The average smartphone user has between 60 and 90 apps installed on their phone, according to recent data collected by Kurve.
Go ahead, open yours up and count. Now, break it down even further and count just the business apps. That's a lot, isn’t it? Now, categorize them. Most of us have the big ones, like Amazon, and then a few retailers that we frequent. Food is another very common one. Service apps, like healthcare, also have a place on most people’s devices. An app that’s not very common? Auto repair.
Unless of course you happen to be a customer of Barebones Automotive, a two-location repair shop in Texas owned by John Blanton. Blanton launched a customer loyalty app in August that attracts roughly 100 new subscribers per month.
Backstory:
Throughout his career, Blanton worked for various shops and dealerships before getting his Bachelors in Business Administration and Finance from Sullivan University. In 2011 he founded Barebones in Denton and opened a second location in Krum in 2021.
Problem:
The idea of a punch card or blasting his customers with emails and texts never appealed to Blanton, so he never put a customer loyalty program in place. That all changed, however, when he attended a convention and met Jeremy Glassco, founder of AppFueled [See Breakout Box: 10 Customer Loyalty Program Pitfalls].
Solution:
The app appealed to Blanton and he signed with the company and launched the app in August 2024. Rather than having to dig around for a punch card, customers simply open up their app during their appointment and have all the necessary information ready at their fingertips. The app has already been incredibly popular and has attracted roughly 100 customers per month and is as easy as scanning a QR code that’s located near the front desk.
The app costs $24.99 per year, but Blanton offers a coupon that gives customers the first year for free with two free state inspections included. So, even after the first year has ended, the membership pays for itself with the required state inspection and then more than pays for itself with the added bonus of 10 percent off for parts and labor for every repair that’s done and a 5% toward future repairs for up to $50 off. Breaking that down, if you have a $500 repair, you’d get $50 off of that repair and $25 off for a future repair. On top of that, you get $15 off on your birthday and you can collect stars for doing certain things within the app and redeem those stars for special rewards, like a free oil change.
Deals like that make it a no-brainer for customers and the ease of an app also appeals to the majority of Blanton’s customer base. The coupon allows customers to try for free for a year and lets them decide for themselves whether or not they want to continue with it.
Aftermath:
As of the middle of January, nearly 800 customers have signed up for the app.
Blanton says that in this industry, there’s not a lot of customer retention through mailers and texts, so he thinks the app is a great idea. Apps aren’t for everyone, but in this day and age, they are for the majority of customers.
Launching in August, the app is still relatively new, but Blanton says they’ve received positive feedback and many customers have already come for their second and third trips since downloading the app.
Takeaway:
For shop owners that aren’t using an app-based customer loyalty program, Blanton says that they need to get with the times or be left behind.
