An auto repair shop that devotes any of its radio commercial to boasting about having “factory trained mechanics” is like a dental practice declaring, “Our dental hygienists are licensed!”
While plenty of automobile mechanics aren’t “factory trained,” that has more meaning to the shop than it does to potential customers.
The advertiser might think that should be an important selling point. But people want a good mechanic who is honest and reliable.
Being “factory trained” is not an assurance of expertise, of honesty, or of reliability. It might well be something the mechanics are proud of, but it shouldn’t be in the radio commercial.
Use your precious advertising time to solve the targeted consumer’s problem, not to answer questions the consumer isn’t asking (“Are your mechanics factory trained?”).
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Then there’s “Our mechanics have a combined 100 years of experience.” You hear that used for all kinds of businesses.
I wish you could have published this a couple of hours earlier. I just had a discussion very similar to this with an Account Exec this morning, except the word was “certified.” The script didn’t say what the shop was certified to do, nor who certified them to do it — making the claim completely meaningless.
They probably “do it right the first time,” too
Personally I wouldn’t consider using a shop that wasn’t factory trained or certified. I’d consider it an important point to touch on.
@Bob Lawrence: Yes, that’s always so impressive: “7 trained mechanics with a combined experience of almost 15 years.”
@BMR: It may be an important point to consider when looking for an auto repair shop, but that doesn’t mean it should be included in the radio commercial.
Personally, I wouldn’t consider eating in a restaurant isn’t clean or whose wait staff is rude. But I wouldn’t advise restaurants to include “clean restaurant, polite staff!” in their commercials.
Guy at a fast food place asked me if I wanted the receipt as I drove in to pick up my dinner. I said yes.They have a survey and to receive a Gift you must take online survey and put password on the receipt. So, they treat me good. Place this in a car dealership and you might have something.Or David Goldstein.
Right on, Dan! This reminds me of an example you’ve given about commercials that describe restaurants as having “delicious” food, and you made the point that having delicious food is the price of admission to qualify as a restaurant – it’s what we expect! (Has anyone ever chosen to dine at a restaurant expecting their food will be terrible?). Having mechanics who are properly trained in auto repair is the price of admission to qualify as an auto repair facility – it’s what customers have come to expect without consciously thinking, ‘I wonder if their mechanics know what they’re doing?’ (And if the mechanics DON’T know what they’re doing, you can bet that facility will soon be out of business).
I tell clients that when you have a brief 60 or 30 seconds (more often 30) to get your message across, stop promising things that listeners already expect…instead, SURPRISE them with the UN-expected (My favorite auto repair facility is always well-stocked with a nice selection of Little Debbie snack cakes, free to their customers – a nice surprise I hadn’t expected).
auto repairing is a very hard task for a experienced person , before thinking about repairing your auto, you should have complete and correct tools that you may use in repairing.