FEATURE

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So your dealership is successful. You have all of the typical dealership profit centers — New Car Sales, Used Car Sales, Ser-vice, Parts and Accessories. But there’s a revenue stream that you may be missing out on — a Collision Repair Center.

Based on current NADA data, only 39 per-cent of dealerships have one of these. So what are the rest doing?

Well, some dealerships are doing noth-ing. Others have a relationship with a lo-cal collision repair provider, hoping they have the same core values and deliver the same customer experience that you have achieved through your dealership. But we all know that it only takes one bad experi-ence to upset expectations and ruin a rela-tionship. Why take that risk?

Keep Them In-house or Risk Losing Them

Those of us who have had the misfortune of being involved in an accident know the disruption it can cause in your normal rou-tine. Whether a minor or severe collision, it leaves you thinking, “What do I do next?”

COLLISION REPAIR CENTERS

I S Y O U R D E A L E R S H I P M I S S I N G O U T ?

B Y D O U G B O R T Z

PA R T 1 O F A S E R I E S

Jones Ford Collision Center, Charleston, SC

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Treat Customers Right and Reap the Rewards

A critical component of the customer ex-perience is the comfort you provide them during the course of the repair.

Let’s face it: the first thing we think about after an accident is, “How am I going to get to work, take my child to school, drive anywhere?” This added stress can be ad-dressed with a dealership collision repair Concierge Service. Offering services such as emergency towing, shuttle pick-up and drop-off, insurance claims assistance and rental car arrangements (even branding your rental fleet for added exposure) will make a customer’s journey through the collision repair process as stress-free as possible.

Take customer service to a whole new lev-el, building customer confidence through the peace-of-mind that they will be taken care of at every step during the repair. They will remember you when it comes time to make a repeat vehicle investment. Retain the units in operation you have now and maintain the brand loyalty you’ve es-tablished through your dealership offering.

Communicate A Clear Advantage

The increase of marketing communica-tions taking over the automotive industry and cluttering the minds of the consumer makes it increasingly difficult to attract and retain customers.

How many postcards do you receive in the mail offering free gifts if you’re one of the first 10 people to take action? And then there’s the Internet. Customers have the ability to easily search and select between you and your competition, choosing the options that meet their needs. With limited marketing and advertising budgets, your dealership’s ability to attract, capture and retain a customer becomes even more dif-ficult, especially if you can’t offer them the services they need.

There are also advancements in vehicle technology to consider. For example, many new vehicles are programmed to react when an accident has occurred. Im-mediately, sensors alert a command cen-ter that notify the driver and direct them to an established Collision Center. In the future, OEMs may choose which Collision Centers their vehicle brands are directed to. If you don’t have a Collision Center at your dealership, how can you be included in this opportunity?

Don’t leave your name out of the mix. Of-fering Collision Repair Services as part of the vehicle lifecycle becomes critical to building a loyal following and eliminating the chance for your customers to shop around.

Next Steps to Open a Collision Center

Investigate your options through Dealer 20 groups as well as through the resources that the NADA or the collision industry provide.

Seek advice from credible and knowledge-able collision repair directors for the OEMs with which you are affiliated. They know the value of dealership Collision Centers and can provide you with the best direc-tion on how to establish this important and lucrative component of your business.

And motivate yourself knowing that it’s time to stop overlooking the value that a Collision Center brings to your business. It’s time to maximize your profit center po-tential. It’s time to retain your customers and it’s certainly time to make more money for your dealership. So what are you wait-ing for? Time’s a-wasting!

Doug Bortz is the Director of Sales & Mar-keting for the Car-O-Liner Company. Doug has been working with Car-O-Liner over the past five years and has 25 years of experience in the automotive aftermarket in customer service, sales and leadership.

WHEN YOU OUTSOURCE ANY WORK, YOU LOSE CONTROL

OF WHAT HAPPENS NEXT. YOU CREATE AN

OPPORTUNITY FOR YOUR CUSTOMER TO HAVE

A BAD EXPERIENCE AT YOUR EXPENSE.

Hendrick Luxury Collision Charleston, Charleston, SC

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This significant episode in the life of your customer affects the second-largest in-vestment they have — their vehicle. This is the time they need sound advice and a trusted partner. But if you’re missing a Col-lision Center, how can you support them? Who can they turn to?

