Answer these questions and be ahead of the game ....

Superior Fine · 07-03-06, 01:45

Who are my target customers?

What detailing services do they want?

How do I know this? How should I present or merchandise these detailing services?

What price do I charge and why?

What promotion or advertising will I need?

How do I motivate the customer to buy?

Scottwax · 07-03-06, 05:37

1. I target those who have an appreciation of superior work and are willing to pay for it. Bargain hunters are not my target and I do walk away or turn down work when I come across one.

2. Mine want a full range of car cleaning services, from weekly washes to full on detailing inside and out.

3. After completing an exterior or full detail, I let the customer know I am available for regularly scheduled wash appointments and I also give them a receipt that includes a reminder when their next wax job should be. I regularly upsell weekly wash customers...my "do you want fries with that?" is "it has been a few months since your car was last waxed, how about I take care of that today?"

4. I try to price my work so I can average $35 an hour for typical detailing work and $40-45 for harder jobs. Detailing is my only source of income and I have to charge a price that is market based but also ensures I can have adequate income along with adding to my retirement after all bills are paid.

5. Currently I am doing no marketing beyond my website and a yellow pages listing. No sense in enticing additional business when I am already booked 7-10 days in advance. Besides, my customers have been advertising for me for years.

6. If you mean when I get a call, I tell them what services I offer and that a complete inspection of their car will ensure they get the exact level of detailing they need. I also refer them to my website where they can see before and after pictures, a full list of services, etc. I do give referrences upon request as well.

Mostly though, calls are price shoppers and I'm not the cheapest. e-mails are almost always turned into a job. It seems once someone finds your site and sees what you can do, they want you to do the work.

Superior Fine · 07-03-06, 06:08

Scott, excellent post !!

Justin Murphy · 07-04-06, 11:01

Who are my target customers?

I target real estate agents, lawyers, doctors, and boat owners.
All of these customers want their vehicles cleaned weekly or bi-weekly with a mini-detail monthly. They know how important it is to protect their second biggest investment for resale purposes.
I can now, turn down the average bargain hunter that I would probably never please.

What detailing services do they want?

I offer a new customer this package:
Full detail for discounted price IF they agree to a maintenance program consisting of a weekly/bi-weekly wash and vac and a monthly wax. Alot of mine tend to care more about how clean the interior is than the exterior. For this customer I offer more interior attention with a one-step exterior product.

How do I know this? How should I present or merchandise these detailing services?

I carry copies of my menu pricing with me. They are all printed showing I offer the same prices to everyone. My services are clearly written along with my pricing.

What price do I charge and why?

150.00 for a Premium Detail if they agree to either a 40.00 per week wash/vac or 50.00 for a bi-weekly. They also agree to an additional 25.00 charge once a month for wax application. This is on top of the the regular visit price.So the first month would be 200.00 and every month after would be 115.00-125.00.

What promotion or advertising will I need?

So far all I have spent is 150.00 on business cards and 175.00 for my trucks graphics.
To me, word of mouth is priceless.

How do I motivate the customer to buy?

I assure them that I will treat their vehicle like my own. They love me coming to them and not having to rearrange their schedule for a detail. I offer them to come out while I'm in my process if they wish. Once again, with referrals, half the battle is over.

Superior Fine · 07-02-08, 08:11

Man a thread about swirl marks would have gotten a million posts!

backwoods_lex · 07-02-08, 09:01

Quote:

Originally Posted by Superior Fine

Man a thread about swirl marks would have gotten a million posts!

Yeah, it has been a little neglected. Being in business less than 1 year (but detailing for more), I was happy and banging out answers until I got to the last two questions. The business side of this is all new to me, and I'm a no salesman.

Promoting, selling, and targeting customers for paint correction are some of my goals for the following year. I have improved, but if you don't have advertising or aren't selling to customers, you're not making money.

On a side note, location and economic conditions (yowsa--double whammy!) will make my answers different than others on the forum.

dmw2692004 · 07-02-08, 09:29

Who are my target customers?

In my largely middle/upper class rural area, soccer moms with the higher end SUV's that end up passing the word on to their husbands who bring me all their little toys =)

What detailing services do they want?

To my surprise full details that focus more on the interior(women) to the men who want my focus to me paint correction.

How do I know this? How should I present or merchandise these detailing services?

Most of my customers have requested this, I give customers an option to "mix and match" what they would like in the detail and the price will vary accordingly if they choose such an option.

What price do I charge and why?

Depending on the detail. My full details start at $200.00 no matter what the car. If the car is a SUV, I immediately add $25.00. If i allow the customer to "pick and choose" I start my pricing at by "exterior detail" level which is $100.00 and add on $45.00 for an interior job, $20.00 for engine bay ect.. I do this because i understand that not everyone NEEDS a high level paint correction, rather they need a long lasting exterior protection with a perfect interior.

