Throughout the 1990s, professional collision repairers with the goal of succeeding in their chosen profession have focused on growing their businesses at the expense of their direct competitors. Capturing new customers, before the competition has a chance to make them a customer, is the most natural but hardest task the typical repair facility faces- beyond actual repair production.
With the advent of industry consolidation, and the growth of multi-store, regional and national collision repair chains, the competition for customers will increase dramatically beyond current levels as we approach and enter the next millennium. In last month’s issue of INSIGHT, we introduced the importance of the customer communication process for collision repairers to succeed in the next millennium. Visibility and "brand" recognition are important puzzle pieces for industry consolidators. To compete, the individual repair facility, or smaller regional multi-store operation must pay particular attention to these Pre-Sale Marketing and Communications activities.
The chart on page 14 of this issue details the most common Pre-Sale Marketing activities for each of the three main customer types: individual vehicle owners, fleet and DRP referral sources and OE Dealers. Shops who wish to compete against the shop down the street and new entrants such as consolidators must include some or all of these activities in their marketing plans to grow their business. Determining which is right for a specific collision repairer’s business depends on factors such as the marketing budget for the organization and other local factors such as customer types and importance in the market.
However, beyond pre-sale marketing, the importance of customer communication during the repair process and after the sale is a crucial, but often overlooked area of a shop’s communication process with the customer.
The first opportunity the collision repairer is afforded to talk to a prospective customer is during the customer’s initial visit to the facility for an estimate. While many estimators are well versed in the technical aspects of repair work, the human side of the equation is often forgotten. The customer has just been through a traumatic experience. Good communications skills, comforting the customer, letting them know the facility will take care of their vehicle and solve their needs and the problems that have arisen is paramount.
To help determine customer’s specific needs, many repair facilities include questions regarding the need for a rental vehicle, and customer concerns regarding the repair process on a customer information form. In past issues of INSIGHT, we have detailed variouse customer information forms and how they can best be used to improve communication between the repairer and the customer during this initial contact.
(Editor’s Note: For a sample copy of a customer information form, contact INSIGHT at (800)860-2744.)
With knowledge garnered from the customer information form, coupled with a good dose of listening on the part of the estimator. The repair facility can better communicate and close a greater percentage of sales.
The next phase of the customer communication process includes repair scheduling and customer updates on the progress of the repairs to their vehicle. If, as is often the case, the vehicle will continue in service until all of the necessary parts have been ordered and received, the estimator should keep in regular contact with the customer regarding the scheduling of their repairs.
Once repairs begin, updates on problems that occur during the repair process that may affect delivery of the vehicle should be handled promptly. As any parent who has waited for a child to call late at night will tell you, prompt attention to your customer’s information needs will go a long way to ease fears and elimate negative impressions. Calling the customer a few hours before scheduled delivery to inform them their delivery will be delayed for two days can ruin whatever positive impressions they may have had of the facility. Progress updates, especially those concerning delays in the scheduled delivery date must be timely. Careful in-shop monitoring and communication is crucial to this task.
Careful attention must be paid to the preparations for the actual delivery of the vehicle. Is the customer aware of their financial responsibility? Do they have the insurance check? Or, the deductible amount? Has the bank signed off on the completed repairs? All of these factors and others must be explained to the customer before the delivery so they are prepared. Finally, when delivery is made, the estimator or manager must pay careful attention to the customer’s questions regarding their satisfaction. The key here is to identify potential problems before the vehicle leaves or a bad CSI report is returned to the shop.
After-Sale marketing includes efforts to make sure that current customers are satisfied with the service provided and make them into a strong referral base. This is crucially important because Collision Repair Industry INSIGHT research indicates that, on average, 80 percent of customers are influenced by current customers.
In simple terms, this means that 80 percent of your customers will buy service from your facility based upon the experiences of past customers who have used, or know someone who has used, your facility and are satisfied with the service provided. Even insurance company direct repair relationships that many feel totally eliminate the 'friendly customer referral" need strong customer satisfaction for long-term success. The remaining 20 percent is new business created through Pre-Sale marketing efforts.
Customer satisfaction indexing is not a new subject to readers of INSIGHT. The article Measuring Customer Satisfaction the INSIGHT Way beginning on page 11 explains the detail of INSIGHT CSI service and how shops can use it to their benefit.
In our next installment, we will investigate industrialized collision repair operations and facility planning for the next millennium. o
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Reprinted from the April 1998 Issue of Collision Repair Industry INSIGHT.
© 1998 Collision Repair Industry INSIGHT. All Rights Reserved
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