Audioworks is a small shop in Milford, CT that has been in business for 19 years. It shares space with a musical instrument store and it’s located in a semi-industrial building complex and foot traffic is low.. about 3 to 5 walk-ins a day.
Owner John Gaffney wants to improve the store’s visibility, literally, on the web and in brick and mortar reality, but he’s too busy focusing on day to day issues to move forward.
“I have all these great ideas, but I don’t have time. I’ve already had a business coach in here two different times.”
The coach gave Gaffney tons of homework. “They wanted me to break down all these numbers and track this and that. But it was all cookie cutter… After it was done, I had countless hours into it and the result was that I just need to charge $100 more for remote starts. But for someone in the 12 volt industry, they know that’s not a solution.”
The coach also wanted Audioworks to retrieve payment from car dealers earlier. “ Car dealers don’t like to pay, they drag you on as long as they can. So the coach was trying to get my money faster… But the way the car dealers work is they’ll just go to someone else.”
Gaffney signed up for our CEoutlook Challenge. He just got a new large sign for the shop, and he’s getting two or three new wall displays. Plus, he entered window film.
But Audioworks has another concern. A competitor moved in less than a mile away. This dealer aggressively promotes and is web savvy. Remote start season has barely started but, “I’ve already seen ads out there for remote start starting at $149….Everyone is selling stuff at such a low price, I don’t know how they make money. My goal is to work with Jon to get more foot traffic,” Gaffney said.
About 2 months ago, Jon Dewar of Modern Media Geeks registered Audioworks properly with local search engines and maps and bolstered its social media. Facebook likes climbed to 400 from 200 and overall visibility scores on local search rocketed up to 83 percent from a previous 34 percent.
But with a lack of manpower and a slow start to the remote start season (it’s unusually warm in CT), plus new competition, Audioworks has not yet seen the jump in store traffic it’s looking for.
Gaffney is hoping that will change as he just hired a window tinter and a full time installer (so he now has two).
The shop also just purchased in-store gift cards that should help business over the holiday season. It also just set up a big screen TV so the salesperson, often Gaffney, can visit web sites along with the customer to check out pricing or features. It also shows the store’s Instagram photos. “It can be used to engage the customer, by searching together, It’s pulling them into the friend zone, it’s like we’re in this together.”
Dewar said, “Time and time again I run into business owners that are running their business doing a bunch of things right and its really great..But instead of being productive and visiting car dealers, they are running around chasing their tails. The bills are paid and the lights are on and no one’s getting rich and there’s no real growth plan.”
Audioworks is taking steps to turn that around.
The store currently grosses under $500,000. Until now it had one employee besides Gaffney plus a part time worker. It’s a mid priced shop that stays away from the lowest price and focuses on adding value. Gaffney won’t try to bring in customers off the phone with $129 remote start specials, and then tell them the price will be $300 for their particular car once they come into the shop. He quotes $300 off the bat. “I just don’t work that way,” he said.
Lines carried include Compustar, Viper, K40, Pioneer, Alpine, JL Audio, Hertz and Audison.
John,
Kudos to you for recognizing what you need and seeking out the expertise required to get it done. Known you for some time, and can say that you put the diligence into making your business work. Foot traffic should improve with Mr. Dewar’s efforts. The secret is to stay close to your clientele. I have first hand experience as a customer of your store, and can say that with the exposure, and focus on the fundamentals, you will thrive.
Hang in there!
Steve
Hi Everyone. I just want to say that Audioworks is doing fine. It’s in good health. It just wants to up its game, and it’s dealing with a changing competitive landscape. Sorry if we gave the wrong impression!
If you need some help, give me a ring.
559-259-2932
You tell em Ray!! How’s your store doing?
Chris,
Thanks for reading and replying… At this time in my life I no longer have a “store”. That said I have owned a very successful store AND I have owned a big time failure of a store. I was pretty lucky with the successful store and then made every mistake in the business 101 book with the failed store. I knew I was making a mistake when I was making and executing the decisions BUT I PRETENDED the mistakes were not too big or bad. RESULT, failure all around. BUT the education was priceless. That part of my continuing education in business has helped me a great deal over the years. No pretending. Paying attention. Being responsible. Basic stuff BUT not practiced often enough.
Ray Windsor
John,
It’s not easy but it sounds like you’re on the right track.
I agree wholeheartedly with Ray, most importantly be sure to always sell YOUR brand.
Don’t be afraid to ask your car dealers for faster pay terms, the worst they can say is no. I lived with assuming they wouldn’t pay faster until I had no choice to ask them and without hesitation they agreed to pay once a week as opposed to monthly. I wish I had asked years prior.
Also, focus on your ROI. Put your biggest efforts into the areas that give you the best ROI. Social Media ROI is at the top of the list for most small businesses, just be sure you convert your FANS into CLIENTS.
Also, we treat every customer as if they are going to review us on Yelp.com. We start with a personal greeting when customers drop off their vehicles, communication throught the installation process, and customer product training when completed. Company culture, focused on a positive customer experience, is the key.
John Gaffney,
ONE: Pay attention to Jon Dewar and follow his lead. He knows…
TWO: Be sure to understand your beak even dollars and margin
THREE: Promote the Audioworks brand first, second and third…
FOUR: Do business with brands who will support your Profit, Identity and Predictability needs
FIVE: Put the best effort into an expert installation, every time
SIX: Instruct your customer to “tell their friends”; every consumer every time
These fundamentals will help support you during the slow times and will help you take maximum advantage of the “long term profitable relationship with the consumer” (the only asset owned by a retailer) all of the time.
Ray Windsor