Automotive Repair – Sales – Valet Business Plan

Executive Summary

Mad Keen Motors is a family-owned business located in Backwater Downs, a suburb of London. It has been under the ownership of the Keen family for 35 years and has grown from a single mechanical repair shop to five locations that deal with body and mechanical repairs, vehicle storage and towing, washing and valeting and used car sales.

This plan is an internal document, outlining the effects on the company of adding a website. The Mad Keen Motors website will act as an additional customer service element for all our garages, offering basic advice on car maintenance, information about our services, staff, and location, and regular discount offers for website visitors on featured repairs and maintenance.

Our current phone-based and face-to-face customer service is excellent, but requires that potential customers make active contact with the company to learn about us. Most of our new business comes from referrals from current satisfied customers. We hope to make the referral process easier, by encouraging existing customers to point out our website to their friends, colleagues, neighbours and family members, building familiarity with our company long before they need emergency car care or consider buying another car. The “advice” section will be crucial in establishing customers’ trust in our expertise, as will our affiliation with nationally-syndicated car experts.

By helping local customers help themselves, Mad Keen hopes to build trust and relationships with existing and potential customers.

1.1 Mission

Mad Keen Motors provides excellent automotive care and service to all of our customers, whether they need to buy a used car, contract major body work or get a simple wash and wax.

1.2 Keys to Success

The keys to success for the company’s website will be:

1. Compiling an extensive and thorough listing of questions and answers that will encourage customers to return to the site whenever they have a problem with their cars.
2. Providing additional expert advice for answers that customers don’t find in the base list of questions in a timely and thorough manner.
3. Offering Web-based promotions that will encourage customers to book cars into the garage through the website.
4. Communicating the site’s existence to the businesses and residents within the local area.
5. Getting existing customers to recommend the website to others.

1.3 Objectives

The objectives of the Mad Keen Motors website are:

1. To drive traffic from the website to the garage.
2. To expand the community of Mad Keen Motors customers.
3. To provide customers with a substantial list of questions and answers regarding typical car repairs.
4. To allow convenient bookings for service and repairs.