Reaching Higher-Income Customers With Auto Repair Ads

Read on for an in-depth guide on managing, maintaining, and segmenting your auto repair shop email list.

Share This Post

Conceptual Minds | Nov 13, 2023

How To Reach Higher-Income Customers With Your Auto Repair Ads

Directing foot traffic to an auto shop is surprisingly tricky given our need for safe transportation.
 
Inevitably, auto shops rely on customers to decide when the time is right, with the business stratagem focused on getting more prospects into their circle (that way, when the time arrives, they choose you).
 
While this strategy can and does work for many, it can also represent a lost opportunity to expand your average order size.
 
Today, we’ll explain how to increase your average order value (ARO) by targeting higher-income clientele, making each visit more valuable for both parties.

How to Foster a Premium Brand Image

Accommodating the higher expectations of wealthy clientele is the primary difficulty in attracting a wealthy clientele.
 
To be considered by the high-income crowd, your auto shop should at least meet the minimum qualifications for what a premium service provider would look, feel, and act like. Your shop’s visual brand, website, and customer service must be up to par. 
 
Before we delve into the specifics of marketing for high-income audiences, we’ll first walk you through what such clientele expect from the businesses they patronize.

Requirement: An Up-to-Par Brand Image

Your local and visual identity should be elegant, sophisticated, and memorable; think San serif font, mostly black and white, lots of white space, clean lines, and rounded edges. 
 
Avoid exceptionally busy logos, stock images, drab colors, and traditional Goodyear branding.
 
Website
High-end clientele will expect more from your website as well.
 
At the very least, it should have an above-board brand image and aesthetics that marry elegant user interfaces with your brand aesthetics.
 
Keep things high-end by showcasing your products and services to highlight quality. Build on this by showcasing your shop’s expertise and credentials. What’s more, offer testimonials that speak to your high-end service quality.
 
You don’t have to offer extensive web content, but what’s there should look elegant, considered, and thought through.
 
Seamless Customer Service is a Must
Higher spenders come with higher expectations for customer service. 
 
If your high-end clientele have a hard time reaching someone or aren’t offered many service options, they’ll take their business elsewhere. 

You'll Also Need Services or a Service Package Specially Designed for Premium Clientele

Such clientele also expect to be treated to valuable services specifically designed to maximize the value of their increased spending. Think high-end coffee, soft drinks, fruit, bottled water, and free Uber rides.

Best Channels for Marketing to Premium Audiences

Direct mail is a uniquely great channel for auto repair, and it’s distinctly effective for reaching high-end clientele. 
 
According to the American Affluence Research Center’s Ron Kurtz, direct mail “Is probably the most cost-efficient method for reaching the truly affluent.”
 
Targeting by household income is sophisticated enough for our purposes. Tailor your sends for wealthy subdivisions, areas of town, and cities with high concentrations of wealthy families.
 
You’ll do better the more personalized and premium your mailers feel. Of course, these features will drive up your cost per acquisition (CPA), so you’ll have to balance this against your customer’s average lifetime value (ALV).

Google Ads for Its Search Targeting & High Income Search Pool

High-net-worth individuals are online, just like everyone else.
 
Platforms like Facebook and Instagram give you a broad audience—including many wealthier individuals—and the available targeting helps you narrow down your audience further.

How to Advertise to Premium Audiences

Reaching and converting high-income clientele requires a distinct approach.

#1. Avoid Doorbuster Offers to Filter Out the Discount-Driven Crowd

Exclusivity and premium-ness are at the heart of serving the high-income crowd. 
 
But, offering too-cheap prices represents a serious risk since this crowd views price as a signal of quality.
 
Avoid such generous offers in your advertising to wealthier consumers. Sales and promotions are essential in pulling this crowd, but they must be designed to support, not fight your premium image.

#2. Opt for More Exclusive, Private Sales and Giveaways

Contrary to what you might think, high-end shoppers are discount-driven; around half of global luxury shoppers only purchase items when they’re discounted.
 
The secret to running promotions for high-income clientele: avoid watering down your premium image with too deep or frequent discounts. Discount too deeply and you suggest your ordinary prices are too high. Too frequent, and customers may only visit during sales.
 
Only run promotions when they reinforce your shop’s premium qualities. 
 
Offer Invitation-only Private Sales
 
The invite-only sale is a practice well utilized by luxury retail brands. Instead of casting a wide net, you establish scarcity and exclusivity by restricting the sale to certain customers. 
 
This makes consumers feel like they’ve been given a unique opportunity, motivating repeat business. 
 
Promote High End, Exclusive Giveaways
Also valuable are promotion strategies that see customers spending past a given threshold of services before being granted a reward.
 
We’ve personally seen particularly high participation when the prize is something valuable and luxurious. Think free trips and passes to elite spas and high-end restaurants. 
 
When the reward is a high-end experience that consumers have likely already dreamed about, you can capture volumes of interest.

#3. Use High-End Promotional Language

You’ve done the work to target the right crowd, but how do you write auto repair advertising copy that actually connects?
 
Focus on What Makes You Special (Very Special)
Your copy should justify your higher price point by defining what makes it superior. Focus your message around a central value proposition; don’t simply claim superiority.
Not only do premium consumers expect greater value, but they also appreciate values that fit into their lifestyle. You should know the emotional appeal of your premium products and packages.
 
Sell the Lifestyle Your Premium Packages Enable
 
Talk up what such services provide in emotional terms. Avoid wording that clearly shows you’re out to make a sale. Instead, be suggestive.
 
Instead of harsh directives like “buy now” and “free extras,” choose more passive language that centers the consumer experience– like “discover,” “explore,” or “enjoy complementary extras.”
 

#4. Imagery: Don’t Rely on Stock Photos

All consumers want to know more about what they’re getting when they spend their hard-earned money; high-end clientele expect it. 
 
It’s hard for the non-mechanically inclined to tell the difference between a good repair job and a bad one. You’ll have to show them. 
 
Fill your site and social profiles with images and videos of impressive fixes, little-known techniques, and comparisons of professional fixes to poor-quality ones. 
 
Spend time in the shop with your mechanics; ask about upcoming big and sophisticated repairs. Hover over their shoulders for a few minutes and record some footage.
 
Need inspiration for auto repair imagery? 
 
Check out the following Instagram mechanic creators.
 

Partner and Promote With High-End Local Brands

As we said above, looking the part is half of the battle when targeting higher-income individuals. 
 
As such, one of the best ways to improve your shop’s luxury cred lies in associating it with well-established local businesses. 

Access to High-Income Audiences: Worth the Expense

Once you begin to learn what higher-income customers look for, their tastes quickly reveal themselves. With greater prices come higher expectations; in service quality and image. 

Learn About Conceptual Minds

As veterans of the automotive industry, the Conceptual Minds team are experts at growing car counts through effective and personable marketing. If you are unsure of your current marketing strategy and would like some guidance, contact us today at 877.524.7696.

Need help converting more email list subscribers?

Contact Us Today

More To Explore

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio: https://www.pexels.com/photo/man-holding-teacup-infront-of-laptop-on-top-of-table-inside-the-room-925786/ - man reading emails

How to Use Segmented Emails to Grow Tire & Auto Repair Shop Car Counts

November 20, 2023

As the premier marketing coaches for auto repair shops, we’re often talking about how email marketing can play an important role in an auto shop’s marketing […]

Reaching Higher-Income Customers With Auto Repair Ads

November 14, 2023

Read on for an in-depth guide on managing, maintaining, and segmenting your auto repair shop email list.