What promotion or advertising will I need?
I have magnetic signs on my truck, 2 sets of double sided A frame signs, business cards and brochures.

How do I motivate the customer to buy?
Buy 3 times with me and the 4th is free, other than that I have nothing, the customer will see the results themselves and decided if it was a worthwhile investment. I always try to build a relationship with each and every customer and walk them through the entire detail before the payment is made.

lecchilo · 07-02-08, 10:11

I'll bite... wish I saw this before, would've probably had different answers... mine are very similar to Scott's...

1. Who are my target customers?
- Usually car enthusiasts or even "average Joes" that have an appreciation for cars and only want the best for them... some may not want a 3-5 step polishing to perfection, but they still want the best possible 1-step polishing and are willing to pay more for it over the usual local shops charging $80 for full details. When it comes to bargain hunters I will usually try to work with them not by lowering my prices, but by showing them, for free, why my services are worth the high prices. This year alone I've had 5 people come to me to do half the hood or roof or trunk (wash, clay, 1-3 step polish, wax) and have the rest of the car, with that half of panel taped off, done by another, much cheaper shop. A month later every client noticed a huge difference as there were only minimal swirls on the part I've done, probably due to poor washing, and everyone came back to do the whole detail... (I do only 3-6 details per month as it's a part time thing, thus why 5 is a high number for such situations)

2. What detailing services do they want?
- Most people coming to me request exterior services/paint correction. I don't do the "complete" interior detailing as I don't have tools such as steam cleaner, etc. for it, and also not enough demand to invest in one, so most of the people looking for a thorough interior cleaning end up with a wash & wax with interior (I do everything but cloth/carpet, except some spot stain cleaning) or 1-step and interior. In short, 95% come for paint correction only and very light interior (wipe down). Lately I have started turning down full correction jobs more and more (not that many, but I turned down more than usual) after discussing with the client what kind of maintenance will follow my detail... if they can't bring it to me (distance or money) or find a decent/good wash place, I always explain that they'll simply be back in 5-6 months and instead of doing a light maintenance polish we'll be right where we started... some still go for perfection, and I'm a sucker for 8-12 hours of detailing haha

3. How do I know this? How should I present or merchandise these detailing services?
- I know this by first discussing all possible options with anyone who calls or e-mails, and also by inspecting the vehicle first and doing a few test spots to show what's possible.

4. What price do I charge and why?
- My prices roughly reflect earnings of $40-50/hr. but since I've classified my self as a "slower than normal detailer" I try to go for the lower hourly rate to be fair. 1-step correction (meaning wash, clay, 1 polish, wax, and the rest) without interior starts at $250 and 2-3 step is $350+...

5. What promotion or advertising will I need?
- As is in most cases, clients are my best advertising... about 1 of 3 people contacting me about service start with "Jim told me...; I heard about you from..." etc. Other than that, I have business cards, which I give to clients after completion of a job and also give to owners of nice vehicles who I feel I must convince to let me fix up the finish... I also have a website which serves as a very good tool for showcasing previous work along with processes and pricing. As Scott said, people who e-mail me usually have looked through the entire website, have a very good idea of what they want/need, and it goes easy from there.

6. How do I motivate the customer to buy?
- While I do sell my services through very thorough explanations and bashing of bad techniques, it's pure honesty and knowledge that sells the services we all provide... one of my best strategies, if you can call it that, has been doing the infamous "test" spot... I always invite potential clients to stop by and see the potential their car's paint has and decide then... some wait a month or two and after they come with "I can't believe it looks this good even after 2 months, none of my details before lasted that long"... that's when some explaining about polishing vs. filling with waxes comes into places, and voila, 8 hours later, happy customer, larger bank account.
I also refer EVERYONE to look at my online gallery for before/after photos and testimonials, along with providing references upon request.

Greg Nichols · 01-09-09, 05:37

I think this thread needs to be bumped. I would really enjoy what others responses are to the questions. I've learned quite a bit!

Cheers,
GREG

DavidB · 01-10-09, 10:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by Greg Nichols

I think this thread needs to be bumped. I would really enjoy what others responses are to the questions. I've learned quite a bit!

Cheers,
GREG

Greg, I agree.... this was a good discussion and more need to think about and answer the questions posed.

Showroom Shine · 01-10-09, 10:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by Superior Fine

Scott, excellent post !!

I agree, Great post Scott!

Scottwax · 01-10-09, 11:42

Since this is an older thread, I thought I'd add I no longer have a small Yellow Pages insert ad. I'd say about 90% of the calls I was getting the last couple years I had an ad were from price shoppers. Stuff like "how much to clean just the front seats of my '92 Grand Am". Just not worth the extra $120 a month for a business landline with a Yellow Pages insert. The internet definitely is the way to go. Get your name out and people WILL find you.