Sure, it’s easy to subcontract this part of your business to the established Body Shop down the street. After all, they ap-pear to remain busy repairing vehicles, so their apparent success must mean they of-fer the same excellent customer service as you. Right?

But how can you be so sure? When you outsource any work, you lose control of what happens next. You create an op-portunity for your customer to have a bad experience at your expense. After all, you sent them to that Body Shop, putting your reputation on the line and potentially dam-aging the relationship you worked so hard to establish when you sold them their ve-hicle — and damaging the relationship you nurtured through the years as you handled their Service needs, as well.

What can happen? Studies have shown that if the repair is unsatisfactory to the customer during the initial repair, there’s an increased probability that the customer will sell their vehicle within six months and a greater than 50 percent probability that the customer will also change brands.

Collision Repair Benefits All Depart-ments

Starting a Collision Center from the ground up is not inexpensive and also not for those weak in the knees. But if you’ve built a successful dealership, you can do the same with a Collision Center and positively affect every department through increased Sales and Service opportunities over the lifetime of each customer relationship.

Whether a collision vehicle is a “repair” or a “replace”, it’s a win-win for dealerships with a Collision Center. If a car is a total loss, the dealership now has the opportu-nity to assist the customer with a new or

used vehicle to replace that total loss. And if the vehicle is determined to be repair-able, a dealership’s processes and pro-cedures will satisfy the customer needs through an OEM-recommended and high-quality repair.

In addition, insurance companies will be confident in paying out on claim in a rea-sonable timeframe for all involved.

Dealership marketing also benefits from this new customer-base. Your Business Development Center (BDC) can leverage the opportunity with collision repair cus-tomers to create new revenue after the repair.

Upon the satisfactory return of their re-paired vehicle, it’s time to take it a step fur-ther. With this newfound relationship and little-to-no marketing investment, these formerly non-branded customers can now become newly branded customers at your dealership with the opportunity to move them to the traditional Service, New or Used Car Sales departments of your deal-ership.

Through this captive audience, the dealer-ship can use targeted marketing to convert this customer at a lower investment than a generic direct mail or advertising cam-paign.

IN THE FUTURE, OEMS MAY CHOOSE WHICH COLLISION

CENTERS THEIR VEHICLE BRANDS ARE DIRECTED TO.

IF YOU DON’T HAVE A COLLISION CENTER AT YOUR

DEALERSHIP, HOW CAN YOU BE INCLUDED IN THIS OPPORTUNITY?

www.car-o-liner.com

Leading the Industry in OEM Certified ApprovalsLeading the industry in OEM Certified Approvals

info@car-o-liner.com844-833-9419

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The Value Of OEM Certification

These days, the value of being an OEM-approved business presents a clear ad-vantage.

Dealerships with OEM-certified Collision Centers can deliver high-quality repairs, employ Technicians who are trained on proper OEM repair procedures, have greater access to original equipment parts and generally complete repairs with short-er cycle times and an overall more satisfy-ing customer experience.

Because no vehicle is safe from an acci-dent, OEM-certified shops not only repair the brands that they currently sell, but also brands they don’t. They attract non-brand-ed customers, potentially converting them to a dealership’s brands. For example, if a certified GM store repairs a Toyota, it has introduced an entire new line of vehicles to broaden future opportunities.

Imagine the percentage of non-branded vehicles arriving at your Collision Center that could become new customers all be-cause you have the facility to meet their needs. The potential can be unlimited.

The OEM multi-shop operators (MSOs) have continued to invest in collision within their businesses because they recognize opportunities for the overall health and growth of an already successful and es-tablished business. New vehicles that have been in an accident demand the need for

quality repairs. Dealerships that have the capability and flexibility to meet the de-mands for repairing what’s on the road to-day will grow revenue.

At a recent regional Fixed Operations meeting, the message from the OEM was that dealerships without a Collision Center have options. One is to do nothing and al-low the customer’s experience to be deter-mined by someone else.

Or, if you have a relationship with a Colli-sion Repair Center that provides this type of service for you, be certain that they have the correct OEM training. You also want to be sure this center is following the proper process with the right equipment and are prepared to handle certified repairs on the make and model of the vehicles you send to them. Otherwise you should open your own Collision Center, attract customers and control the customer journey.

Jones Ford Collision Center, Charleston, SC

West Broad Collision Center, Richmond, VA