Computer repair business - Attract more business

[FullyCreative]

Hello UKBF,

I work within a family-business of computer and laptop repairs, business support and gaming/new builds in the West Midlands.
Our main source of traffic is through foot-traffic as we have a repair centre shop in the high-street of a town.
We have been in the business for 10-years. Going strength to strength year on year.
This year, however, as many are facing the difficulties of Covid-19.

Our foot-traffic has completely dried up. Some of the things we are doing and trying to get people to notice us are:

• Vinyl on the main shopfront windows advertising what we do
• 75" TV in the window displaying info/offer/news etc.
• Freshen up window displays
• Updating our website to be more informative with additional CTA's
• Creating social media content
• Advertising in local magazine 1/2 page colour ad

I'm asking for suggestions or advice on what we could do.

1. Attract more customers into the shop e.g. repairs/sales etc.
2. Attract businesses to our offers of IT managed support services

Currently, we don't support any Google Ads, and limited Facebook ads.
So this is an area to work on.
However, I'm a complete newbie with Google Ads. But, with us currently working on updating our website content I'm a little reluctant to spend on GAds when I know the website 'will' be better. (I hope!)

We are also re-arranging the internal layout to incorporate a PC gaming area and set up for those customers looking more into the PC gaming side of things.

Any feedback and support welcomed, I look forward to hearing other users thoughts on this.
Happy to provide further details and info to questions/support asked.

Thanks,

Charlie

 

[Mr D]

Breaking into houses and messing up the computers....

Leafleting in local area. Poor return but gets your name out there.

Have you tried the local paper (express & star?)/ local free paper?

Is a collection service possible within a certain radius?


Business wise there is some competition. And may already use someone for those services they need.
Perhaps details of what services you are offering and a mailshot to local businesses?

Some areas offer occasionally a new business fair - basically a bunch of stalls where people looking at starting or just started a new business can get advice, help, business cards from a couple of dozen support businesses and some swag.

 

[Darren_Ssc]

I'd put all your budget into social media. People working from home locally has to be a market you could target?

Daily posts that are helpful, not promotional.
Join and be present in local groups, again be helpful and not promotional.
Experiment with targeted advertising but be prepared to lose money initially, always be improving and optimising your ads. Always be growing your follower base.
Don't step on the slippery slope of discounting.

 

[AllUpHere]

What's your budget? Some businesses have been handed a once in a lifetime opportunity with recent events, and yours is one of them. Don't look at Covid as a challenge, it's a massive opportunity. Computer repair has been a challenge over the last few years as the numbers simply didn't stack up. Who wants to pay for repair when they can buy a new machine that's pretty decent for a few hundred quid? You now have unique opportunities that have never been available to you before.

You seem to be thinking along the right lines already, but you need to have more of an idea of the strategy you are using before you start making changes to the website.

It would be fairly quick and easy to tell if AdWords would be cost effective.

Anyway, give us an idea of budget and we can give more specific recommendations.

 

[FullyCreative]

@Mr D , @Darren_Ssc , @AllUpHere ,

Thank you all for responding! Appreciate you taking the time to help me out.

Social media is certainly a key area we need to tap into more. We need to improve on our customer engagement online along with creating value in posts and messages which people can relate too and not be sales pitchy.

CTA on the website is another factor I'm building at the moment, whereby obtaining contented email addressed to create email mailshots perhaps.

Budget-wise, I think £120 a month is safely where we can be at the moment.
What can be done with this to give the maximum gains I'll leave that to you to help and advise in the comments.


Thanks,

Charlie

 

[Darren_Ssc]

Budget-wise, I think £120 a month is safely where we can be at the moment.

You need to think bigger than this, like 10 times more. Your first few hundred quid will be burned while you learn a few basic mistakes, at your rate of investment there isn't going to be any noticeable gain until this time next year. Can you wait that long?

 

[AllUpHere]

Completely agree with above. With 120 you are playing at it, not running a business. You either need a budget to pay someone to tell you what to do, or a budget to burn through whilst you work it out yourself. As Darren suggests, ten times your existing budget would be a start.
You have a once in a lifetime opportunity to make 100s of thousands of pounds per year, and your budget is 120 quid per month. You need a re think.

 

[Paul Norman]

Take things a step at a time before you start dropping money into either google ads or paid for social media ads.

You have done two good things - rethink the presentation of the business, and extend the range of products.

The reduction in footfall, sadly, is probably now permanent. So you are going to have to go online to get more customers.

Start the social media thing. Do it well, and do it large. Don't listen to the 1 post a week advice. Not even 1 post a day. Get noticed. Get conversations going. Take the trouble to learn it.

