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Cosmic Cosmetics is the blogging home to Automotive Cosmetics Group and we are about Faith, Family, Fitness, Food, and Caring for our Cars... because Cars deserve makeovers too!
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Friday, November 21, 2014

Unexpected Encouragement

So…
We had a few visitors this past week come in from out of town. One came from not so distant North Carolina for the day. But one of our friends, Mr. Jamie Lasher, flew in from Iowa to be with us.
These two friends are also business owners in their respective states. They both came for several reasons. One, of course is simply to visit us but the other was to observe our company in operation and to offer feed back, good and bad. We are always looking to improve in every aspect of our operation.

But don’t worry. Im not going to bore you with all of that stuff. (sigh of relief)
What I did find exciting during the time they were here was in a brief unexpected event that happened. My father in law took Jamie with him (in his company logo’d truck) to a particular Automobile Dealership we partner with to pick up a vehicle that needed paint work. They pulled up to the stop light right before the Dealership and a woman pulled up beside them urging our guest Jamie to roll down his window. Jamie was a bit startled about the whole deal but rolled his window down. When he did, this woman began to yell out to him, “Your company does awesome work! Your company is awesome!” and so on and so forth. Jamie politely said , “Thank you” and rolled up his window as the light changed and they parted ways.

When our guest made it back to our Service Center he began sharing this story with the rest of our team. This is what makes all of the hard work, the extra mile taken, worth it all. These kind of stories are what fuel our little family company to live by a motto in which I tweaked a bit and it is this,
 “Our company was not built by extraordinary people but by ordinary people that do extraordinary things”. (The author of the original statement is unknown)  We strive to not only do extraordinary work for our customers but to also treat our customers extraordinarily well.

(Pictures of my Father in law, Ron Roos and Jamie Lasher at #RiozBrazilianSteakhouse provided
 below)












When did you have a time like that of our guest? A time of an unexpected encouragement from someone?
Share it here. We would love to hear about it.




Monday, November 3, 2014




It is November and it has already snowed here in South Carolina! Whew!
Only in South Carolina do you have temperature change from being in the 70’s to dropping down in the 30’s within two days! It was a record of our lowest temperature ever.
Well, hopefully this months Facebook contest will set a record for most entries because this one here is going to a blast!

For this months contest giveaway we are having a photo contest called “Dress that turkey” !!! LOL
That is right. You heard it correctly! 
Follow this link to enter and to cast your vote for funniest pic!
https://www.facebook.com/automotivecosmeticsgroup/app_512541485429310


We are looking forward to seeing your pic! 



Tuesday, October 7, 2014

I had been trying to connect with the gentleman at our local Chamber of Commerce that handled the internet marketing, etc. so that we could begin to use our outlet there to get the word out about our fairly new Facebook giveaways. Once we did finally communicate,
he asked if I would be willing to share my social media experiences, especially our use of Facebook for contests and giveaways. 
Of course I obliged and he published it through their website and blog. However, he formed it as a Q & A session.  (I will provide the link to that blog at the bottom of this post.)
I want to share my original piece with you here on our company blog site (since I am far from a writer I definitely want to share any every little thing I type- lol ) So here it is. Enjoy.



THE 5 “W’s” OF SOCIAL MEDIA FOR SMALL BUSINESS IN MY OWN EXPERIENCE 

Initially starting out, the company we have now become was only a two person crew which consisted of my mother and father in law. A true mom and pop operation in which they travelled from car dealership to car dealership repairing vehicles’ interior blemishes and exterior paint work.
Fast forward almost eleven years to present day we have three mobile divisions and an array of services. But the kicker would have to be in our opening a service center on April of this year in Lexington, South Carolina. Reason being we our now serving the retail market. 

Never before have we had any need for marketing or more specifically social media. 
However, with the sales and marketing arena evolving, social media has become a major player in the game. It has become such an amazing tool. I have done a lot of research and study on this among many other marketing outlets and it is said that with the consumer markets growing use of mobile devices and internet shopping that well over 50% of all final sales are done with these two mediums alone. Wow! Fifty percent! 

This means that if we are not using social media, we are quite possibly missing an enormous amount of business; which led me and should drive you, to begin using social media platforms to advance your company.

Whew! Glad to have gotten all of that out there. Now, onto what I am writing this article about.
In setting up our social media business pages I quickly realized that the old saying, “Build it and they will come” does not necessarily apply. So I embarked on more research, more study and I decided to try out contests and giveaways through Facebook. Our specific goal in using all social media platforms is to bring brand awareness, capture leads, and ultimately serve the needs of people within our niche. Without having to invest a great deal financially into social media marketing, the ROI is phenomenal.

