Do you guys offer any freebies with the purchase of a windshield service?

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Mattimeo
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Do you guys offer any freebies with the purchase of a windshield service?

Post by Mattimeo »

Right now i'm trying an offer of a free pair of wiper blades included in the windshield replacement service. I'm wondering if you guys have offered any thing to customers as an incentive to purchase at your windshield repair store, and what kind of success you had with this.
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Brent Deines
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Re: Do you guys offer any freebies with the purchase of a windshield service?

Post by Brent Deines »

I used to offer free wiper blades with a replacment from time to time, but more often than not I used them as an upsell. It would be crazy to run old wiper blades on a brand new windshield, right?

I also used to offer a free 32oz bottle of an exceptional glass cleaner, then offered refills for a reasonable price, and had a lot of customers that would come back just to have their glass cleaner bottle refilled. It wasn't a huge money maker but I purchased the glass cleaner in bulk so there was some profit and it did bring customers back through my door from time to time.

More recently we have been offering a free gift certificate for coffee at Dutch Brothers, a popular local coffee drive through business. We encourage customers to give us a review on Google or like us on Facebook, but even if they don't we give them the certificate as a way to say thanks for allowing us to repair their windshield or restore their headlights. Customers really seem to appreciate the gift certificates.

Another thing I always did, and I try to get my technicians to do, is vacuum out the customer's car and clean their windows inside and out. Although this is easier done in a fixed location, customers appreciate it even more when you do it on a mobile job.

We've offered discounts for canned food that we donate to the local food bank, senior discounts, military discounts, donated to charities on behalf of our customers, offered free car washes, provided customer rides, wi-fi, water, snacks, and even television. I can't honestly say I know how much each of these things has helped our sales, but I can tell you customers often tell us they really appreciate all the things we do for them, so hopefully they are telling their friends as well.

None of the above are all that great for pre-sales advertising purposes, but all of the above help provide a customer experience that sets us apart from the competition, which helps drive repeat business and referrals.
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kennycrane
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Re: Do you guys offer any freebies with the purchase of a windshield service?

Post by kennycrane »

I always vacuum a vehicle complimentary after replacing a windshield or any auto-glass. We offer coffee, water, cold drinks to all customers and try to have as gifts such things as calendars for their car, coffee cups with our business logo, or even sometimes caps with our business logo on them. Not sure how much it helps, but I feel convinced that every new customer is going to come back the next time because of the quality of work, and the customer relations.
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Mattimeo
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Re: Do you guys offer any freebies with the purchase of a windshield service?

Post by Mattimeo »

Brent Deines wrote: I also used to offer a free 32oz bottle of an exceptional glass cleaner, then offered refills for a reasonable price, and had a lot of customers that would come back just to have their glass cleaner bottle refilled. It wasn't a huge money maker but I purchased the glass cleaner in bulk so there was some profit and it did bring customers back through my door from time to time.
Wow thank for this valuable response. I never thought of the free 32oz bottle of class cleaner. I think I will try that, in addition I am friends with some local business owners. Like real estate agents, restaurant owners etc. Maybe I will reach out to them and see if I can get some free coupons to give out from my shop. This could be a great thing for both of our businesses because its free advertising for them and adds an extra incentive for my customers. Also Brent you mentioned that you try to get customers to leave a review, do you print an image of Google, or facebook reviews with the link on the flyer as remidner? Or do you just send a link out to your e-mail list? Once again thanks for the response.
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Mattimeo
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Re: Do you guys offer any freebies with the purchase of a windshield service?

Post by Mattimeo »

kennycrane wrote:I always vacuum a vehicle complimentary after replacing a windshield or any auto-glass. We offer coffee, water, cold drinks to all customers and try to have as gifts such things as calendars for their car, coffee cups with our business logo, or even sometimes caps with our business logo on them. Not sure how much it helps, but I feel convinced that every new customer is going to come back the next time because of the quality of work, and the customer relations.
I have tried offering complimentary window cleaning but never a full vacuum clean of the car. The issue with this is time but maybe I will try a trial run of vacuum cleaning for the special offering next month.
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Brent Deines
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Re: Do you guys offer any freebies with the purchase of a windshield service?

Post by Brent Deines »

I really liked the Mt. Hood Chemical "Clear" glass cleaner but a lot of glass shops use Spraway Glass cleaner, which is now available at Home Depot, Costco, and just about everywhere else. It's not the best in my opinion, but pretty good, and they do private labeling, or used to, on fairly small quantities, so you can have your own brand.

I still believe offering referral bonuses to other businesses is a great way to increase sales, but even if you give out gift certificates to local small businesses they will typically express their appreciation by sending customers your way. You can also sell or even give other businesses discount coupons that they can hand out to their customers.

I love threads like this because I learn something new every time we have this discussion and I'm reminded of things we used to do successfully, but have not done for awhile.
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