Once again I’m diving into the area of driving schools, this time it is for driving lessons in Ellesmere Port for that driving school who are based in and around Ellesmere Port (so it seems).
Would you go with a local Ellesmere Port instructor or choose one from further afield?
This is where good marketing comes in. If you have multiple locations and also want to target local people you need to convince these potential students that you will deliver just as good a job as the local driving school that you are going up against.
National Franchise or Local Driving School?
A lot of driving schools are based upon either one man bands or franchises such as Red or BSM. The jury is out whether these are any good because ultimately it depends upon how good the instructor is and how closely the head office would monitor their franchisees. If they are not too fussed about how exactly their operating procedures are being followed then there may a drop in quality of service, I’m not saying this is true but it a thought that I had based upon personal experience.
A one man band driving school might be good especially if the instructor has a got a good reputation and has taught a lot of people that you know or in the very least can take a recommendation from somebody for.
Good Work, Wins Work
A good sign that a local company is doing well is because they have multiple locations but are not a national driving school franchise. This is why I have singled out this particular company – they caught my eye because they have so many different regional instructors that it is important to understand that this doesn’t happen unless you are doing something right.
It is almost a franchise except that it is not. There must be some local control going on in terms of quality or the school wouldn’t be able to grow and sustain it’s reputation.
So in terms of marketing the reputation based upon customer satisafaction rates and hte tesitmonials of the clients is paramount to winning your next customer and the next and the one after that. It only takes a handful of bad reviews to give any business a bad reputation and this is why I would always look for a company who is not a one man band, not a franchise but is successful at a regional level – to put it simply they are getting it right and they are being portrayed correctly.
If you are a local company, build upon your customer opinion because this will win you more work. Your reputation is everything so use this to your advantage and expand using the the exact same quality of service, ensuring that tight control is kept of your new employees in terms of upholding your reputation.