Express Transmissions, Stockton, CA
Meng Moeun , rebuilder - Meng was Mario’s first and only employee
Van Khy, rebuilder Express Transmissions
when Express Transmissions first opened in early 2008.
Advertising message that’s sure to stick with poten- But maybe even more importantly
Mario considers advertising to be tial customers. is how Mario handles his calls. One
a regular business expense; one he Of course, Mario still advertises in thing he’s learned is that the key to a
invests in every month, regardless of the Yellow Pages. In fact, he has half- successful sale is knowing what to sell.
how business is going. In general, he page ads in three different books that His ads focus on selling one thing:
invests about 10% of his gross sales cover his general area. Call us. That’s it… just make the call.
in advertising. In the beginning that One thing that stands out in all of Not “bring your car in,” or “let us fix
percentage was even higher, and the his advertising is its underlying theme. your transmission.” Just make the call.
expense came right out of his profit. It isn’t about price or technical com- Once he gets a call, his focus again
But Mario knew that it was a crucial petence. It’s about trust. Every part of is on just one thing: Come in to the
component for creating the growth he Mario’s advertising is built around the shop. Not the repair or anything else.
was looking for. idea that he’s there to help… that he’s Just come in. And to bring those cars in,
One of the first things that Mario did your new friend in the business. Mario is quick to offer the basic checks
when he opened Express Transmissions How’s it working? It’s gotten him completely free. And if the car doesn’t
was to hire a marketing firm to han- noticed… and it’s bringing in custom- drive he’ll tow it in… for free. On top of
dle his advertising efforts. They began ers. In fact, one of his local competitors that, if in the end the customer doesn’t
by creating a motto or catchphrase to was quick to admit that “Mario caught want to fix their car at Express he’ll tow
encompass the message that Express us with our pants down.” the car back, or even to another repair
Transmissions wanted to offer the com- shop; that’s free too. The customer has
munity: “Drive On. It’s Our Promise.” Lead Tracking and Sales nothing to lose.
Using that as a starting point, they Advertising is a critical element in
created a series of billboards and pro- Mario’s business strategy, but what’s Community Involvement
fessionally written-and-designed bro- even more important is how he moni- Mario is a strong believer in com-
chures. Today Mario has 13 billboards tors and takes advantage of the results munity involvement: He’s quick to
around town, reminding potential cus- of those ads. sponsor local sports teams and associa-
tomers that Express Transmissions is He tracks every lead religiously. tions. And when the local church van
there for them, whenever they need Every call that comes in or customer needs repairs, Mario’s the guy who’ll
them. who stops by gets asked one simple step up to take care of the problem for
And every person who stops by, question: “Where did you hear about them… on the house.
for any reason, gets a brochure. The us?” From that, Mario can identify how Whether it’s replacing a busted
brochure explains who Express is, and well his ads are working, and where generator or replacing the transmission
how much Mario and his team are look- he’s getting the best return on his pan in a car for a guy who’s been out of
ing forward to serving them. A terrific investment. work for awhile, Mario is right there to
46 GEARS March 2010
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