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By its very nature some article content is original research but I try to ensure that information quality and a neutral point of view is consistently maintained I strive to present complete and accurate information. To be of real practical use, a subject like automotive detailing requires a great deal of research, and updating as new products or technologies becomes available, so the articles are updated on a regular basis as necessary from current research. From time to time there may be information that contains typographical errors, inaccuracies, or omissions (because I’m human). These are unintended and TOGWT™ reserves the right to correct any errors, inaccuracies or omissions and to change or update information at any time without prior notice. Information disclaimer The information contained in these articles is for general information purposes only. 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I have tested the products mentioned and have found that they will perform the task more than adequately using the methodology and tools cited. No endorsement of companies or their products mentioned is intended, nor is criticism implied of similar companies or their products not mentioned. The author does not provide any guarantee of results and is not responsible or liable for any third-party products or services. Brand, product and company names used throughout these articles are trademarks of their respective companies and are used for product identification purposes only. Current Information To be of real practical use, a subject like automotive detailing requires a great deal of research, and updating as new products become available. The advent of materials like detailing clay, micro fibre technologies and finely milled micro diminishing abrasives, suitable for ceramic nanotechnology paints are examples of why it’s so important to monitor the industries new products, chemical technologies and ideas that are constantly being introduced, as are the techniques for applying them, hence all of the in-depth articles will be up-dated and revised on a regular basis Article Revisions / Updates The advent of new materials like detailing clay, micro fibre, polymer coating, nano-particle technologies and new micro abrasives are examples of why it’s so important to monitor the industries new products, chemical technologies and ideas that are constantly being introduced, as are the techniques for applying them, hence all of the in-depth articles will be up-dated and revised on a regular basis Business Marketing [: the process by which companies determine what products or services may be of interest to customers, and the strategy to use in sales, communications and business development.] [1] Marketing can mean direct-mail advertising, e-mail marketing, traditional media like print and radio ads, couponing, and non-traditional approaches like websites, blogs and social networking through the Internet. The most successful form of marketing is ‘word of mouth’ referrals and repeat clients Being good at what you do is 25% the balance is business acumen and marketing yourself and/ your product Marketing Plan With a well thought out business and a solid marketing plan, a good work ethics, quality tools, products and workmanship, along with outstanding customer service, knowledge and experience of products and the tools of your trade you'll be on your way to achieving success. A few questions to enable you to form a marketing strategy • Target market - who are my potential customers? • Where can I find potential customers? • Branding strategy - what would make my services attractive to them? • Pricing strategy - how can I motivate potential customers to buy from me? • Promotional strategy - how do I reach potential customers? • Customer – acquisition and retention Take time to answer these questions as accurately as possible. Internal Analysis • Vision -what do we want to be? • Relative strengths • Relative weaknesses • Opportunities SWOT Analysis Everyone’s heard of S.W.O.T. analysis, haven’t they? You need to read, learn and know more about your competitors, your customers and your marketplace than anyone else. SWOT analysis is a great place to start. Get a blank piece of paper and list the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats for your business and those of your nearest competitors. SWOT analysis – as old as the hills but still effective – it will make you think about your business from a new angle and should ideally be repeated once a year at least. External Analysis • The current economy and business environment • The Market Place • Competition - who are they, what do they offer? • Market share - in each key market • E-commerce/ technology Target market Understanding who your target is should help you decide how to communicate with them. Getting a sense of their needs will help you decide the best way to communicate to them. The answers will also help you develop a communication strategy. The key with all your communication - be it words or pictures - is you want to develop an emotional bond with your consumer. Pictures done well help deliver an emotional bond at a different level than words alone. That's why the best ads almost always will have a combination of words and pictures. For example, a few years ago Michelin ran an ad for tyres. All it was, was a Michelin tyre with a baby sitting on top and the ad said something like "Aren't they worth it?" See the emotional connection? You're not just buying a tyre; you are buying safety for your family so of course you will spend whatever you have to. The campaign was hugely successful. [Based on an idea by MB fan TID forum] Potential customers are most probably; professional with higher than average disposable income, aware of maintaining their professional image, an automotive enthusiasts with more money than time. You must understand that auto detailing is a niche market. It is not easy to define exactly who the target market is One marketing sector- people will be of above average incomes that truly care about the appearance of their cars (perhaps to project their professional image) or automotive enthusiasts with more money than time and are willing and able to pay a premium for a detailing service. Quality and outstanding customer service creates its own demand If you live in an area where there are people with prestige cars and high disposable incomes, the sky is the limit. Customers in this type of niche market will have their vehicles detailed on a fairly regular basis, especially during the concourse show season. Building long lasting customer relationships should be your main goal, ideally you want to establish a customer base that uses you not only for the major concourse details, but also for maintaining their vehicles on a weekly to monthly basis. Build a solid portfolio of before/after vehicle correction photographs, word of mouth, show your work on various enthusiast Internet forums, and maybe even put ads into some car enthusiast publications (i.e. Local Porsche publication (PCA FSR: Horizontally Opposed, etc). Most car clubs put out a newsletter or have a website. Advertising there is usually pretty reasonable. Also, car shows/events are good for marketing. They are usually populated with car wash & wax operators as opposed to true detailer’s. Prospects for Success Auto detailing presents vast opportunities for motivated individuals. It is an industry in its infancy. Only about 20 percent of the population knows what auto