We've "scene" it all--The SceneExchange Blog

Marketing Report from the North American International Auto Show in Detriot

This event is held once a year. Since there is so much tumult in the automobile industry right now, it is interesting to note how different firms plan to stay in touch with their potential, and current, customers.

Overall trends
Automakers are embracing a wide range of new media options as part of their tactical marketing mix.

For example, Google conducted a study that showed searches for automotive content combined with a search for video increased by 237%. Video is a great fit for the automotive category because they can engage sight, sound and motion which shows their products to great advantage--however, they can create content that is part of a longer form than the traditional 30 or 60-second TV spot.

Consumers are--surprise--wary of advertising messages delivered via traditional media methods.

Nine of 10 consumers trust other consumers for information. They connect via social sites and blogs to uncover recommendations and reviews. They trust peers, not pushed content. A passionate user community is the dream of all marketers.

Susan Thomson, Director of Media at Chrysler, said it best, "Follow your audiences."

I wonder what differences there will be in the automotive industry by the time this conference takes place next year.

--Beth

To Steer or Not to Steer--Right Here in Our Own Backyard

The New York State Insurance Department has been conducting an investigation to determine whether auto insurers in the state have engaged in a widespread effort to steer consumers to certain auto body shops (as we all know, a violation of state law). Their final decision is that insurers did not "systematically" steer consumers to designated shops.

However, they still found isolated cases of non-compliance. Which included the following (quoted directly from their press release):

• Required of some customers that a damaged vehicle be inspected at that company’s drive-through facility, in apparent violation of a regulation requiring this inspection to take place at a time and place “reasonably convenient to the insured”;
• Set a “goal” of having 45-60% of repairable vehicles repaired at network shops; and
• Told an insured to bring his car to a network shop for inspection, and stated that the repairs could be done there, while another claim representative said repairs could be done at the network shop in half the time an out-of-network body shop would take.

These examples show that while insurance companies may understand the law, they are still complicit in allowing bad/illegal information to be presented to the consumers by their staff. Training at all levels would help eliminate the above incidents and foster a better relationship between the shops in our home state and the insurance companies who operate here as well. What else would it take to bring clear ethics to the field?

--Beth

Fraud - With Help from John Lennon

We've all seen the headlines - these are just from the last week:

Man Charged with Purchasing Insurance After His Accident

Man Going to Prison after Phony Car Fire Claim

Hawaii Auto Insurance Fraud Convictions up 61%

Sisters Charged with Fraud in Fake Crash

There are statistics and experts and studies out the wazoo that will tell you that insurance fraud is on the rise, driven by the falling economy, laxer morals than generations past, an up-and-coming young driving population, etc, etc.  Fraud hurts us all, insurer, shop, and consumer alike. 

Our friends over at the Insurance Fraud Blog have issued a challenge to our industry for 2009.  Here's an excerpt:

Insurers: Resolve to adopt a zero-tolerance attitude towards fraud. Provide adequate resources to your SIUs and recognize that a down economy is exactly the wrong time to cut back on anti-fraud activities;

Regulators: Resolve to seek greater uniformity in anti-fraud regulations from state to state, and ensure all insurers comply with anti-fraud requirements;

Consumers: Resolve to resist the temptation to inflate insurance claims; encourage your friends, family and co-workers to stay honest.

Read the entire entry, "You Say You Want A Resolution," by clicking here.

-- Chrisa

NADA Show - Day One

Alan and I are at the National Auto Dealers Association meeting in New Orleans. If you're here, stop by booth 947 and say hi.

It's been a little slow today, but the show doesn't officially open until 2:30pm today, so we expect it to be busier tomorrow.

This is the busiest booth of the show so far:

When All Else Fails, Seek Trendy Partnerships?

As newspapers (like so many industries right now) are facing declining revenues, they are experimenting with new ways to attract readers (customers). Both The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal both unveiled new kinds of partnerships recently.

Bono, lead singer of the rock group U2 and anti-poverty activist, will write an occasional op-ed column for the Times. He'll be covering a "broad range of subjects"--perhaps a better way of putting it is that he'll be writing whatever he wants. :)

Meanwhile, The Journal has partnered with MySpace to hold a contest that will send the winner (from MySpace, of course) as a correspondent to the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2009 in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland. (Will MySpace users want to be sent as a correspondent if they are not journalism majors?)

