Castle Garage in Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Leicestershire, has prioritised its customer experience values with its online presence, leading to customers seeking the business out above others.
The garage, which recently won the Garage Hive Innovator Award, sought out a specialist garage website provider to ensure the online representation of its brand, was a mirror image of the professionalism and service experienced by customers on the ground.
Owner of Castle Garage, Chris Wileman, said the website has proven to have many tangible results for the business, but the proof that it truly portrays his customer service ethos online, is because customers are driving past 20 other garages to get to his.
“Our website sets the tone for the whole customer experience,” explained Wileman. “Customer service starts so much earlier these days. From the minute someone clicks on a Google search result, their expectation is high. And if you do not meet that, you can lose them in less than a minute.
“They want to find professionalism, instant answers and convenience. It is likely they will have two anxieties at this point; how much is it going to cost, and how long will I be without my vehicle? If your website doesn’t work to reassure that customer, you’ve already fallen at the first hurdle. However, if it does, you have set the tone for your customer experience journey and people will choose you based on that.”
Online benefits for Castle Garage
Castle Garage chose Garage Services Online to create and manage his website after the company was recommended by fellow Garage Hive users. As well as portraying the garage’s two sites professionally, he also wanted the website to pull in more servicing and MOT work, and less clutch and head gasket work.
He continued: “When the Castle Garage website went live, our enquiries doubled, and we saw a 30% increase in workload. We see less demand now for the time-consuming, less profitable jobs that do not suit us.
“We can plan the workshop better and life is easier for both the techs and office staff. Time-consuming calls are a thing of the past.”
The garage is also reaping the benefit of customers being able to book online. There is a trend of customers booking work between 8-9pm, jobs he says they might have lost if an online facility was not available.
“A standard website isn’t enough anymore”, Wileman concluded. “Garages need a specialist website, made by people who know what they are doing and know the industry. If not, you are losing out on an enormous proportion of profitable work.
“My experience of Garage Services Online is brilliant. They are second to none and personally, I think their website work is unparalleled.”
