Online Bookings - Marc stood outside arms folded in front of his garage, at HSR Autos

Traditionally quiet January turned into busiest month ever

GSO customer, HSR Autos, an independent garage in Aberdeen, had its busiest January ever and is projecting it will double in size within 18 months.

Owner, Marc Binnie, says his garage business changed almost overnight after it struck third time lucky with its website provider.

Having taken over the garage in 2021, Marc created a self-build Wix website and then appointed a local website company 12 months later.

He said: “The new site performed worse than the Wix one and did nothing for the business. Luckily, I went on an Andy Savva course and was told that Garage Services Online were the top people for the job.

“They took care of everything and within three weeks the difference was night and day. The analytics clearly displayed how Google was indexing my site. Showing it to the people who were searching for what we offer.

“We specialise in brakes, auto electrics and diagnostics and that’s the work we’re getting enquiries for. We’d identified these as our ideal jobs so Garage Services Online built the site specifically to attract them. We’re not getting enquiries to patch up Corsa’s anymore!”

Online Bookings

Their website went live in September 2023 and is already beating the nearest main dealer to the top spot in a Google search.

Marc continued: “If you search ‘Mercedes Service Aberdeen’, we’re at the top of page one. That’s quite something. We’re working on cars that are only a year old and that’s exactly the type of customer we want. It’s a far cry from what we were doing when I took over a few years ago.

“Online bookings through our website have increased five-fold and the overall workload has increased by 40 percent. Not only that, the profile of the other 60 percent of work has changed completely. It’s the faster turnaround, easier and more profitable jobs.”

The garage is already five years ahead of its projected business plan. And despite recently investing £80k, is already running out of space.

Online Bookings

GSO MD, Jim Lang, said: “Marc’s investment in new ramps, equipment and a reception area would have all been for nothing if he didn’t have the right customers.

“Marc identified to us what type of customers are the best fit for his business. This puts him more in control of what goes on the ramps and doesn’t leave him relying exclusively on word of mouth. Nor does he need to accept a random selection of enquiries, many of which may not suit the business.”

Website Working 24/7

Jim continued “I’m so pleased to see this website working 24/7 for HSR Autos. Many garage bookings are made online after hours, so it’s crucial anyone looking for vehicle service and repairs can find you easily.”

Marc concluded: “You can never take work for granted. It doesn’t matter how busy a garage is with repeat business, for reasons beyond your control, you could lose up to 50 percent of them a year.

“Continually attracting new customers and filling the ramps with the best work for our technicians has changed the business – and my stress levels!”

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