The Internet gives you and every other repairer and everyone with an interest in this industry a voice.
If you're a movie buff like I am, you're probably familiar with the Mel Gibson film "Braveheart." In my favorite scene, William Wallace calls his troops to arms against an overwhelming force of British soldiers, telling them they have a once in a lifetime opportunity to stand up and fight for their beliefs. Should they let that chance slip away, they'll regret it the rest of their lives.I'm making a similar, though far less dramatic, appeal to you.
Right now, our industry is letting a critical opportunity to get our message out to consumers and combat steering slip through our fingers. We're not making use of the single most effective tool at our disposal – the Internet.
I know what you're thinking. Go back just 10 years ago, and you'll remember a time when the Internet was supposed to supply our every need. We were going to do all our buying over the Internet. We were going to run our businesses via the Internet. Internet companies offering every conceivable product and service cropped up overnight. Then it all went bust. So what good can it do now?
A lot. The main and best functions of the Internet are twofold: One, it's a terrific medium for sharing and transferring information. Two, it connects people – it creates a worldwide community of users.
The Internet gives you and every other repairer and everyone who has an interest in this industry a voice. You need to use that voice. If you haven't done so already, put up a Web site for your shop. Along with all the usual information about your business (location, history, making an appointment, etc.) tell potential customers about their right to choose whatever shop they want for repairs. Address any other industry issues that will impact your customers such as the quality of your repairs and the training of your staff.
"That won't make a difference," you say. "When a customer is in an accident, the first person they'll call is the insurance company who will talk them into using one of their DRP shops."
Remember, we're early in this revolution. Change is on its way, namely in the form of a new generation of consumers that is used to turning to the computer first to research all of their buying decisions. Sure, they'll still have to contact the insurer (there's a chance they'll be filing their claim via the Internet), but the odds are good that at some point they'll perform a Google search of shops in their area. When your shop's Web site pops up, you'll have the opportunity to sell both your services and your viewpoints. For a change, conceivably in many instances, you'll have first contact with the customer. Even when you don't, you'll at least have the opportunity to educate the customer. You'll be selling your viewpoints everyday, 24 hours a day.
Of course, this strategy works even better if the shop community comes together, and every shop takes a similar approach. Heck, even if just one quarter of all shops do this, that still adds up to more than 10,000 Web sites sending a message to consumers. It's something you and your competitors can do (even DRP shops), so finally, we can have some sense of unity in our industry that can bring change.
You better believe insurers are taking part in their own electronic revolution to drive customers into their program shops. They have millions of dollars to invest in their efforts. But I like our chances. When you're talking about pitting thousands of shops against several dozen insurers, shops have an incredible advantage. For now, anyway. The clock is ticking. Will you join the revolution now or live to regret it?
Tim Sramcik