Also, look at networking - online zoom meetings are all over the place. Just get your face out there.

How is your website? Can I buy stuff from it?

Do you sell refurbed computers? Or can you get some new stock to sell? Some people (myself included) see a laptop as a consumable cost - I don't get them fixed, I replace them.

Just some ideas - I wish you all the best for the future.

 

[estwig]

Google my business, set that puppy up right, blackmail punters into leaving reviews, in 6 months time Rodney you'll be a millionaire.

Blackmail:
I do hope you've been happy with the work we've carried out for you, please do let us know if you have any problems, we are always happy to help good customers. Could leave us a review please, it only takes a minute to do and we would appreciate it: Link to review

 

[FullyCreative]

Awesome guys,
Really appreciate the thought ideas going on here.

@estwig Thank you for the review info, I'll put that to work immediately.

We do get a large number of people coming in with computer faults, issues and repairs. Often broken screens, keyboard damage or gaming PC issues.

I think you are all right in the words of we really need to get ourselves visible or noticed.
I have only recently join the family business team and I'm really wanting to push it out of the stale environment it is in now.

With a budget of £1,200 per say, would it be best if I get someone to help me push paid advertising such as social media or Google/Bing etc. or as myself not clued up on the methods be better doing trial and error?


Thank you,

Charlie

 

[Darren_Ssc]

With a budget of £1,200 per say, would it be best if I get someone to help me push paid advertising such as social media or Google/Bing etc. or as myself not clued up on the methods be better doing trial and error?

Paying someone with such a budget brings a high chance that they will just take your money and do the bare minimum. Of course, this isn't true if you find the right person though.

Avoid agency type business that pass this kind of stuff on to the intern of the week as something to keep them occupied.

I'd say trial and error is likely your best way forward with a small budget so long as you are willing to lose a few quid at first. You will find strategies that work for you eventually.

 

[WebshopMechanic]

As the peeps on here have already said:

Google My Business
FREE & it's a no-brainer but you need to keep it updated. Google has given you a free platform to use and they will reward you in the local search listings so use it. Use it to promote offers and specific services.

KEY POINT: Collect as many reviews as possible from customers. The more reviews you have on Google, the more business you will get because most businesses don't bother.

Facebook
Set up your page, keep it updated and be active. Ask your friends to comment, like and share your posts so you gain more reach. The Facebook algorithm rewards posts that have a more 'viral' appeal.


Other options are:

Your Existing Customers
Your existing customers are an easy way to generate more sales because they already know you (5 times cheaper to retain customers than win new ones).

Email them with an update and maybe offer firewall / virus protection / VPN installation. Push the massive security risk we all face online. No harm in asking and PAIN sells.

Your friends and family
Again, another good source of business. If you don't ask, you don't get. People are spending more time on their laptops and problems must be occurring more often. Crashing, overheating, etc. Get them to push out the message.

Facebook Groups
Join as many local groups as you can. Be active in the groups and help people. Don't sell. You will always find people asking for I.T support. As you get known in the groups, people will start to recommend you to others.

Instagram
Same as Facebook. Make it interesting and tag your photos and videos using relevant hashtags, especially local ones. This is key. I know a tree surgeon who gets a ton of business through Instagram.

Nextdoor
This is another good source of local business. Be active. Comment. Be overly helpful. Don't sell. Try to build relationships with people who can help you recommend you.


Summary
Of course, none of this activity will repeat rewards in 5-minutes. It's a continued effort but will pay massive dividends who you are consistent.

Adwords can also work well but it isn't cheap and you need to make sure you push the loyalty element to make it more profitable. If you are going to go down the Adwords route, make sure you are as granular as possible with your landing pages. For example, if you are targeting Mac repair then have a clear landing page with Apple images, not PC or tablet images. Same for PC, iPad, Monitors, etc. Don't make people think. K.I.S.S (Keep It Simple Stupid)

Hope that helps.

Matt

 

[iDigLocal]

pick a small area, create a list of companies in that area and give them a ring, move on to next area.

Great for picking up information and finding out about your local businesses and their needs. If it was not for the zombie apocalypse you could also just pop in.

 

[FullyCreative]

Hi all,

Thanks again for the wonderful comments and feedback.
I'm not looking to go with any Adwords of PPC campaigns yet.

I'm deciding to roll with Facebook Ads, to begin with, and create some sort of online presence.
Creating a couple of campaigns to test, with a daily budget for each of £5 (£10 in total) per day.

