and I have watched a bunch of their videos which I'm positive have converted some sales, so I would have to make videos up to par with those
      4. Making a video takes much more time and effort than setting up a website for someone

      I think in the future when I have more money available for marketing this will definitely be the way to go. I'll probably try to start making a few videos and collecting until I have enough to get started with. Thank you for the idea.
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      • Profile picture of the author H.Miller
        Originally Posted by Nick ASD View Post

        Not a bad idea at all, I had thought of that but I have a couple problems there.
        1. I would have to find people who need the products installed with the cars
        2. I would have to get a decent camera
        3. There are real big companies out there doing this right now and I have watched a bunch of their videos which I'm positive have converted some sales, so I would have to make videos up to par with those
        4. Making a video takes much more time and effort than setting up a website for someone

        I think in the future when I have more money available for marketing this will definitely be the way to go. I'll probably try to start making a few videos and collecting until I have enough to get started with. Thank you for the idea.
        Hey Nick,

        YouTube has quickly become the go to search engine. If people need car parts I assure they are using YouTube to search for how to use those parts. I say that to say you don't need to find the people. They are on YouTube right now. You just need to get in front of those people and the way to do that is posting videos on YouTube.

        The key is to use the keywords in the title of the video so people can easily find it. You should also write a detailed description in the description box.

        And you do not need a decent camera to create your videos. If you have an iPhone, or any smartphone for that matter, you can use it to make videos. And so what if there are big companies doing it right now, there is still plenty of room for you. The fact that they are doing it tells you that it works. Your videos do not need to be like their videos. As long as you are providing information people want you will be good to go.

        You are not trying to make Oscar winning videos here. You are just making quick videos showing people how to use your products. You can even monetize your YouTube channel and make even more money with ads.

        I think your idea about building sites is great. Do you have a way to streamline the process or will you be doing it all manually.
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        • Profile picture of the author Nick ASD
          Originally Posted by H.Miller View Post

          Hey Nick,

          YouTube has quickly become the go to search engine. If people need car parts I assure they are using YouTube to search for how to use those parts. I say that to say you don't need to find the people. They are on YouTube right now. You just need to get in front of those people and the way to do that is posting videos on YouTube.

          The key is to use the keywords in the title of the video so people can easily find it. You should also write a detailed description in the description box.

          And you do not need a decent camera to create your videos. If you have an iPhone, or any smartphone for that matter, you can use it to make videos. And so what if there are big companies doing it right now, there is still plenty of room for you. The fact that they are doing it tells you that it works. Your videos do not need to be like their videos. As long as you are providing information people want you will be good to go.

          You are not trying to make Oscar winning videos here. You are just making quick videos showing people how to use your products. You can even monetize your YouTube channel and make even more money with ads.

          I think your idea about building sites is great. Do you have a way to streamline the process or will you be doing it all manually.
          True, I'm going to give it a shot. I use oDesk for a lot of things and have a few real good workers that I can use to make the sites. If not, it's me and a buddy drinking beers designing some sites Friday night. I can get those done relatively quickly and inexpensively.
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      • Profile picture of the author savidge4
        Here's the scenario: my company sells automotive products both online to retail customers through our website and eBay, as well as locally directly to repair shops. We are trying to get more (repair shop) customers throughout the US that we can send the products to (most are small and lightweight, shipping shouldn't be an issue).

        Im going to tell you, I have re-written this like 4 times already. Your statement is very confusing to me on many levels.

        First things first; Do you have a local retail store?

        As a growing business which do you make more money on; retail or wholesale?

        Which do you make more money on, local or internet retail?

        Do you see where I am going with this?

        I totally understand you want to be the next Napa, or Advanced, Autozone, I get it. Its great to see you thinking like that. However, I am kinda sure you are putting the horse before the cart. Build the retail, then expand to the national wholesale.

        I would suggest growing your retail market. Start replicating what A1-Auto does on youtube. Give it a twist. make it yours. I personally would go with the redneck angle. How much money was made with "you might be a redneck if?" It cant be that bad an angle... another angle would be to do something like Good Eats on FoodNetwork - this might require alittlemore production time but would be memorable for the viewer to remember "Insert business name here"

        Cameras are NOT that expensive. You need to shoot a intro and outro, then each segment. Those would be 10-15 minutes in post video work. In the short and long term that would be much less expensive and time consuming than the web site idea.

