Editor’s Note: This column by Andrew Markel, editor of Brake & Front End magazine (a sister publication to Tire Review) appeared in that publication’s September 2014 issue. The response that follows will appear in the magazine’s December 2014 issue.
For 2014, I changed my health care insurance from a traditional plan to a health savings account (HSA). Basically, the first $2,500 (pre-tax) of medical expenses are on me. I was confused at first, but soon found that it did have some entertainment and educational value.
I have found myself pricing out certain medical procedures like some customers price out car repairs. For example, I tried pricing out a vasectomy – not that I want or need one, but I was curious to see how much one would cost out-of-pocket (no pun intended).
I called my doctor to get a price. He quoted me off the top of his head a price range of $600 to $1,200. I asked him if he could be more specific and give me an itemized estimate. He said that he could not do that until he performed an examination and consulted with my insurance company.
If I was going to spend this amount of money, I’d want to know what I’d be getting, so I tried to nail down his estimate. I wanted to know if the $600 vasectomy was the “get ’em in the door” price, like a $99 brake special. I was worried that once I was opened, they would try to sell me extras.
To reduce the price, I asked if I could have it performed without anesthesia. Or, maybe they could do only one side. I suggested that I could bring in my own clips and remove my own stitches, but even they have policies against installing customer-supplied parts.
I even went to the phone book and tried to find a vasectomy specialist who could do it for a discount price. But, since most men need a vasectomy only once, the return business is not too good.
My doctor said that I shouldn’t worry about the price because you can’t put a price on your health. His closing remark of, “it’s not like you can perform a vasectomy on yourself,” really got me thinking (no, I wasn’t going to do it myself). If some shops tried to use this sales pitch and pricing system, they would be on the evening news, but for some reason the medical community gets away with it because human life is at stake.
The same goes for home contractors. Most contractors have no shame in asking for more money to finish a project. They typically use the line that cutting corners will hurt the value or quality of the home. Why can’t we use that argument when a customer balks at the price of a recommended repair?
Fear as Marketing
Fear and life are powerful sales tools that doctors and contractors use in their marketing, sales and public awareness campaigns. What’s stopping the aftermarket from doing the same?
The aftermarket needs to bring fear back into its marketing. Forget brake dust, OE quality and warranties, I want aftermarket manufacturers and trade associations to bring life-or-death fear into the hearts of consumers when they don’t use premium products.
I realize that conventional wisdom says negative images might create negative associations that rub off on the product, and this is valid for some consumer products and political candidates. But, in my opinion, it’s not applicable to aftermarket parts and services.
Too many marketing professionals in the aftermarket concentrate on “brand messages” that have warm, fuzzy feelings that don’t do much for creating a compelling case as to why technicians and consumers should buy and install their parts.
If a marketing professional is concerned that using blood and guts to stir up fear in customers crosses an ethical line, just look at the pharmaceutical commercials on TV. Seems to work for them, too.
Side note: The doctor I talked to for this story is a car guy, and he seemed overly excited when I explained to him the concept of a mechanic’s lien for customers who do not pay their bill.
The Other Side of Fear
Editor’s note: At a recent event, my editorial from the September issue about the fear and price sensitivities of consumers when compared to the medical and building trades industries was called out as being a little too crass. While people got the humor, it was the fear angle that got some people in the aftermarket thinking about where we are and where we are going. In particular, Joseph Henmueller, the president and COO for the Automotive Maintenance & Repair Association (AMRA) and Motorist Assurance Program (MAP), said that some of his members had some concerns about my message. Joe has been a passionate advocate for the automotive aftermarket for nearly three decades. I welcome criticism and the dialogue it generates, so I offered Joe a rebuttal.