Thus far, our company Automotive Cosmetics Group has run three monthly Facebook giveaways and we are currently running one as I type this note to you. We have given away our services and we are going to give away Starbucks and Long Horn Steakhouse gift cards in the future. Our first giveaway that ran for three days on Facebook increased our following by 120 people or “likes”. The second giveaway increased our following by 35 people or “likes”. And the third added around the same number of 35 people or “likes”. The monthly giveaway is a work in progress so of course we are constantly testing and learning as we go. 

Because of the potential I saw in these organically made giveaways I decided to (yes you guessed it) do more research and I found a few different options in software platforms that assist in social media marketing. I spoke with several and joined in on webinars to learn more about them. In the end I decided to use a platform that is built to assist my efforts in doing our monthly Facebook giveaway with excellence. 

I am using that platform for the first time in running our current giveaway on Facebook. It has two days left to run but we have already captured 35 new email contacts and added 17 new people or “likes”. In giving to our community and state by using social media we have gained free advertising and we have had several new customers come through our doors. We are recognizing money we did not have before while growing in an area we did not have before.

As you can see, with a minimal investment, which in turn creates large profit, there is simply no reason that any company should not be using social media. The future of internet marketing is already here. It is social media. Create your company profile today.


Some of our first monthly Facebook Giveaway winners


LINK TO OUR LOCAL CHAMBER AND THE Q & A CHAMBER BLOG LINK


Friday, August 29, 2014


Have a wonderful extended labor day weekend with family and friends!







                      #labordayweekend #laborday #family

Sunday, August 17, 2014

Contest Ends Midnight



    Thursday, August 14, 2014

    August Facebook Giveaway







    "LIKE" us on Facebook and WIN!   Ends Monday



    www.facebook.com/automotivecosmeticsgroup


    Sunday, August 10, 2014

    The Top Reason I Love What I Do

    This post is a personal one although it does have everything to do with our company.
    It has been stirring in me for almost a week now due to yet another encounter with one of our customers at our service center.
    These types of events happen often with our customers but for some reason this one really got my attention and made me smile. I will attempt to lay the ground work but please remember that I am no professional when it comes to writing an attention getting article. I am simply the Operations Manager of our family owned company so I ask that you show me some grace :)


    Since we as a company ventured into opening a service center in December of last year (2013)
    I have seen first hand how we bring happiness to people. A person will hear about our company through someone else or hear our commercials on the radio and come in to check us out. I am usually the one who has the honor of meeting these people and getting to share with them what we do, how we do it, and what the financial investment will look like. Long story short, a person usually comes by in a vehicle that has several paint or interior issues. They will show me the damage or flaw in a particular area and once I tell them our price to fix this they immediately say something like, "WOW! Is that all?! Well, let me show you a few other things." Leading me outside to their vehicle. LOL

    I absolutely love this! I love being able to help people in life first and foremost no matter the situation. But to have a job where I can help people everyday is just fantastic!



    Share my story if you please.  It will help me in knowing if my write ups are helpful or not.
    Thanks  
    -Brent

    Wednesday, July 9, 2014

    WORLD NEWS WEDNESDAYS



    "world" news Wednesday just went local. At least for this week anyways.

    Follow this link for the detailed article on this weeks GOOD news post!

    http://coladaily.com/2014/07/09/classical-music-takes-center-stage-in-palmetto-health-childrens-hospital-music-therapy-program/


    #worldnewswednesdays #southcarolina #local #goodnewsforachange
    www.automotivecosmetics.com

    Wednesday, June 25, 2014

    JUNE #CarsDeserveMakeoversToo FACEBOOK Contest Winners

    Hello all,

    We at Automotive Cosmetics Group took the plunge into creating our first Facebook campaign this month. We created a contest for our business page followers (likes) and offered repair service on automotive paint and interior.
    A person could take a pic of the flaw in their cars paint or interior that they would love to have fixed or repaired.
    The response was tremendous!!!
    So we are sharing the winners with you here on our company blog page. The first of two winners to claim their prize was Mrs Nicole. She is posted below.

