Mobile Edge A remote location in Lehighton, Pa. hasn’t stopped Mobile
Edge from doing business for more than 17 years. In fact, own- er Mitch Schaffer had a customer drive a newer model Lexus nearly 700 miles from Indiana and stay overnight at a local ho- tel — just to have Mobile Edge install a $500 remote starter. “That was all based on our website,” Schaffer said. “They were very impressed with our site and wanted the best to install it.” Looking five years out, Schaffer believes the shop’s in- tegration business will grow “organically” but he looks to expand his geographical reach to Philadelphia and New York because Lehighton has a population of just 5,600. “In order for me to grow in this business, we need custom- ers from further away,” he said. Concerted web marketing efforts are a key part of the
overall strategy for Mobile Edge. Schaffer points out the shop’s website uses best SEO (search engine optimiza- tion) practices to make sure that its ranked high in Google searches. “We just did a posting about frequently asked questions regarding window tint,” he said. Within a few hours, a search using keywords “Pocono window tint” re- turned the posting as the top link in a Google search. Schaffer advises other retailers to pay attention to their web
marketing efforts more closely and even consider it in lieu of traditional advertising. “I do little to no traditional advertising,” Schaffer said. “We spend less than one percent on advertising. “I’m going to sound like a broken record, but there are a lot of stores out there that either don’t have a website or have a poorly executed website,” he said. “Having a nice website with exotic installs is all well and good but if that website can’t be found on Google or Yahoo, it doesn’t mean a lot. You can cry all you want about how stuff is found on eBay and Amazon, but what we can do, when people are looking for product in our neighborhood, is have them look at us.”
Westminster Speed and Sound
Although integration is becoming a bigger part of West- minster Speed and Sounds’ future, owner Mark Miller is still about the basics: car audio. “We want to continue to define ourselves as audio experts because we still see that as a large part of our business,” Miller said. Getting customers to experience “what good sound really is” is important because it “will lead them back to us.” The store has a sound room, and doesn’t plan on getting rid of it anytime soon, he added. Located in Westminster, Md., for 43 years, Westminster Speed and Sound has long established itself as a leader in car audio installation, but these days, “they key thing for us is to maximize every opportunity on every sale,” Miller said. And although that means making attempts to sell a customer looking for a remote starter on mobile video or back-up cameras, the shop is also cognizant of the cus- tomer’s wariness. “We always push performance parts that focus on fuel economy.” Westminster’s goals include continuing to “develop more strategic relationships with car dealers,” Miller said, and growing the integration business. His advice to other retailers is to “stay focused on your expenses” and work on having strong vendor relationships and “dealing with a few vendors instead of a lot of vendors.” Store appearance and expertise are also key to surviv- ing and thriving as a mobile electronics business. “Your store can’t look like a mom-and-pop store from 30 years ago,” Miller said. “You have to go above and beyond to let them know how good you are to get them to tell their friends. If you think I’m the expert, you’re more likely to buy it from me.”
www.me-mag.com 33
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68