        One suggestion. Put the videos on your site first. then after a few weeks migrate them over to YouTube. What this will do is help in your web traffic. you may find that people will watch the video from your site directly, and order the part vs. trying to get them from YouTube to you.

        Hope this helps, and good luck!
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        • Profile picture of the author Nick ASD
          Originally Posted by savidge4 View Post

          Here's the scenario: my company sells automotive products both online to retail customers through our website and eBay, as well as locally directly to repair shops. We are trying to get more (repair shop) customers throughout the US that we can send the products to (most are small and lightweight, shipping shouldn't be an issue).

          Im going to tell you, I have re-written this like 4 times already. Your statement is very confusing to me on many levels.

          First things first; Do you have a local retail store?

          As a growing business which do you make more money on; retail or wholesale?

          Which do you make more money on, local or internet retail?

          Do you see where I am going with this?

          I totally understand you want to be the next Napa, or Advanced, Autozone, I get it. Its great to see you thinking like that. However, I am kinda sure you are putting the horse before the cart. Build the retail, then expand to the national wholesale.

          I would suggest growing your retail market. Start replicating what A1-Auto does on youtube. Give it a twist. make it yours. I personally would go with the redneck angle. How much money was made with "you might be a redneck if?" It cant be that bad an angle... another angle would be to do something like Good Eats on FoodNetwork - this might require alittlemore production time but would be memorable for the viewer to remember "Insert business name here"

          Cameras are NOT that expensive. You need to shoot a intro and outro, then each segment. Those would be 10-15 minutes in post video work. In the short and long term that would be much less expensive and time consuming than the web site idea.

          One suggestion. Put the videos on your site first. then after a few weeks migrate them over to YouTube. What this will do is help in your web traffic. you may find that people will watch the video from your site directly, and order the part vs. trying to get them from YouTube to you.

          Hope this helps, and good luck!
          I see how it can be confusing. Basically my initial plan was to sell aftermarket parts online and get a small retail location going. Then I had the relationships with a lot of local shops from my previous job and said "hey if I start a route and sell blah,blah,blah will you buy from me?"
          That got me to quit my job and work for myself full time. At which point I started to list some of these products online and found out I can make 2-3X more profit than selling them to my "wholesale" customers.
          I still do not have a retail store yet, but sell locally mostly through word of mouth. On products like wiper blades for example, where I can mark them up 44% to a shop, I can mark them up 122% to an individual. Of course, shops will buy in bulk which makes up for it.
          I didn't exactly mean wholesale as in selling by the pallet or huge quantities.
          I will definitely experiment with the video idea, and start them out on the site first. Thank you for the input
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          • Profile picture of the author savidge4
            Originally Posted by Nick ASD View Post

            I see how it can be confusing. Basically my initial plan was to sell aftermarket parts online and get a small retail location going. Then I had the relationships with a lot of local shops from my previous job and said "hey if I start a route and sell blah,blah,blah will you buy from me?"
            That got me to quit my job and work for myself full time. At which point I started to list some of these products online and found out I can make 2-3X more profit than selling them to my "wholesale" customers.
            I still do not have a retail store yet, but sell locally mostly through word of mouth. On products like wiper blades for example, where I can mark them up 44% to a shop, I can mark them up 122% to an individual. Of course, shops will buy in bulk which makes up for it.
            I didn't exactly mean wholesale as in selling by the pallet or huge quantities.
            I will definitely experiment with the video idea, and start them out on the site first. Thank you for the input
            So let me ask you this... What do you do with a customer from e-bay once you have sold them? You know you have their address and their e-mail address? do you send a flyer in the package that goes out? Send them an e-mail once they get their package and thank them for their purchase, ask them if they would like to opt in to your once a month e-mail ( easy to setup ).

            Like you have agreed, your retail market is where the money is, maybe not volume, but 3 to 1 money. Its the little things that will grow that business. Developing relationships with customers to make them REPEAT customers, is the way to go.

            And for goodness sakes GET A STORE!! hahaha what 600 800 a month? it would pay for itself!
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            • Profile picture of the author Nick ASD
              I just started sending out a 1/2 sheet letter in each package from ebay sales that thanks them for the sale and offers 15% off their next website sale
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