There are certainly experiments and should be applauded, but are they overlooking the larger picture? The newspaper (auto, insurance, fill-in-the-blank with your favorite industry) business has chnaged significantly. They way that they interact with users has drastically changed. They ways that people find and consume news will never be limited to newsprint again. So many business models are at make-or-break turning points that it boggles one's mind.

What can you do if your industry is changing and old ways of finding customers don't work?

1. Make sure you understand who your competition really is. Here is a good example, a luxury carmaker did research on what cars people were purchasing if they didn't pick theirs. The results showed that if they were going to buy a CAR, this brand stood a good chance of being selected; however, most people were opting for a boat instead if they were going to make a luxury purchase. Surprise, surprise. That information would completely change how one would go about finding customers.

2. Live as your target customer does. RIT recently sent their staff to live in the dorms with students to gain a better understanding of student life on campus. All of a suddent the President of the college is parking in the farthest parking lots, staying up until 4am with roommates and attending guitrar jam sessions. You can't tell me that won't change your perspective.

3. Never underestimate the power of your brand's story. So many items today have become commodified. People are used to buying on price, finding little obvious differentiation among products. However, if you want to engage people, don't be afraid to have a personality. Take a stand. Tell your story. People will connect with it and remember it. (Hey, eBay was founded to satisfy the founder's girlfriend urge to find other people who shared her passion for collecting--what woman isn't all over that story? Modern day romatic, isn't it?)

So, if you examine your larger picture against a customer lens, where do you stack up? How can you improve the way you connect and the story of your company?

--Beth

Cold Weather Car Care

With the high temperatures in the single digits lately in Upstate New York, I thought it would be appropriate to pass along some cold weather car care tips.

Cold weather kit - This time of year, you should keep an ice scraper, windshield de-icer, a flashlight, blanket, candle/matches, snacks and a first aid kit in your trunk. You never know when you may need these things!

Clear the way - Clear the snow and ice from your windows, side view mirrors and lights (make sure you have your lights on in inclement weather!) to make sure that you can see and others can see you on the road to avoid a crash. Also, replace your wiper blades every 6 months.

Check your battery - Have a qualified automotive technician perform a load test to see if your battery is strong enough for winter starts.

Get a grip - Check your tires tread to make sure you are getting enough traction and make sure they have the proper inflation.

Keep your engine cool - Make sure your engine cooling system has the proper amount of anti-freeze to keep your engine cool this winter.

Air it out - Don't start your car in a closed garage or leave your car idling for long periods with the windows closed as carbon monoxide fumes can be lethal - keep this in mind especially with children and pets!

Gas - Keep your gas tank at least half full to decrease the chances of moisture forming in the gas lines and possibly freezing.

Finish - To prevent rust and paint damage, keep your car washed and waxed. Road salt, slush and grime are especially hard on your car's finish.

Stay warm!

--Shanna

Notes from the CIC Planning Meeting

I'm sorry to say I'm back in Chicago, after spending three sunny days in Phoenix at the CIC 2009 planning meeting last week.  Lots of topics were covered, as always.  Here's a recap:

• New CIC Chairman Russell Thrall did an excellent job of keeping the large group on topic, keeping comments and discussions constructive, and setting up the group to delve into industry issues in 2009 and 2010.

• The industry issues are, I'm sorry to say, some of the same issues CIC and other organizations have been trying to tackle for some time, namely, steering, intra-industry relations, the shortage of technicians, and disparate DRP guidelines.  

• Toby Chess did a great presentation with firefighters from the Phoenix and Tucson areas about the importance of getting late model cars to firefighters so they can train on extrication procedures.  I was not aware than most firefighters and emergency response personnel haven't had the opportunity to train on cars built this decade.  The newer technology endangers both the first responders and the occupants of the vehicle of the proper equipment and methods aren't used to get passengers out of the car after a crash.

I have a question that came out of the meeting for me.  One of the topics that came up at the CIC meeting was that the chairman is not voted on by the population - gold pin sponsors or otherwise - but is selected by the past chairmen.  There was quite a bit of discussion on the fact that the Collision Industry Conference is a meeting, and NOT an organization.  But this "meeting" has a vision statement, a mission statement, and working committees and task forces.  Doesn't that make it a de facto organization?  I'd like your thoughts on that.

-- Chrisa

Drunk or Talking on a Cellphone?

