Mike Schlup, managing director of JLM Lubricants UK, explains the upselling opportunities present in the world of additives as the UK car parc continues to age.
As a trusted technician you’re the unsung hero behind the smooth functioning of every vehicle on the road, keeping them safe and in good repair for longer. Now more than ever are your skills in demand.
According to official government data, the number of people holding on to their cars has seen a steady increase. Over the last 10 years fewer people seem to be trading in their cars for new ones. The average used car on UK streets is 8.8 years old. Many motorists will drive their car until its 12th birthday. With time off for good behaviour it could drive on for eight more years. That’s almost two decades of driving the same car.
Capitalising on older cars
The reluctance of drivers to trade in the old for the new, even the nearly new, creates opportunities for savvy technicians. With a blend of targeted local marketing and top tier oils, lubricants and additives, a workshop can be in pole position to build a profitable business with customers keeping cars that are destined for the long haul well maintained and thoroughly checked.
The workshop technician is the fourth emergency service for the motorist. You don’t just play a pivotal role in maintaining vehicle health, but also hold the keys when it comes to ensuring the safety of drivers and passengers. But given the ongoing cost of living crisis, you must ensure customers bring their cars to the workshop for servicing and not just essential repairs. Whilst the Motor Ombudsman highlighted in a survey that ‘60 per cent of car owners recognise the importance of servicing a vehicle in that it helps to prolong a vehicle’s lifespan’ this also means that 4 out of 10 motorists are only taking their vehicle to a workshop when DIY options have been exhausted.
This is where smart marketing and top tier additives come into play. Workshops should be reaching out to their local community, conveying the message that not only are they a safe, reliable and expert pair of hands, but they also champion top tier additives. Because, as we have seen, additives will help keep repair and servicing bills down. They are part of the products over parts and repair over replace revolution that has been sweeping the world, and the momentum is growing.
Research into the use of additives and how they are perceived by motorists reveals that any previous tarnished reputation has long since gone. Research by Castrol revealed that 51 per cent of motorists would be happy for their workshop to upsell more expensive, premium-quality consumables if the benefits were explained to them. Only 11 per cent said they would always want the cheapest available consumables to be used. 20 per cent suggest they would want the workshop to always use premium-quality consumables in all circumstances and would not expect to be consulted about it.
Another headline for workshops that are not capitalising on rich and frequent customer contact: only 40 per cent of motorists are typically contacted by their workshop between vehicle services to discuss any work that might need to be carried out before their next scheduled visit.
Are you one of the workshops that is missing out on valuable revenue-generating opportunities by not upselling consumables and by not keeping in touch with customers through regular marketing? Because the opportunity to grow your business is there for the taking.
Case Study
Musbury Garage, Devon
We work with thousands of mechanics supplying the JLM range of lubricants and additives. A few weeks ago, we received this testimonial from Julian Rinaldi, managing director of a thriving and long-established family-owned business, Musbury Garage based in Devon:
“A local customer’s 9-seater Vauxhall Vivaro bus used to ferry their family’s children to a local primary school 3 miles away was booked in with us. With lots of low mileage trips under its belt, the vehicle came in with the engine management light on and in limp mode. A diagnostic scan revealed two codes, P2002 (particulate filter efficiency) and P2263 (turbo boost system performance). Digging a bit deeper, we found a very high soot content in the DPF. Having recently invested in the JLM DPF cleaning toolkit, we recommended an on-vehicle clean. Following the customer’s go-ahead, the clean and flush was completed, followed by the JLM DPF cleaner additive added to the tank. With a can of JLM DPF regen plus added as a follow-up 2,000 miles later, the vehicle has since run perfectly, flying through its MOT emissions test and giving troublefree motoring to its happy owner.”
