Creativity Desperately Needed

Fuelie74

Fuelie74

Well-known member
Joined
May 7, 2008
Messages
770
Location
Monroe, WI
Ok so here we go. My year has finally started to calm down after my last year of moving and having our second kid. Now the last several months I find my doing more and more side work out of my shop:crap:. Now I need a name for my shop and would like something more creative than Davis Auto or Garrett's Transmissions (that's what my transmission parts accounts are currently under). Probably 50% of the work I have have been doing is auto transmissions, 30% electrical and 20% just your basic repairs. My biggest problem is I have no creative bones in my body when it comes to naming things. Any helps with ideas would be greatly appreciated!
 
A friend of mine has a repair shop. It's named Pleasant Run Auto (Pleasant Run is the name of the town it's in). He just opened up a couple of years ago and is doing really well. He mentioned to me one time that it was a good idea to use the name of the location in the name. Lot's of people are looking for convenience when getting service work done. Location is probably on top of that list.

Glad to see that your work is building. People who do good work are hard to find these days.
 
Dr Garrett's car clinic :wink:
Joke aside I agree with BBShark, mention a geographic location in the name.
 
I agree with the geographic name - makes it easier to spell, people remember the name easier (when they refer friends), and it makes you easier to find.

Whatever you name it, it'll be your reputation that determines your success.
 
Since I am from cheese country maybe "Cheesy Auto Repair":banghead:. .

That really does make sense though.

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:shocking: Same issue with ME, my home remodeling company was named E.A.S.Y. Remodeling.....I literally got stuck on a name that was not taken in the state of Maryland, later on, Florida also.....

So my name is Eugene A. Slater, and I played with that and found nothing that had any connotation of anything what so ever....

then it hit me, EASY.....just stuck a Y on the end of the initials, and got done with that project,.....one would think it was a negative connotation to it, but WTF, I sold about 50% of my leads, which is a decent % I thought....so leave it ALONE, it werks.....

:shocking::hissyfit::beer:
 
Something to consider, if your going to advertise. In a phone book or any type that matter that alphabetizes companies. You want to be at the front. That's why you may have seen so many successful companies that begin with the letter A.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JydJP2nff9o[/ame]

Ralphy
 
I got three of my best guys on it right now​

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dd1MMkdUW6c"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dd1MMkdUW6c[/ame]
 
Try to find a copy of "Being Direct" by Lester Wunderman. It is an easy read about his career in writing ad's. It will help you see the ups and downs of advertising and how people respond to certain "key" words.

In a nutshell, you have three seconds or less to catch a potential customers' attention. You need to keep your company name short and it should also lend itself to describe your product. Anything that starts with the letter A or B will help you get in line ahead of the others.

For my handyman business I use a lot of lawn signs. My companies name is Bright Star Handyman Service. How did I get there? My daughter's name is Magen, I have no son. Magen in Hebrew is the female derivative of Mogen which translates to "Star". She is the apple of my eye, my "Bright Star" so I named the business for her. The B gets me ahead of most of the other handyman businesses that are advertising locally.
On my lawn signs I play down the words "Bright Star" but the word HANDYMAN and my phone number jump right out at you. When folks ask me about my company name and I tell them the story, it makes them feel all warm and fuzzy, which is exactly what you want.

Another thing to do is to invest in a web site. No one is using the Yellow pages any more. Everyone searches for what they need on the internet. Ask some friends to go on Angies' List and leave you a couple of favorable reviews. The more of a presence you have on the internet the more business you will get.
Are you a Church goer? I am not, but my partner is. Networking with people you already know or who are members of a group that you are in helps to build confidence in your business and services.

Coupons
Everyone is looking for a discount these days. Offer a $5 or $10 dollar discount coupon, just be sure to put some conditions on it and an expiration date. The expiration date creates a sense of urgency and motivates customers to act. You can always put out a new coupon with a new expiration date once the current offer expires.

Rolling bill boards
Do you have a truck or trailer that can be lettered with your company info? If you do, drive it around as much as possible and/or park it in some highly trafficked areas.

Street signs
Put a sign at the edge of your property. If they won't allow a sign, put your lettered truck or trailer at the edge of your property where it will be seen.

Local print advertising
Do you have a penny saver type magazine? A local news paper? Put a small ad in the back where services are listed and run that ad year round. They are usually very affordable. If you can afford a display ad, like a quarter page or a half page ad, do it. It is also a good idea to put a coupon in a display ad.

Consistency builds confidence
I have my lawn signs up around town year round. I advertise in the same penny saver type newspaper year round. People in my neighborhood see my sign at their neighbors' house and my ad in their local paper. It is known as "positive reinforcement". As long as I keep planting my ads like seeds people keep seeing them and when they need a Handyman I get the call.

Be Available
Recently I started listing my cell phone number as well as my office number in my ads and on my business card. If you are not willing to pick up the phone or return a call promptly your potential customers will look elsewhere.

Offer something for FREE
I offer free estimates, in writing. As long as you are the home owner and a potential customer I will give you a free estimate. I will not give a free estimate to a realtor or to someone who is not the owner of the property. More often than not the realtors are simply looking for a dollar figure so they can adjust the price on a property they are selling or to give a potential buyer a number for repairs. THAT is a waste of my time. Keep your freebies productive.

Over deliver
Make your customer happy. Do something extra that they might not have expected. It might be as simple as vacuuming up after a job or wiping the sink clean after I wash my hands when at a customers home. Treat them as well or better than you do yourself and they will keep coming back.

Get in their face again
When I can afford it, I have Christmas cards printed up with my company name on them and I send them to all of my customers.

