Green Earth Auto drives eco-friendly Business with Google Calendar

Green Earth Automotive owner J.D. Longnion has more than 20 years of experience as an automotive specialist. 

J.D. started Auto Maintenance Man at the age of 27 and his business grew as Austin grew. And just like Austin, the business became increasingly aware of the importance of caring for the environment. Clearly, a "green" alternative for oil changes was needed.

Longnion became the first to use the G-Oil® Earth-friendly motor oil alternative. He renamed the business Green Earth Automotive to reflect his bold direction, and the response from the public has been enormous.

GEA is now the first name in environmentally-friendly, quality car maintenance and repair. GEA's mechanics use renewable and recyclable bio-based motor oils and lubricants. Their signature green oil changeminimizes environmental impact and promises longer service intervals for both ordinary and high-performance engines.

The Challenge:

However, as GEA grew, Longnion was faced with a few growing pains.

"We were having to use multiple programs to get things done," Longnion says. "We would use separate websites to complete different tasks. For example, we had our email boxes and calendar with (domain registrar) Go Daddy. We had Windows Office for documents and shared (online) docs through Dropbox."

For a successful business owner who needs to keep things simple and organized, this meant a lot of unnecessary confusion. 

As for Green Earth Automotive's online presence, it left a lot to be desired as well.

"Our website looked good, but it was not very user-friendly," Longnion says. "We discovered that people had to search through a few pages before finding the info they needed, so we were losing potential clients."

They also didn't have a way to track online visitors, so they could only guess what their Web traffic really was.

The Solution:

Green Earth Automotive teamed up with Coolhead Tech and began using the collaborative power of Google Apps for Business. The auto shop launched their new Google Site with Coolhead Tech this past Earth Day.

Coolhead Tech targeted local listings to help customers find JD & Company. With some Adwords coaching the company started using AdWords to market themselves. To get organized in the office, they started using Google Docs and Google Calendar, all connected through their individual Gmail inboxes.

Google Docs includes word processing, spreadsheets, presentation and website creation tools that employees can use to securely share files and collaborate in real-time, keeping versions organized and available wherever and whenever they work.

"Coolhead also set us up with a YouCanBookMe Account that our customers can access 24/7 to schedule appointments," Longnion said.  

The Results:

With Gmail, Google Calendar, integrated IM and video chat, GEA employees and customers can now stay connected and work together with ease. 

"We knew we needed to do all these things online.  Coolhead made it happen and came to the shop to show us how to manage everything ourselves." Longnion says. "They redesigned our website to make it more user-friendly, simpler and attractive, set me up with Google Apps and Google Adwords and showed us how to use these programs."

With online scheduling and reminders for customers and Google Apps integration for mechanics, the website now attracts new customers and allows Longnion to spend more time keeping Austin Green.

"I recommend Coolhead Tech services for any business, but especially if you are local, small-medium-sized business and have a strict budget," Longnion said. "I have received a lot more calls from online users than ever. Check them out!"