THE FIRST ANNUAL MOTOR AGE ROUNDTABLE



You thought you heard it already, but you really haven't. We invited some of the
"best of the best" to join us for a day-long chat about what kind of business
propositions they have for the aftermarket service industry. You've GOT to hear
this.



Motor Age: We want to start with comments from your customers, our readers.
Regarding the topic of types of services, one comment says, "Online services aren't
going to do much for my business. People have to bring their cars to me. That's my
service and I can't get it done online. I have very little faith in online
business." What's your response to this?



Ken Brookings (iCarumba): I think there is a lot of confusion in this
industry...shops have created Web sites for their shops, and that's their total
view of what online business is about. And they've done it in a way often that
would be similar to making a brochure and never giving it to anybody. The truth of
the matter is, promoting automotive services on the Internet is a beautiful thing.
No shop, even the largest chains - but particularly the small chains and
independents - has ever found a financially feasible way to attract incremental
business ... but because automotive service is episodic, the poor shop has to pay
for all the advertising that nobody sees. The result is incredibly inefficient: it
doesn’t really work. The Internet is a wonderful enabling technology to meet that
particular need for the shops.



Motor Age: Is it typical for [the industry] to be skeptical about anything outside
of their comfort curve? Is our industry behind in using this kind of technology?



Steve Liao (MechanicNet): The people in this industry are very technology
‘enabled’. These are sole proprietors who work 12-hour days. They just don’t have
the time to sort through all the noise, evaluate all the options and figure out how
all this fits into their daily work – corporations have whole departments to do
that. We’re taking this burden off their hands and getting it to them in a simple,
packaged solution. It is the easiest and most comfortable way for technicians to
take advantage of these powerful tools immediately.



Brookings: Shop owners have viewed educated customers as better customers, but it’s
very difficult to educate [customers]. One of the reasons our industry struggles
with its reputation problems is because we create an environment that’s designed to
fail. We take voice, choice and involvement away from the consumer. And if you can
use the Internet to educate customers, if they can see in advance…then when the
phone call comes, it’s trust enhancing rather than trust diminishing. Ant to me,
the big advantage of [the Internet] is helping build back the reputation that the
shops deserve for doing honest work.



Randy VanStory (JoeAuto): In addition to that, I think as service providers we have
a responsibility to educate our customers. A lot of people are gravitating to
online services, but there are still a lot of people who may not know that these
tools are out there. And what an opportunity for service providers to educate
[their] customers! Our offerings are fairly radical or different, and we’re finding
out that our customers, on their first trip, don’t necessarily use them all. We are
very meticulous about that first visit, making sure we use that as an opportunity
to let them know there is a better way. So a lot of the burden is on us in the
service provider industry to tell our customers, “Oh, by the way, you no longer
have to rely on what I’m telling you, here’s a place that has information that will
help validate what I’m telling you”. We have to help migrate that customer habit.



Motor Age: We have this issue of customers not trusting the technician, but then we
have the issue of the technicians not trusting these Web-enabled services. Where is
the technician’s skepticism coming from? You’re telling them “Really, this will
help.” Who’s telling them not to listen to you?



Brookings: They should be skeptical. The rather abhorrent behavior of the Internet
business with too much venture capital caused a lot of people to run into this
business that did not deliver quality service, but more importantly did not
understand the automotive service business. Owners of shops are actually the best
decision-makers on the planet. They spend all day collecting data, coming up with a
theory and reaching for a conclusion. It’s what they do for a living, all day long.
They apply that same way of thinking to purchases and projects, so they are
appropriately skeptical. And I think it falls on you a lot to help educate that as
the press, and falls on us as suppliers to deliver relevant quality services…to
respond to the adoption curve, not try to force it.



Motor Age: Another concern of our readers is, when they run specials or advertise,
they get the wrong kind of customer.



Brookings: Absolutely…the beauty of the Internet is the ability to target. The
Internet provides a tool we’ve never had, to make that direct connection with the
right customer at the same time the customer wants to make that connection. With
24/7 availability to say, “I’m going to do something about this right now,” not
hope they remember that ad or coupon they saw, the next day when they’re at the
office. 



Van Story: One of the reasons that many service providers may not be attracting the
right customer is because their only differentiator is price. And so if that’s your
only differentiator, and the only thing you have to offer over your competitor,
guess what? You’re going to get customers that you don’t want. 



Brookings: [There is] a ton of reality behind this. The fundamental problem I
think, with this industry, is not attracting technicians, but is the shops that do
not get rewarded for what they do well. At iCarumba, we’re passionate about putting
the Internet to work in very specific ways to help shops differentiate themselves
and earn rewards and respect commensurate with what they do.



Liao: If I could take a little different take on that. We believe that the shops
really know who their most valuable customers are. Those are the repeat customers,
the ones who tell their friends, the ones who come back for the big-ticket repairs.
That’s what the tools from the Internet allow us to do. How easy is it to click a
button and send it to 10 of your friends and tell them “I just had the greatest
experience at [a shop] in San Diego.” They know who those good customers are. One
car owner wrote us because they had such a great experience at Ark Automotive in
San Marcos. She happened to be a radio personality [and she] talked up Ark’s Web
Site on the air and online. The shop received phenomenal response because of this
one, well-publicized customer experience. The fact is, he invested in communication
tools, made it very easy for his customers to make the experience known to others,
and as a result, the best customers are coming to him. Shops know who those good
customers are. The question is, “How do I get to them and how do I keep that
customer base growing?”



ARTICLE CONTINUED IN MOTORAGE MAGAZINE’S JULY, 2001 ISSUE