One ad is targeting computer gamers, this is having a video with photographs of PC builds, and products etc. this is a Facebook made video slider with 6 videos with the text upon them.
I am setting it to be in a small radius of 18km of our shop location, with an age range of 18 - 45.
Struggling with detailed targeting of what to put. Currently, I have put:

• Gaming computer
• Information technology
• PC Laptops
• Streaming media
• Twitch (website)
• Computers
• Consumer electronics

Have I got the right end of the stick, or should I be focusing on home-owners, electronics, university students, parents who all have computers and technology for them to know to use us for gaming stuff for kids etc?

The other advert idea I'm looking to do it a campaign to get our Facebook page more likes and interest. Setting that again to a local interest level. With an image and post which focuses on the services we offer. 18km from the shop, with an age range of 24-55 for those who know more about services rather than PC gaming for example.

Again, struggling with the detailed targeting so looking for advise.


Thank you for all the help so far, I'm trying to put as much of it into action as possible.

Many thanks, Charlie

 

[Darren_Ssc]

Hi all,

Thanks again for the wonderful comments and feedback.
I'm not looking to go with any Adwords of PPC campaigns yet.

I'm deciding to roll with Facebook Ads, to begin with, and create some sort of online presence.
Creating a couple of campaigns to test, with a daily budget for each of £5 (£10 in total) per day.

One ad is targeting computer gamers, this is having a video with photographs of PC builds, and products etc. this is a Facebook made video slider with 6 videos with the text upon them.
I am setting it to be in a small radius of 18km of our shop location, with an age range of 18 - 45.
Struggling with detailed targeting of what to put. Currently, I have put:

• Gaming computer
• Information technology
• PC Laptops
• Streaming media
• Twitch (website)
• Computers
• Consumer electronics

Have I got the right end of the stick, or should I be focusing on home-owners, electronics, university students, parents who all have computers and technology for them to know to use us for gaming stuff for kids etc?

The other advert idea I'm looking to do it a campaign to get our Facebook page more likes and interest. Setting that again to a local interest level. With an image and post which focuses on the services we offer. 18km from the shop, with an age range of 24-55 for those who know more about services rather than PC gaming for example.

Again, struggling with the detailed targeting so looking for advise.


Thank you for all the help so far, I'm trying to put as much of it into action as possible.

Many thanks, Charlie

Don't worry too much about getting targeting right first time, it takes experimentation. Sometimes you need to broaden it out and sometimes it needs narrowing down. The idea of playing with a small budget at first is that you can experiment without blowing all funds before you know what you are doing.

Regards buying likes, you'll find your costs go down considerably if there is a good landing page
for each campaign, rather than sending everyone to your homepage. Have a landing page that is specific to the ad and nothing else. Nice images, copy that is to the point and no confusion should be the aim.

Always have at least 2 similar ads and keep making changes until you are getting the optimum results. Changing a couple of words or a slightly different image can have surprising effects.

The goal is to be acquiring followers for a few pence a time and just keep going. Again, don't sweat over targeting too much at first as you could be omitting a large audience you have not considered. You will learn as you go.

Just remember all those like you buy is just a group of people you are going to have to pay again to market to, so have a plan of what you are going to do with them other than just having a big number that looks good but brings no benefit.

 

[The Byre]

I wouldn't bother with any magic boost from advertising - the results will be disappointing anyway and there's waaaay more you can do right now BEFORE you even begin to spend money (needlessly?) on advertising!

Again, struggling with the detailed targeting so looking for advise.

Your number one target must always be existing customers! Write to them. Now!

Beyond that - I have made two videos just for you (well, alright, not really just for you, but for all the SMEs in your position who need to expand their sales). The link is in my signature at the bottom here and the videos in question are 'Selling' and 'Writing Great Copy'.

In the 'copy' video, I ask the question 'Why?' and this is vital to your sales effort - why should I repair a PC - isn't it cheaper to buy a new one? Every time you contact a prospective customer, you must answer that question!

Good luck and get going - and put that checkbook away! You don't need it. Not yet anyway. Fix the rest first!

 

[Underline Digital]

Google PPC would be your best bet. You can energise all your efforts on showing your ads on Google maps. That way you can specifically target your local audience. With Google Ads you don’t necessarily need a good looking website, but need a very functional landing page. Just one optimised landing page that can capture leads for you.

With social media ads you would be relying on their previous searches. And think about it, when someone needs a computer repair where would the first place they search be, Google or Facebook? With Facebook try and increase your engagement so people are aware of you, so they can suggest your services when asked. But other than that, try and focus on Google Ads.

