They try messaging about off-road protection before assuming everyone wants that showroom shine.
The shop that's stuck at $20K a month in a market full of AMGs and Range Rovers?
They're not testing anything.
They’re running generic “detailing services” ads while their ideal customer drives past looking for someone who speaks their language.
They’re copying what worked for someone else in Phoenix while sitting in Nashville.
A Real Example of What Works
Yesterday, I talked to someone in a market everyone said was “too small.”
Population 45,000.
But it had a Porsche dealer and two country clubs.
Instead of running broad campaigns, he tested ultra-targeted messaging just for the car club members.
One focused campaign.
Twenty members.
Fifteen became customers at $3,000+ each.
The Difference Between Success and Struggling
If he'd listened to the templated advice about "casting a wide net" (which is still a part of a plan, just not the whole strategy) and "volume-based marketing," he'd still be fighting for $200 details instead of doing full PPF on 911s.
Your Market Has Money
I don't care if you're in Miami or Missouri — there are people with vehicles worth protecting.
If you're seeing McLarens, AMGs, Raptors, or even just loaded Silverados every day but they're not in your shop, it's not because "people don't spend money here."
It’s because someone sold you the same solution they sold to 50 other shops.
The Real Key to Growth
The difference between the shop doing $30K and the one doing $80K in the same market?
The $80K shop tested what actually works in their specific town with their specific buyers.
They didn’t copy someone else’s success. They built their own.
The Power of Testing
Every small test that fails teaches you what your market doesn’t want.
Every small test that works shows you exactly what they will pay for.
But you have to test what fits your market, not what worked for someone three states away.
The Price of Not Testing
That two-year contract running generic ads in a market full of Ferraris?
That's an expensive lesson.
The month you tested messaging specifically for Tesla owners and discovered they don’t exist in your market?
That’s a cheap mistake that pointed you toward the lifted trucks that actually need protection.
Understand Your Market
Your growth lives in understanding your specific market, not copying someone else’s playbook.