detailing is, and less than 15 percent have purchased detailing services. Yet, auto detailing is a huge industry. The biggest challenge for the industry is educating the public. As the number of detail shops continues to grow, the public slowly is becoming aware of the service. The average price of a new car is over $20,000. That level of investment warrants maintaining the resale value by maintaining and protecting the vehicles exterior and interior. People are keeping their cars an average of nearly nine years. During this time, they need more services than washing, waxing, and vacuuming the inside i.e. specialist services such as Paintless dent repair (PDR) carpet dyeing, paint surface renovation, leather dying and repair, etc Website An Internet website is a very viable resource for marketing. Costing as little as $500 depending on what you want done. Contact a web developer that will provide both an attractive and easily negotiated website, ensure you can make up-dates easily and make sure it has the ability to capture e-mail information about visitors through registration for a “car care” newsletter or tips. From the e-mail information you will be able to follow up and better serve clients and potential clients. When you run a promotion this e-mail list will get your company name and a specific promotion directly into the inboxes of your clients and potential clients. Have a regularly updated section on ‘Car Care’ so that you can provide advice and ensure both clients and potential clients visit your site, which keeps your company name fresh in their minds and will boost recognition Search engine optimization (SEO) [:is the process of improving the volume or quality of traffic to a web site or a web page (such as a blog) from search engines via "natural" or un-paid ("organic" or "algorithmic") search results as opposed to other forms of search engine marketing (SEM) which may deal with paid inclusion. The theory is that the earlier (or higher) a site appears in the search results list, the more visitors it will receive from the search engine. SEO may target different kinds of search, including image search, local search, video search and industry-specific vertical search engines This gives a web site web presence] [1] SEO is an acronym for search engine optimization or more simply; how to get more ‘traffic’ to your Website or Blog. The practice of obtaining high search engine rankings by performing keyword research, modifying the HTML code to reflect such keywords and building relationships with other websites to promote your site via a linking campaign Some things to include; keyword research, title tag and word search optimization, search, working on HTML source code, image, hyperlink and header tag optimization and page ranking - SEO, Search Engine Optimisation, Web Design & Internet Marketing Web Crawlers A web crawler is a relatively simple automated program, or script that methodically scans or crawls through Internet pages to create an index of the data it's looking for. Alternative names for a web crawler include web spider, web robot, crawler, and automatic indexer. There are many different uses for a web crawler. Probably the most common use associated with the term is related to search engines. Search engines use web crawlers to collect information about what is available on public web pages. Their primary purpose is to collect data so that when Internet surfers enter a search term on their site, they can quickly provide the surfer with relevant web sites. All the content is taken by the Web Crawlers and copied onto indexes. The frequencies of the visits by web crawlers to websites depend on the popularity, quality, size of the website and the number of visitors a websites receives. A website such as face book is crawled several times per day, however, if we have a website that receives only a few hits per month the web crawlers may only visit once every few months in order to check for updates. Using Video and Social Media Taking a video of a detail (seek owner’s permission beforehand) and then up loading it to YouTube, face book or other social media networks is a good and inexpensive form of marketing. It’s also a good idea to send a copy or a hyperlink to your client; they will proudly show them to their friends, thereby expanding your network of future clients. You could also add it to your Blog and / or Website Incentive Rewards Rewards for client referral will provide an incentive to your existing clients for recommending their friends and relatives by offering them a discount from their next detail. Create a similar promotion to encourage repeat business from your existing clients as well, it is always easier to retain clients than it is to obtain new ones. Testimonials are the best way to obtain new clients and in letting potential clients how good your services are. Networking • Start attending local car club meetings and get to know its members. • Join and have a regular presence on social website, face book, twitter, etc http://www.cmo.com/social-media/cmos...edia-landscape • Create a great Website and a Blog; hire a marketing start-up to manage your online presence. Public relations Involvement in the community can boost your company’s recognition. Attend local car shows and Concours d’élégance, write car care tips and How-To articles and submit them to the editors of various car clubs and the media in your area. Become the credible “expert” source for car care that editors contact and refer to in articles, interviews, or stories. Summary Professional detailing can be a great business opportunity, but like any other business, it requires very careful planning and execution. Work smart, take the time to study and understand your market and build a business strategy around it. Once you’ve established your business plan, all it takes to execute it is hard work. Take the time to understand your market and build a strategy. Then plan your business and work your plan. Recommended reading- • Automobile Detailing Business Start-up Guide eBook - How to Start a Automobile Detailing Business • Selling The Invisible, by Harry Beckwith • The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It, by Michael E. Gerber • What Clients Love: A Field Guide to Growing Your Business, Harry Beckwith • Mentored By A Millionaire, by Steven K. Scott Amazon Books • Guerrilla Marketing in 30 Days, by Al Lautenslager Resources • Marketing Teacher.com (books and videos) • Free Management Library™ - All About Marketing Information resource 1. Wikipedia® Encyclopaedia 2. Automotive Detailing Inside & Out; a Knowledge Base for the Perfectionist", by Jon Miller 3. TOGWT™ Series of Detailing Articles, by Jon Miller TOGWT ™ Ltd (Established 1980) © Copyright 2002-2010, all rights reserved Detailing Articles This is one of is one of a series of unbiased and informative, knowledge based, subject specific articles, which are dedicated to the automotive detailing enthusiast or professional detailer in search of development and further education All original material is copyright, unless otherwise stated (1) it may be copied and distributed for non-commercial purposes only provided that you retain all copyright and other proprietary notices contained in the original material, (2) the information is copied in full with no changes unless prior written agreement is obtained from TOGWT™, and a reference to © TOGWT ™ is included, any unauthorized use of these materials may violate copyright laws and/or trademarks. 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