Body Shop Business insiders have taken an industry profile and learned that an average 85 percent of repair estimates translate into actual jobs. This is actually a very encouraging statistic. But if your own number is lower than the average, there could be a reason. You may be making one of the fundamental three auto repair marketing mistakes.

1. Your SEO and inbound marketing strategies are too broad.

In the auto repair business, you are not dealing with customers from across the country. Instead, your clients are local. When you target keywords like “auto repair” or “repair shop”—or even long-tail keywords like “best auto repair shop”—you’re not only competing in a gigantic pool of other repair business, but you’re also targeting a ton of people who will never need your services: people who don’t live near you.

Solution: Target city-specific keywords in order to reach the customers who actually need you. Write content for your website, blog, and social media channels that incorporates these local keywords, such as “best auto repair shop in Cleveland.”

2. You’re not focused on ongoing education.

In the past, you could rely on experience, built on initial training. Today, vehicles feature more computer parts than ever. Industry and manufacturer certifications are the calling cards that identify you, your staff, and the shop as a whole as being equipped to work on customers’ super-modern vehicles. In fact, failure to apply for manufacturer certifications can make it difficult to access the repair data you need to complete your jobs.

Solution: Encourage—and even require—employees to continue their auto repair educations. Seek out industry certifications, like RepairPal, to demonstrate your ongoing commitment to improvement and customer satisfaction.

3. You don’t have any shop appeal.

Unless your auto repair marketing gives the customer a good reason to visit you, rather than the shop down the street, you may lose their business. If you have a messy shop, unfriendly employees, and lackluster marketing materials (displays, flyers, business cards, online content), it will reflect on your customers’ perceptions of your shop and the way you do business.

Solution: Be sure your staff and your shop are presented in a friendly and professional light. Periodically update marketing materials, signs, and logos to give yourself a modern look. Additionally, a RepairPal Certification identifies your business as one that maintains high standards of integrity and promises an honest price for a job well done. This is the type of advertisement you cannot afford to be without.