Award winning retailer Mitch Schaffer of Mobile Edge, Lehighton, PA. is moving into the new business of providing turnkey web sites and online marketing for car audio dealers.
Marketing became a key ingredient for Mobile Edge because it is based in a small town. Once the boom in autosound subdued, it relied on online marketing to draw in customers from neighboring areas. “If I had to rely on my immediate market, as I used to, I would not be in business today,” said Schaffer.
He began helping other retailers with their web sites as a side business. And since marketing is lacking in many 12 volt retailer’s game plans, Schaffer has seen his side business explode and he plans to make it a full time operation within a year under the name 1sixty8 media.
“There are all these guys out there that are very talented installers or businessmen, but for whatever reason, they are not talented marketers,” he said.
In addition to building web sites, Schaffer provides articles and blogs to keep eyeballs on the site and to improve search engine ranking. Dealers get a web site that is frequently refreshed, which in turns builds traffic. “Basically, it’s about writing great content that people want to read that is optimized for certain search terms. It builds the relevancy of what Google looks for…Google is about relevant search results,” he said.
The goal of 1sixty8 media is to make the process of marketing a car audio business online as turnkey as possible. Having run a shop Schaffer understands that owners are pressed for time. So he offers different packages that spell out exactly what the retailer’s time commitment would be for each.
As a retailer, Schaffer has invested heavily in Mobile Edge, which won Retailer of the Year in 2010 by Mobile Electronics magazine. The shop recently got a new fabrication area and demo room so it can show off its custom audio skills. Schaffer is gradually handing off responsibility for running the store, but he retains ownership.
Some of the web sites that 1sixty8 has produced are:
JML Audio
Extreme Audio (Former Retailer of the year and current runner up)
Driven Sound and Security
Westminster Speed and Sound
Kingpin Car Audio and Marine (This site is under construction. The current site NOT by 1sixty8)
Tip Top Customs
Sound Depot and Performance
Audio Designs and Custom Graphics
For more information visit http://www.1sixty8.com/
Photo from JMLAudio.com
Congrats Mitch, I wish you and your clients all the best in these tough economic times!