“In a recent Brake & Front End viewpoint article, Editor Andrew Markel very creatively used a recent healthcare experience to illustrate similar aspects of car repair decisions. With his tongue planted (perhaps only halfway) in his cheek, Andrew makes a case for a somewhat startling recommendation. Our industry, as automotive service providers, could utilize the same fear of life and death when marketing auto repairs as doctors might use when discussing healthcare options.
While I agree with Andrew regarding the issues surrounding fear and price-point vasectomy shopping, fear should not ever again become part of a marketing strategy driving consumers to understand the value of quality auto repairs and maintenance.
We’ve overcome a lot of the old clichés as an industry. In our advertisements, we now proudly portray our technicians in clean attire and working in a clean shop environment because that’s mostly who we’ve become. We’ve also matured from selling auto repair based upon the tired old “crash, burn and die” what-if scenarios.
Collectively, our industry has enough grey hairs to remember the reasons why we don’t sell that way anymore. Cars, the motoring public and the repair industry all “grew up” together. Cars got more complicated, mechanics became trained technicians and somehow yet, motorist still just wanted a working and reliable vehicle.
Perhaps out of frustration, some shops found it easier to sell using scare tactics than to truly help consumers understand exactly why shoddy or neglected repairs may not be a good value in the long run. Eventually, governmental agencies argued that consumers needed some protections (mostly from themselves).
It was deemed that regulation was the cure, and like other industries, auto repair was given the choice to clean up its own act or have the government do it for us. We’ve done a pretty good job along the way and on our own, thank you. Perhaps you can remember the days before 1972, when ASE proudly unveiled industry-driven technician certification testing and standards. It was another 20 years before the Motorist Assurance Program documented Uniform Inspection and Communication Standards (UICS) for our industry.
These and similar improvements to our industry’s culture and image have saved auto repair shops and motorists from the premise of federal licensing set up by bureaucrats who don’t understand the workings of auto repair, and from differing regulations among states, counties and cities for all aspects of auto repair services – probably at least as differing as the myriad of laws governing signage and billboards in the largest to smallest of jurisdictions.
That’s why I’m hoping no one in our industry takes Andy’s fear comments seriously. Exactly how we communicate to customers and how we present ourselves is a serious undertaking. It may be a long road getting most consumers to understand the value of quality repairs. But, it is our job alone to make sure that happens.
We can fix this, too. Quality in our work and in our deeds takes time, but we can take pride in the results of our efforts. Fear typically motivates only fight or flight. You probably don’t want to fight with your customers or have them flee to another service provider. So, let’s keep making sure that they truly understand the value of the quality parts, certified technicians and industry standards that we use to keep us all motoring along safely and reliably. Go out and sell what you know. Fear not.”
Markel Comments: Joe is right that our industry and the vehicles we service have changed dramatically. Back when this magazine was started in 1931, most friction materials were sold on rolls, and a typical reline job cost $20 for all four wheels. Almost all of the brake repair information for all makes and models in a given year was covered in 12 issues of Brake & Front End.
This was before hydraulic brakes and crumple zones. If a driver ignored the signs or had a cheap brake job, they could be killed. In 1931, there were approximately 31,000 traffic fatalities. For 2014, fatalities are projected to be below 30,000 even though there are more than 213 million vehicles on the road. So, Joe is right that maybe we need to attack this from another angle.
One challenge has been communicating with the customer about a product that has evolved. How do you tell a customer they need new calipers without scaring the crap out of them? AMRA/MAP developed Uniform Inspection and Communication Standards that can help you educate customers about how the caliper has failed and why it is needed to return the vehicle to safe operating condition. These are fact-based vehicle inspection and communication standards. MAP establishes criteria not only for recommending replacement of worn parts, but also how these recommendations are communicated to a vehicle owner. Are you having trouble selling brake fluid replacement or engine de-carbonization services? AMRA/MAP has uniform communication standards for you. Visit motorist.org to find out more.
AMRA/MAP is not just for chain stores and owners with multiple locations, they are also for independents with just one location. The organization can help you to raise your business to the next level.
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