You’d probably agree that with all of the opportunities and challenges on the service front these days, there may be little time left in the day to work “on your business.” But now, more than ever, working on all of those business fundamentals necessary to run a profitable shop must be brought to the forefront to succeed in today’s competitive service environment.
With that said, I stumbled upon a special section that ran in ImportCar a few years ago. It featured mini-profiles of 10 top import specialist shops across the country. The intent of this section was to showcase shops that were raising the bar and professional standards in the areas of training, certification, management, marketing, customer relations and community relations, to provide examples to other shops of what makes them excel.
As I re-read each feature, it was obvious that the “common thread” among all of these import specialists was their focus on professionalism and dedication to excellence. These principles serve as their shop’s foundation, and guide day-to-day operations, decisions, goals and strategies.
To them, no detail is too small in its impact on enhancing their business at every turn, at every opportunity. And, their loyal customer base and shop profits prove the effectiveness of their efforts.
So, what makes these shop owners and technicians consummate professionals? How have they made strides in the crucial image category?
This sampling of headlines from the profiles provides some insight:
Shop Efficiency With No Compromise on Repair Quality; Following Golden Rule Boosts Customer Confidence; Reputation Built Upon Ability to Fix Vehicles That No One Else Can; Shop’s Dedication to Excellence Reflected in Retention Rate; Deriving Benefits From Adapting to a Changing Customer Base; On-going Customer Communication Lies at the Heart of Shop’s Success; and Attention to Customers Bolsters an Already Solid Shop Reputation.
By focusing on professionalism in all aspects of your business, you too can take your business to the next level. Institute unique programs or improve upon existing ones, maintain a solid relationship with your techs to cultivate job efficiency, productivity and pride, align yourself with suppliers of the highest quality parts, tools and equipment, create ways to increase your shop’s image to retain current customers and gain new ones. Then, customer trust and confidence in your technicians’ ability to deliver expert repairs will soar. Are these not the most important factors in keeping customers coming back to your shop?
