Body Shop marketing idea.

David Fermani

David Fermani

Forza Auto Salon
Does anyone market themselves to Body Shops? I have a high end Body Shop that's approached me to protect their client's vehicles after their paintwork has fully cured. It's a service they (and I) feel needs to be done, but isn't something they have time for in-house. Basically, each customer will be instructed to contact me 60 days after they take delivery of their vehicle to have a protection treatment done on their vehicle. It's not mandatory, but strongly advised in order to preserve their vehicle's new & original finish. The basic service will include just a clay/sealant /wax & the next step up will be any and all correction work (I'd bet that almost every customer will want and need some kind of correction). What do you guys think? I'd be giving a percentage of the income back to the body shop to make things profitable on both ends and will be charging a very high premium for the service.
 
You're confusing me a little...this is after collision repair has been done? Does the body shop do good work with their sanding/buffing, or will you wind up cleaning up their messes like a lot of pro detailers on here? And if they do a good job now...will they turn into hacks once they know you will be cleaning up after them 60 days later?



So you think that marketing this way would be more effective than just general public marketing...it effectively becomes a body shop upsell...my two cents is it won't work very well. The people who don't understand things will just not understand why the car didn't come back from the body shop swirl free and protected, and will bristle at the upsell. Then there will be the group that just doesn't care (we know that this group exists no matter how "high end" the car or body shop). So does that just leave you with the people who would have come to you anyway, except you are giving a commission to the body shop?



If you are proposing this plan as opposed to no marketing, undoubtedly this would be better, but I'm not sure that it would be better than some other direct approaches. Of course, I've been accused of being Mr. Negativity and a cynic. I personally hate the body shop experience, and so by association I wouldn't be receptive to someone they were promoting. Anyway, that's my $.02, I'm just throwing it out, don't take it the wrong way or get ur shorts in a bunch.
 
I guess it depends on the percentage you will pay the bodyshop for the referral. If those bodyshops are using catalized paint it cures quickly and a body shop safe product such as Zaino can be applied immediately after it dries. I'd schedule them as fast as possible to reduce the amount of correction needed from poor washing techniques.
 
Setec Astronomy said:
You're confusing me a little...this is after collision repair has been done? Does the body shop do good work with their sanding/buffing, or will you wind up cleaning up their messes like a lot of pro detailers on here?
Click to expand...





Sorry, I'll clarify a little more. This shop does really nice work and sands/buffs each one perfectly (no re-occurring swirls). Because of the nature of fresh paint, they can't wax/seal them (nor do they want to offer this) for 60 days. What they want to do is recommend someone to their customers that can protect their bare/new finish (to *preserve*, not correct, their work). Alot of body shops tell their customers not to wax their vehicles for 60 days, but don't offer any kind of service. As far as correction, I won't be correcting their work, but making the un-painted section look as good as the freshly painted one. Consider this as a full service treatment marketed to people that have had paint work done on their vehicles. This shop has a devoted following of clients and cater to people with exotic vehicles.
 
You have a good idea going. Another way to arrange it is to have the body shop add in the cost of the protection package (or work out a correction & protection package) and factor that price into the final body shop bill. Then the body shop can tell the customer that you will contact them in 60 days time to finish the work. The body shop will collect all the funds at one time so the customer doesn't feel like they are paying twice for one job. When the work is completed you can bill the body shop and hopefully keep the customer as your own.
 
That's a nice idea too. The thing I see happening is not being able to predict what the car will look like 2 months later. Then, you either cheat yourself or possibly have the client think you're cheating them if you have to charge more accordingly.
 
Expect the worst, hope for the best. I would consider each job a full exterior (prep, clay, polish & seal) and price it accordingly. This way you won't feel cheated and the customer will receive your full attention. The body shop should go for this also because the better job you do the better the body shop will look also.
 
^^^^^....but who gets the cash if the person never goes to david...does david for doing nothing, or the body shop who has already been paid the money?
 
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