A recent study at the University of Utah estimates that drivers using mobile phones (even with hands-free headsets) are impaired as much as drivers who are legally drunk. The National Safety Council has started a campaign to ban all use of mobile phones for drivers. It's hard to imagine the impact on teenagers and salesmen (ha-ha).

However, talking on a cellphone while driving is something 80% of cellphone users say they do--that's roughly 100 million subscribers. People find it convenient--they conduct business, check in with family members...it's practically become a full-blown American Way of Life. What will we do if we can't chat on the phone any longer while we drive?

Americans are notorious for risk-taking behaviors (cigarette-smoking, drinking and driving, full sugar soda, having loaded guns around the house) but just try and suggest to us that we might want to change a behavior or limit it and everyone gets up in arms. If you don't believe me, just reference the recent dust-up here in New York concerning Governor Patterson's suggestion that we put an obesity tax on soda. Here's an article about it from the NY Daily News--note the YouTube video at the bottom of the article where the State Health Commissioner uses 6 pounds of yellow goo to make his point.

Why do we do what we know isn't good for us?

The reasons why fall into two main categories.The first is that we just don't know how harmful these things are for us--although in today's world that's hard to believe.

The second is that we incorrectly weigh the pros and cons involved. Let's look at how this could happen. When you are growing up in America, you will be exposed to competing messages about, for example, alcohol. The ads say it's fun, your friends tell you it's cool--culturally our country feeds us messages about the benefits of alcohol at the same time that we receive a stream of information about the unhealthy effects and dangers. In addition, human beings are not always great at putting off the short-term benefits for long-term gain.

So, how can we combat our "bad habits" when our very natures are telling us to dial those phones when we are behind the wheel? Do you think the National Safety Council will be successful in their cellphone efforts as they were with increasing seat belt usage?

--Beth

What Makes A Great Manager?

The latest issue of Business Week contained their yearly article commenting on the best and worst managers. Almost everyone on either list has the title CEO after their name--however being an outstanding CEO is more about leading; and managing is more about, well, managing. So, here's some advice for the rest of us. Listen Before You Jump In Employees will bring you everything from concerns to ideas to day-to-day chatter on a regular basis. Be careful to be a patient listener (even if you already know the answer). It is important to listen--and let someone have their say--before continuing. Everyone wants to feel heard and listening goes a long way toward building respect.

Recognition Is More than Just A Yearly Review It is your job to recognize positive actions and efforts. Make sure you do it out loud. Many times, we will note good work to ourselves and not verbalize what we are thinking. Your employees are not motivated by money alone, make sure to recognize and acknowledge hard work and a job well done.

Spread Good Fortune Around Take your staff to lunch or provide another type of meaningful perk. What you do can vary by the individual.Here's a good article from HR World about motivation. It covers the top ten tips. Make Sure You and Your Staff Are on the Same Page Setting deliverable milestones with your staff helps ensure that they know exactly what you expect. This also makes reviewing performance simpler because you have firm criteria against which you can examine their work.

You Need to Point the Way Try using a roadmap to guide your employee during the year. This lays out a path your employee can follow to ensure their success. Backing this up with one-to-one meetings and a sit down approximately six months before a performance review provides a chance to talk about where an employee is at and how to they can work to get to where they want to go.

It's always important to maintain your big picture while managing the day-to-day events in your department. I hope this quick article gets you thinking.

--Beth

Collision Repair Survey Results for 2008

The ASA (Automotive Service Association) just published the results of the 2008 'How's Your Business?' survey, which can be found here. I was particularly interested in the results this year because I keep seeing conflicting articles about the state of the industry. Some have said that this industry is recession-proof and more people are having their vehicle repaired to make it last longer to avoid buying a new car. Then other articles have said that people are not getting their vehicle repaired because they cannot afford either the repairs if they are paying for it themselves, or the deductible if it is an insurance claim. Well, now I can see why I am seeing conflicting stories. According to this survey, 43% of collision repair shops saw an average 13% increase in sales, whereas 38% said they saw an average of 16% decrease in sales as compared to last year.

Here are some other results that I found to be interesting:

• 87% of collision repair shops are family-owned
• 49% of shops have been in business for more than 25 years
• Shop owners average to be 48 years old with 26 years of experience
• The customer base for collision repair shops is 50% male and 50% female
• 68% of independent repair shops operate a website
• 19% of shops do not participate in any DRP programs
• Shops have an average of 5 DRP relationships
• In 2008, 10% of estimates written per month represent total losses

--Shanna