Panel and Paint
Well, despite the best efforts of some brilliant(?) people, the Commerce Commission slept through the submissions and applied the rubber stamp. By the time you read this the Reserve Bank will have completed the final stage of the approvals process, and IAG will be allowed to swallow Lumleys.
Change is inevitable, so thinking outside the square, and perhaps a bit of myth-busting, can share some light. I called the Insurance Ombudsmans’ office, and they were able to confirm that unless an insurance policy specifically states that the owner must use the insurer’s choice of repairer, then a job can be done by a panel shop of the owner’s choosing.
Then I rang a couple of random Insurance companies and explained I was thinking of changing to them, but someone told me if I had a prang I would have to use one of the panel beaters in their network.
Interestingly, both of these companies would prefer I use their repair network; however I could use a panel shop of my choosing.
Yes, I know what you will say next... the claims officer is going to try really hard to convince your client they have a wonderful group of carefully chosen suppliers and repairers, and they guarantee the job will be done to a high standard of quality and service.
You and I both know they don’t say the repairers and suppliers are the ones who actually carry the responsibility to put anything right at their expense.
Now, if you are following this train of thought you are probably wondering why a whole bunch of panel beaters doesn’t promote its own workmanship guarantees and service standards so it can can retain the majority of its clients. I know I certainly do Wake up, it is personal – it isn’t just business. If you are staying in the collision repair industry you are going to have to make it personal. This is your livelihood, so dump the baggage and figure out how to stay in the game.
If you are being screwed to the bone doing work for insurance companies, then let this work be the “loss leader” that gets their customer in your door so you can take a leaf out of the McDonalds playbook – “would you like fries with that”.
Up-selling is as simple as saying to the client something like: ”I couldn’t help noticing, but there is a scratch in the (insert your own favourite car bit). We can repair it at the same time we are doing the insurance job so it won’t be off the road any longer than necessary. We can mix a little more of the colour than we normally would so we can keep costs of painting to a minimum.”
You might even remind them you are doing a special deal on polishing the remainder of the vehicle after the repairs are done.
And if they enter the monthly draw they may just win the cost of this back – all they have to do is complete this tear-off form and provide mobile number and email address. Of course the fine print will give you permission to email them.
Getting personal with your clients is like becoming their local medical centre. Be the go-to guy if it’s anything to do with wheels.
After all, you know the best air con specialist, where to get the best deals on parts and accessories, how to install them, where to take the car to get the alignment or mechanical repairs done, and can even get the car towed if it breaks down or is in an accident.
I bet you can even tell your client if the car they are about to buy is a lemon that’s been badly repaired.
Insurance companies do corporate really well, but this is also their weakness. You are the guy who has the personal relationship with the customer.
Digital Marketing
Ever heard of a thing called Mail Chimp? If you haven’t then Google it; what you will learn is that you can segment your clients by type, create groups, and send up to 12,000 emails a month for free.
Use the templates to create your style, and insert links to your web pages so you can see what things are of interest. Every time someone opens an email or clicks a link it is recorded by Mail Chimp. Log in to their site or use a special smartphone app to see precisely what interests each individual.
This is a reasonably easy system to learn, and with a bit of practice you will look like a digital marketing pro in no time. However, this is only part of the marketing puzzle.
You have to engage your clients and get them talking to their friends about your excellent service – and even better still flicking that monthly email you send them to others in their personal networks and hopefully you may even go viral. This is where something in your email is so intriguing they can’t help but flick it on, or put it on their Facebook page. It always helps if you can offer something for “free” – and up-sell them.
About your website
Ever wondered what happened to the Yellow Pages? In Auckland it used to be two massive books and it cost an absolute fortune to place an advert in it. Now it’s rarely used and has shrunk massively because it’s no longer relevant due to the Internet.
Google can find anything 24/7; can even show satellite or street views of your premises and pluck the details out of your website – all from the convenience of a smartphone.
The Internet is where it’s at, and your website needs to to optimised to get traffic from search engines such as Google, and for viewing by mobile devices. It should be much more than a brochure, and ideally it will be linked to a number of videos on YouTube (the world’s second most popular search engine behind Google).
Videos can be posted on your channel for free and linked back to your website where you have a gallery of before and after photos to impress them with your hard won skills.
YouTube videos
Every time there is a smashed car on the side of the road people slow the traffic and crash their cars while ogling the carnage. There are videos about bad driving and smashed cars on YouTube; you can link to your webpages and promote in your email marketing campaigns.
You might even get someone to video a major repair and then break it up into a series including segments using time lapse and a range of tight or wide camera angles.
Keep them to under five or six minutes long and create a special series of campaigns for new clients, or anyone that comes in wanting an estimate. And yes, every one of those videos will start off with you talking up your personal guarantee of a quality job, and perhaps it might even end with testimonials from your clients and link to your site.
In summary, there are many tools and solutions available at very little or no cost that will assist you to build your online presence or remain relevant. Email me peter179@me.com or check out www.onrequest.com