Detail Garage’s Active Social Media Presence Drives Growth, Brand Loyalty

Detail Garage, the 80-plus-unit auto-care franchise, has enjoyed continued growth over the years due in part to the brand’s implementation of a joint franchisor-franchisee social media strategy. The strategy allowed the brand to grow on a national and international scale, as well as in each franchisee’s local community. The success of the strategy has paid off in followers, with the leading lifestyle brand for automotive detailing enthusiasts and professionals, having surpassed the monumental milestone of 1M followers on Instagram, the brand's most active social media channel just ahead of YouTube.

With more followers, franchisees and customers than ever, the brand’s social media continues to play an integral role in consumers’ brand loyalty and viewing themselves as part of the Detail Garage family.

“Everyone at Chemical Guys and Detail Garage is 100% committed to ongoing success and focus on social media excellence, and because of this, Chemical Guys recently celebrated one million followers on Instagram,” said Detail Garage’s director of business development Chad Zani. “A lot of our competitors have been in operation much longer, but we dominate them on social media. When we open stores, the opening and ongoing marketing strategy is 99% social - Facebook, Instagram, Google and Yelp!.”

Zani said that back in 2016, when the original 3 store network wasn’t as focused on maximizing the return from social media platforms, the original store was doing ok at just over $1M in sales which was 3 to 4 times the revenue of the other 2 stores. However, when the store started initiating the new social media strategies, sales increased to +$3M.

The Detail Garage social media family has grown to impressive numbers since stepping into the scene in 2016, with 407k followers on the brand’s Instagram account, 675k followers on its sister brand’s account, Chemical Guys, Facebook page; 1M on Chemical Guys’ Instagram account, 52k on the Detail Garage’s Facebook page and 700k on the Chemical Guys’ Youtube page.

Detail Garage’s strategy is to use social media to increase a store’s brand presence in its neighborhood — to help a store and a franchisee better immerse themselves in the area they are in and connect with potential customers.

Zani noted that most national brands don’t allow franchisees to manage or build their own social presence, but Detail Garage takes a joint approach. While the franchisor is building a national and international presence, it is also building strong, local followings due to the individual social pages of its franchisees.

Detail Garage franchisees also have the help of a software program, Falcon, that helps them manage time and costs effectively. Zani explained that Detail Garage also matches a franchisee’s marketing efforts. For example, if a franchisee commits $50 a day for a Facebook marketing campaign, the corporate team will match that cost as well to amplify the location’s reach.

Jeremy and Brandi Shelton, who opened their first Detail Garage location in Fredericksburg, Virginia in December 2020, said the brand's social media strategy played a huge role in their location’s success. Now, due to that success, the couple has plans to open a second location in the Richmond area in April 2022.

“Chad took the time to teach me tips and tricks to really engage with our target audience and bring the customers in and create that community online, as well as in the store,” said Brandi. “Because of the time he took to explain things, such as how to do my ads and how to project to the right audience, we saw the pay-off in our store’s sales.”

Brandi furthered that their location’s social media also sparks an interest in customers wanting to attend classes or wanting to come in and just learn more about certain products that they see in posts or videos.

“Every time a customer comes in, they get put into the system,” explained Brandi. “So when we have a lot of ads running, the number of new people we put in our system increases. People see the ads on Instagram or Facebook and want to come in and make that point of contact, and from there, we establish a relationship — they become part of the Detail Garage family.”

With the strong, dedicated following that Detail Garage has already established, the brand will only continue to garner more loyal fans and customers through its local and national-level content.

“We’re excited to keep growing our social platforms to groundbreaking numbers and seeing the amazing content our franchisees post in their communities,” said Zani. “The car community is a loyal one, and the more we show of our world — the Detail Garage family — the more they’ll want to be a part of it.”

Started in 2008 by professional auto detailers, Detail Garage was born out of a need for the ultimate playground and community for car care enthusiasts. It is the country's go-to retail car care store for passionate car owners and detailing professionals. With over 80 locations already in operation around the world, the Detail Garage team is looking to reach 100 units open this year, followed by 50 locations added to the system each year following.

Driven by adventure, a passion for shine, and a love for the road ahead, Chemical Guys is a worldwide leader in automotive detailing products for car care enthusiasts and professionals. From exclusive small-batch waxes to cutting-edge ceramic coatings and specialty cleaners for exteriors and interiors, Chemical Guys sets the industry standard when it comes to product innovation, technological advancement and education. Based in Southern California, Chemical Guys has evolved from a handful of passionate car fanatics to a global lifestyle brand with the largest digital library of automotive detailing "how-to" content available.