Kalimex outlines importance of marketing

Kalimex, UK distributors of JLM Lubricants’ products, explains why they believe marketing to be the silver bullet for workshops looking to weather the storms ahead.

It’s an understatement to say that garages are having a tough time. What with the pandemic followed swiftly by the impact of Brexit, the war in Ukraine, inflation at double digits and the price of fuel so high it’s become a hotter topic than this summer’s weather. For the independent mechanic every day is a juggling act in keeping customers happy with the business in the black.

If you’ve been slow to promote your business, relying on word of mouth alone may no longer be enough. Customers are being hit like never before. So, what are two of the expenses they’re foregoing?

A recent Motor Ombudsman Survey of 2,000 car owners found that “56 per cent of UK car owners who do not have a service plan in place are considering either missing (33%) or delaying (23%) their vehicle’s annual service in 2022 to save money due to the sharp rise in the cost of living.” What’s more, “68% of car owners are planning to reduce motoring-related expenditure during 2022.”

The upshot is that vehicles will deteriorate through small faults being ignored and glaring problems left until it’s too late. Repair costs will rocket too. As Alan Landale from A&J Fleetcare explains: “We specialise in DPFs, for example diagnosing the specific problems that have caused the DPF to go into limp mode or the light to illuminate as the first sign of a problem. We’re fully trained up members of Darren Darling’s DPF Doctor Network and offer an initial diagnostic for £100. If a motorist foregoes this and thrashes their car on the motorway or adds a cheap iron-based product to ‘regenerate’ the DPF, they’re heading for a repair bill in the thousands. Doing this could thermally damage the DPF beyond repair so a new DPF is needed or the cost of fixing the car will be in four figures given the DPF is rarely the fault, merely a symptom of other problems. We must show motorists through marketing that ignorance is not bliss! Recently, a motorist contacted me because his DPF had gone into limp mode. He had ignored the warning signs. Thankfully we managed to save the DPF, but it could just have easily gone the other way had he attempted another forced DPF regeneration.”

What can you do to protect your business? Focus on back-to-basics marketing, starting with customers. Because amongst your customers will be those looking to delay or cancel their service and prepared to ignore the warning lights. You’ll have customers that are tempted to haggle which is to be avoided because there are no winners in the race to the bottom.

Start by ‘talking’ to customers at least once a month. Email marketing is perfect for this. Remind customers when their service or maintenance check is due with a friendly nudge a few days before. Add in further emails to share useful information for example, top tips on DPF maintenance for customers with a diesel car; general tips for maintaining a healthy vehicle in between servicing.
Use email marketing and face-to-face visits to promote trade-trusted products to customers throughout the year. Research has revealed that not only do customers want their workshops to use high quality consumables (54%), but they are also open to paying more for better quality consumable items for their car, provided the benefits are explained to them first. Kalimex sells the JLM Lubricants’ range of trade trusted additives to mechanics. This range includes products that are used regularly by motorists to keep their vehicles in good condition. The repeat purchase pattern once established gives you another reason to connect with customers – to remind them they need to order more and that it’s time for a service or repair. If you explain the benefits of the trade quality products you recommend and, the consequence of using cheap alternatives, you’re more likely to secure customer buy in and you’ll increase workshop revenues.

Top preventative maintenance additives for your customers from JLM: