Driving without a license and falling asleep: Bad

From South Town Star in Chicago, October 21st 2009:

"A driving lesson: When you're driving without a license, it's not a good idea to fall asleep at a stoplight.

A patrol officer on Oct. 7 observed a vehicle at a light at Ashland Avenue and Joe Orr Road that did not move when the light turned green.

Upon investigation, the officer found the driver asleep at the wheel with the vehicle in drive and his foot on the brake, police said.

The driver, Juan Cano, 28, 252 Pleasant Drive, Chicago Heights, was charged with driving without a valid license, no insurance and improper stopping."

Advice for learners: Finding The Perfect Driving Instructor

This article was written with learner drivers in mind. When you read it and consider how people will look for a driving instructor, you should find it useful with regard to promoting your own driving school.

Finding The Perfect Driving Instructor: 3 Top Tips

Japanse driving school offers massages

In Japan the falling birth rate has forced driving schools to get creative in their search for new pupils.

One driving school offers manicures and massages and has a golf driving range.

It's certainly a very different take from the marketing techniques used by driving schools in the UK.

Read more at Japan Times.

Jenson Button failed his first driving test

Apparently racing driver Jenson Button failed his first driving test.

According to the Telegraph Button

`was given a major fault for nipping through a gap between two cars on a narrow road. But despite this early setback, driving instructor Roger Brunt hailed Button as "the best pupil I have ever had".'

Marketing Tips for Driving Schools

Whilst this article was written specifically for driving instructors, it applies to any small business.


Tough Environment

It's a tough environment promoting a driving school in England. There are TV adverts everywhere from the big companies attracting new learner drivers for the new driving instructors that they are also training. Most driving schools are independent and unable to afford television, newspaper or radio advertising and instead they turn to other methods to attract new pupils.

The most trusted technique has been the recommendation or referral. The personal touch always helps sell any product or service and since so many people have learned to drive it isn't difficult to find someone who can recommend their driving instructor. Some small business thrive entirely on word-of-mouth without spending a penny on traditional advertising and the most successful of these businesses have managed to systemise the recommendations and referrals they receive.

Recommendations

Some driving instructors may encourage students to recommend a friend by offering free lessons in exchange for a block booking whilst others may be more blatant with an MP3 player or gift voucher giveaway. Another option for systemising referrals is to join a business networking group like BNI. A business networking group will put you in touch with other local business owners who recommend clients to each other. A good network acts like a eager marketing team for the relatively small cost of membership.

Internet and Social Media

More often, driving instructors are looking to the internet to attract new students. Social Networking and other sites offer a massive opportunity for driving schools and driving instructors to market themselves in a new and different way. Through the use of articles, blogging, Twitter, Facebook and other resources, driving instructors have an opportunity to go to where the young people hang out and let these prospective pupils find them.

Having a website will no longer enough for driving schools to survive in a highly competitive market and must embrace the opportunity to grow their business using the internet. Whilst many driving instructors don't even have a Facebook account, those that are well acquainted with the user interfaces on social networking sites have the advantage over their competitors.

Need To Adapt

In the same way that kids today are being taught how to use computers in every-day life, so too must driving instructors understand this technology and appreciate how they can use it to grow a thriving business. The target market for driving instructors is teenagers, precisely the people who spend the most time using this technology. Without harnessing the power of sites like Facebook, driving schools completely miss out on an opportunity to be seen by and interact with their prospective customers.


Steve Bradshaw is the marketing consultant for KISS Driving School.

Orginally posted at Amazines.