I agree with having your town's name in your business name. If it had not already been done in my neighborhood, I would have chosen that route.

GOOD LUCK!!!!
 
Cheese... Hmmm...

Cheddar auto repair (C.A.R.)

Cheddar auto repair service (C.A.R.S.)

Big Cheese Auto (a "B" letter to place you up front)

American Cheese auto service (an "A" letter)

All Cheese auto

Best Cheese Auto

But all of these sound like cheese factories!

How about some positive reinforcement words related to the auto industry?

Finish line automotive

First place auto

Reliable auto svc.

Winners circle

Best Auto repair

Competition automotive

Fast Lane

Top Gear

Wheelie's

Sure Fire

Batteries Belts and Brakes (BBB)

All car expert service (ACES)

Advanced Automotive

American automotive associates (AAA)

Assurance

As good as it gets auto repair

Auto Auto (like circus circus)

Auto automotive

Top flight transmission

Affordable Auto

Monroe Automotive

Monroe Auto Repair Center (MARC)

Monroe Auto Svc.

OK, I need a drink. This is like work!

I hope that helps.

Again, GOOD LUCK ! ! !
 
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Wow thanks for the advice. After a lot of thought and some good advice I picked a name. Twisted Rod is what I am going with. A friend came up with it and I just love how its totally out of the box.

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If you are going to do some advertising, internet is the way to go. I saw a HUGE increase in business ever since I started doing advertising online.
You dont even have to pay for some of it... Sign up for a google places account, yahoo, merchant circle, etc... all of those are free and they show up close to the top of the search page. It really does make a difference.
I also do a pay per click thing with google that I really like as well. I just set a budget per month and it pretty much does everything for me. Again, HUGE increase in business from this as well since my competitor was the only other guy advertising online. My father owns a direct mail advertising franchise so I advertise with him as well but I dont see as many coupons coming back from him compared to people saying "I saw your ad online"

Cool name too... Good luck!
 
vette427sbc said:
I also do a pay per click thing with google that I really like as well. I just set a budget per month and it pretty much does everything for me. Again, HUGE increase in business from this as well since my competitor was the only other guy advertising online. My father owns a direct mail advertising franchise so I advertise with him as well but I dont see as many coupons coming back from him compared to people saying "I saw your ad online"
Click to expand...

Yes, you definately want to do a Google Adwords campaign. BUT, when you get a call, answer the phone! People need to find a place to fix their car now and they will call the next guy in line instead of waiting for someone to call back. Also Google Ads will let you specify your location and a radius so that your ads are not shown to people who live Australia.

Twisted Rod? Not really sure the twisted rod/auto repair connection is positive. Also most of your customers don't know that car has rods or kanuter valves. So to them, I don't see the name as an advantage (I suspect most will think your name is Rod and you are a little weird). To the ones that do know that a car has rods, the image of a broken car part might be a deal breaker.

A buddy of mine opened a hand car wash. He was looking for names. I suggested "Handjob Car Wash". Well he did it and got a lot a free publicity, the local news, angry citizens, various groups. The publicity never turned into customers so he eventually changed the name.

Moral of the story is maybe a clever name is not that important.
 
vette427sbc said:
If you are going to do some advertising, internet is the way to go. I saw a HUGE increase in business ever since I started doing advertising online.
You dont even have to pay for some of it... Sign up for a google places account, yahoo, merchant circle, etc... all of those are free and they show up close to the top of the search page. It really does make a difference.
I also do a pay per click thing with google that I really like as well. I just set a budget per month and it pretty much does everything for me. Again, HUGE increase in business from this as well since my competitor was the only other guy advertising online. My father owns a direct mail advertising franchise so I advertise with him as well but I dont see as many coupons coming back from him compared to people saying "I saw your ad online"

Cool name too... Good luck!
Click to expand...


It's a small world. I used to own a direct mail franchise! Yes, times are changing. We are in the electronic age.
I may give some of your suggestions a try. When you do the google ad words, are you getting qualified hits or a bunch of tire kickers?
 
BBShark said:
vette427sbc said:
I also do a pay per click thing with google that I really like as well. I just set a budget per month and it pretty much does everything for me. Again, HUGE increase in business from this as well since my competitor was the only other guy advertising online. My father owns a direct mail advertising franchise so I advertise with him as well but I dont see as many coupons coming back from him compared to people saying "I saw your ad online"
Click to expand...

Yes, you definately want to do a Google Adwords campaign. BUT, when you get a call, answer the phone! People need to find a place to fix their car now and they will call the next guy in line instead of waiting for someone to call back. Also Google Ads will let you specify your location and a radius so that your ads are not shown to people who live Australia.

Twisted Rod? Not really sure the twisted rod/auto repair connection is positive. Also most of your customers don't know that car has rods or kanuter valves. So to them, I don't see the name as an advantage (I suspect most will think your name is Rod and you are a little weird). To the ones that do know that a car has rods, the image of a broken car part might be a deal breaker.

A buddy of mine opened a hand car wash. He was looking for names. I suggested "Handjob Car Wash". Well he did it and got a lot a free publicity, the local news, angry citizens, various groups. The publicity never turned into customers so he eventually changed the name.

Moral of the story is maybe a clever name is not that important.
Click to expand...

I have to admit that I agree with the above. I hate to rain on your parade but it is a negative image that "twisted rod" projects. It also made me think of pretzels.

The above car wash scenario is a great example, it would have done well with a name like "By Hand Car Wash" or "Gentle Hand Car Wash" or "Helping Hand", something along those lines.

Keep plugging, you will find the right one soon. :banghead:
 
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