Is Guitar Repair Profitable? 6 Steps to a Better Bottom Line

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Expanding your music shop beyond just selling instruments is a big business decision.

There’s a growing demand for guitar repair — which is why many music shops offer it as a service. Plus, it’s an easy way to drive extra revenue to your business.

But will guitar repair be profitable for your business? In this blog, we’ll explore six steps to ensure a better bottom line as you roll out guitar repair at your music shop.

Step 1: Understand Your Costs

First, you need to understand how much it costs to launch a guitar repair service. Think about the tools and materials you need, the cost of labor, and the overhead.

Here’s the good news: You only need to buy guitar repair tools when you launch your business because they tend to last a long time. To extend the life of your repair tools, take proper care of them by cleaning them often and using them correctly.

However, you’ll have to buy new materials that you use to repair the guitars periodically. Ask peers in your industry what problems they’re typically fixing on guitars. You want to have a good amount of guitar strings and tuning pegs stocked up because they're easy to break.

After you’ve calculated the costs of guitar repair, you need to decide if launching this new service is worth it for you. Let’s explore how to drive more customers to your music store for guitar repair.

Step 2: Set Competitive Pricing

Make sure that you understand your market — especially when it comes to proper pricing. If your pricing is too high, potential customers will go to other music shops for their guitar repair. But, if they’re too low, you won’t drive enough revenue for this extra service to make sense.

Here are a few ways to research the guitar repair market, so that you charge your customers at an appropriate price point:

Talk to peers that offer guitar repair services.
Talk to local guitar owners to see what they’d be willing to pay.
Go to online guitar groups on Facebook or Reddit.

Conducting market analyses and research will ensure that you’re charging the right amount for you and your customers. Like any other product or service, you want to find the sweet spot where you’re producing enough revenue, but the customer is still willing to pay.

Step 3: Enhance Your Skills and Services

Continuing education is an important aspect of expanding your music business. Look up relevant classes online that you can attend so you can properly repair your customers’ guitars.

This is a good way to instill confidence in your customers. You can also be confident in your own skills when it comes to more difficult or less common repairs.

Your continuing education doesn’t have to stop at classes. There are tons of online resources you can watch so you can stay up to date on the best guitar repair techniques, too.

Step 4: Optimize Your Workflow

Adding more services to your music shop means that you have to split more of your time when running your business. And as a small business owner, you know every minute counts.

Make sure to optimize your workflow. You want to automate as much as possible so that you don’t have to take attention away from your main source of revenue.

An easy way to automate your workflow is to invest in a point of sale (POS) system with integrated work order management. This way, you don’t have to worry about manually organizing your guitar repair records.

With a music-specific POS system, you can also optimize other aspects of your business, so you can spend more time on guitar repairs. In addition to guitar repair work order management, look for a software that helps you with inventory management and instrument rentals.

Using the right software means you don’t have to waste money on tasks that could be automated. Optimizing your workflow and operations can save you tons of money and, in turn, increase revenue through your new guitar repair service.

Step 5: Build Strong Customer Relationships

Remember the most important aspect of your business: the customer. Don’t let the addition of guitar repair service take away from your relationships with your customers. If you haven’t already, invest in a customer relationship management (CRM) software that allows you to create accounts for each of your customers.

Nothing drives customer loyalty more than excellent customer service — which means you and your employees need to be properly trained on customer service best practices.

This will be especially helpful as you launch guitar repair services. Like any new business strategy, there will be wrinkles to iron out. But if you’re providing solid customer service, rest assured that your guitar repair will drive profitability.

Step 6: Market Your Guitar Repair Service Effectively

With the launch of your new guitar repair service, you need to get the word out. That’s where marketing comes into play. Remember: You’re not marketing an instrument or other products — you’re marketing a service.

One way to market your new guitar repair service is through word of mouth. Send out marketing texts or emails to loyal customers so that they can let their friends and family know. Think about offering your loyal customers a deal like “25% off your first guitar repair service” so that they can experience it for themselves.

Another way to market your repair business is through social media or on your music shop’s website. Your online presence can drive just as much profitability as your brick-and-mortar location. Even though your customers still have to come in for their guitar repair, don’t underestimate how many people will see your marketing online.

Guitar repair can be profitable, but you have to make sure to market it properly. Don’t be afraid to try new ways to get the word out about your business expansion.

Is Guitar Repair Profitable? Yes — With Music Shop 360!

Music Shop 360 is an all-in-one POS system made specifically for music shop owners just like you. Because Music Shop 360’s software is catered to the music industry, it includes many features that will boost your profitability — especially in guitar repair.

Music Shop 360 has a CRM that’s integrated with its system, so you can easily keep track of your customers. With reporting, you can better understand their buying behaviors and preferences. This makes it much easier for you to build relationships with your customers to keep them loyal to your music shop.

Music Shop 360 also helps with your business expansion by offering seamless operation optimization functionality. Not only does it double as a POS system and an inventory management system, it can also manage your work orders. Now, you can add guitar repair to your business without a significant lift.

Ready To Launch Your Guitar Repair Service? Start Here

So, is guitar repair profitable? Yes — with the right tools. Remember these steps when you’re launching your new service:

Understand your costs.
Set competitive pricing.
Enhance your skills and services.
Optimize your workflow.
Build strong customer relationships.
Market your services effectively.

Rest assured that Music Shop 360 can help you launch your new business strategy with ease. Schedule a demo today to learn how you can successfully launch guitar repair at your music shop.