    If you have not liked us on Facebook yet, what are you waiting on?! Follow the link and like us for your chance to win!!!           http://www.facebook.com/automotivecosmetics




    Sunday, June 15, 2014

    Video Update For Contest

    If you have not already, get over to our Facebook page and enter the contest to win paint or interior work on your vehicle. Follow this link... https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=311686512327801&set=vb.259139937582459&type=2&theater www.automotivecosmetics.com

    Sunday, April 6, 2014

    The Story Pt.2



                                                               



    Where was I? Oh yes, Ron.
    As you recall, Rochelle worked extremely hard in climbing the corporate ladder and made a successful go of it. But the end result for her sadly was much like so many others in corporate America.

    And... along comes Ron Roos. "The Dutchman" I like to call him when Im in a joking mood.
    He was born and raised in Rotterdam, Netherlands. A "Dutchman" for sure.
    After high school he joined the Royal Dutch Navy for two years. He then became a plumbing apprentice a year but found his way into the traditional stucco trade where he would become a specialist. His strength and focus was in the restoration of museums and historical homes. And he did this for over eleven years.

    Eventually he was presented with an opportunity to join the very large company Dupont and he could not pass it up. This job went well for awhile but he would eventually go back to doing what he had done for so long in the past, remodeling and stucco work in which he travelled some to different  countries such as Germany and Austria.

    During his travels in doing the construction work he met and became friends with someone who asked him to come work for an International Franchise that specialized in automotive paint repair and  he accepted. This work would bring him to the United States in 1998. More specifically, Kansas City, Missouri where the headquarters for the franchise was located.

    Ron became the automotive paint trainer for all who bought into the franchise from across the globe. Once they bought into the franchise they would fly into Kansas City and be trained in automotive paint and repair before going back to there city or country for that matter to start up their franchise.

    And this is where you may tie in my last blog. In 2001 my mother in love (not law) Rochelle met Ron and as I stated before she was asked to join the company at the Kansas City headquarters. By 2004 Ron and Rochelle's relationship had grown and their vision for business had as well. So they loaded up a small minivan with a few paint and interior supplies and moved to South Carolina where Rochelle's parents lived. They had a dream and some repair material and equipment.

    There are many many more details to this story but I will save you the rambling on by simply stating that as we fast forward to the present year of 2014, we (Automotive Cosmetics Group) are an eleven employ company and are not only celebrating ten years in business but we are also celebrating the expansion of our family business in opening our Service Center in Lexington, South Carolina!
    Wooo Hoooo!!!

    Wow! Talk about small beginnings....


    Catch you on the next blog.

    You can find us at  http://www.automotivecosmetics.com
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    Monday, February 24, 2014

    The Story


    Every successful business or corporation has a story. Or history if you will.
    This company, Automotive Cosmetics Group, in which I am thankful to be part of is no different.
    I personally find the story behind this small family owned and operated company in particular, interesting... and quite frankly amazing.

    We have a woman by the name of Rochelle. (Who happens to be my mother in law by the way)
    Born and raised in Illinois. Finds her way to Lincoln, Nebraska and becomes the mother of three children. Two daughters and one son.
    And at one point in time simply a stay at home mom. As if taking care of a home and raising children isn't a full time job already, she decided to go back to school by taking night classes and earned a degree in business administration.

    For the next couple of years after that she focused on her children and offered herself in several volunteer roles. She helped in the local school library. She volunteered at the Veterans Hospital in assisting the maimed and hopeless. She also volunteered in a surgeons document storage.
    Until she just had to stop because the cases took an immense toll on her emotionally.

    After applying for a job with a credit bureau she was hired as a clerk. Definitely not the job she was seeking but it was a starting point towards a career in consulting. More specifically she travelled the United States, working with creditors and large corporations, which included the Republican and Democratic Conventions. She consulted with these and many other clients on each of their marketing strategies, helping them reach each of their individual targeted audiences while staying within their marketing budgets.

    She started out as a clerk. Within one year she applied for and received a secretarial position. After five years in that role she then applied for and received a position as a data information specialist.
    From there she was promoted to consultant and she worked in that capacity until the department was shut down.

    Wow! What a journey and climb to success! Only to have your legs kicked out from under you as often happens to great people in the corporate world.

    Only a short time passed though before she met a man named Ron Roos.
    Follow me as I briefly back track to give you some insight into this man....

    (Continued in next blog. Coming soon. Thanks for following)

    Tuesday, January 28, 2014

    FIRST BLOG ENTRY





    Our family owned and operated business will begin to share thoughts, events, and the happenings around the new service center with you here. We will also share "some" family events. Trust you will enjoy no matter what area in life you are at.
    Thanks
    Written by Brent Brooks