 

[Chris Ashdown]

What are you really offering,

No footfall has a reason in this case the potential customers are self isolating, so you need to remove there concerns by maybe offering a pickup and return service with guaranteed safe return of the items where possible with disinfected outside edges and wrapped in a protective bag

Offer a range of new computers for sale with all software transferred to the new computer

Clear price list on shop front and web site, Advertise in local papers and parish newspapers at very low cost

Advertise a call out service to local business, we used to pay a monthly charge (quite small) for a guaranteed engineer to call and work on any failed computer withing 2 hours during working hours

Last most computer stick a few empty boxes in a window and call it a day, have a look at the window from the outside and see if it appeals to you, most seem to look like a secondhand shop

 

[Nico Albrecht]

Don't bother with Google ppc campaigns. For more than a year they do not allow to run any computer repair adds anymore. To get business customers you need referrals from other businesses. That's how the entry level IT stuff works. You do work for one business and they refer you to other businesses if you are good. Your biggest challenge is you provide a service that is not specialist enough hence you competing with all the other entry level players as well. 10 years in you should have build a fully equipped board level repair department as well and get all the board level repairs from tier 1 shops.

 

[momon121]

I wouldn't bother with any magic boost from advertising - the results will be disappointing anyway and there's waaaay more you can do right now BEFORE you even begin to spend money (needlessly?) on advertising!

Your number one target must always be existing customers! Write to them. Now!

Beyond that - I have made two videos just for you (well, alright, not really just for you, but for all the SMEs in your position who need to expand their sales). The link is in my signature at the bottom here and the videos in question are 'Selling' and 'Writing Great Copy'.

In the 'copy' video, I ask the question 'Why?' and this is vital to your sales effort - why should I repair a PC - isn't it cheaper to buy a new one? Every time you contact a prospective customer, you must answer that question!

Good luck and get going - and put that checkbook away! You don't need it. Not yet anyway. Fix the rest first!

Just watched am your video it’s fantastic. Can’t wait to implement some of the pointers

 

[Louise109UK]

Do you know your target audience?

I imagine young people for gaming? Love the idea of a playarea

Get yourself know in the local college/uni - college mag etc.
Online social networking
Discount with student card


Business upgrades? People won't want to splash on on new machines but an upgrade a set price could be a good offer for local businesses. Linked in/twitter.

If you know passing footfall is down, I wouldn't spend any more money here.

 

[momon121]

Just watched am your video it’s fantastic. Can’t wait to implement some of the pointers

Just what I was looking for considering I’ve had a quite week. Certainly the footfall has dropped where we are in east Lancashire

 

[forevergroup]

Unfortunately the problem you have right now is exactly why we do not focus on what I refer to as 'bricks and mortar' IT. It's the same reason why IBM recently spun off their hardware business in the same way that they already did for servers and endpoints. There is no residual income in hardware.

 

[columbo]

A couple of things:

Is the gaming marketing really that profitable? Custom or DIY built PCs can be extremely time consuming to troubleshoot. Their owners often need more (free) after-service support than regular users too.

Why is the OP not targeting Work from Home users. Yes, they do get IT support form work but not for everything. There is a market here for tapping.

And as another poster has pointed out, the OP is starting his advertising campaign in the wrong place. He should NOT be targeting NEW customers now EXISTING ones. Campaign will be cheaper to run and more profitable.

 

[Emre Eldar]

To attract businesses can use any professional platform such as LinkedIn. Make your business get noticed by them there. optimize your profile, create good content, and continue to do a genuine activity on LinkedIn.

 

[MichelleB-UK]

As mentioned by others, make sure you keep your GMB (GoolgleMyBusiness) listing page updated, its a good free tool if you use it wisely, post updates about your business, offers etc. Also, make sure you set up bing places too plus there are lots of other local directories too such as Scoot, Yell etc some of which will give you a backlink to your site. On your website, make sure you have a page about the services you offer and the areas you cover. If you want a reasonably priced self-help SEO tool, have a look at HikeSEO, great for beginners and also has help with local citations / gmb.

 

[antropy]

To attract businesses can use any professional platform such as LinkedIn. Make your business get noticed by them there. optimize your profile, create good content, and continue to do a genuine activity on LinkedIn.

Very long winded way to go about it. It takes ages to build up a good LinkedIn business profile and that all comes from lots of networking. It isn't the case of creating good content and then suddenly people flock to your LinkedIn page I am afraid! Alex

 

[Paul FilmMaker]

Why not a series of vids shot on your phone, showing what you can do?

e.g. Building a bespoke gaming computer way cooler than anything else out there?
Or saving someone a ton of money by upgrading their old laptop?
Or showing businesses that they can save a ton of money by upgrading their older kit?
Etc...

And then showing those locally using your local Facebook groups? I'm guessing your catchment area's going to be local people and businesses. It's free, easy and quick to do and should generate more local customers.

Just my £0.02