Liz Stein is vice president of strategic initiatives at Certified Collision Group (CCG), a network of more than 1,100 independently owned and operated body shops in North America. CCG helps its members obtain, maintain and maximize the value of OEM certifications.
Stein recently appeared on an episode of The Collision Vision podcast, driven by Autobody News and hosted by Cole Strandberg, to talk about how CCG supports its shops and built a certification game plan. The discussion also covered what independent operators can learn from that approach, and how certification can be a driver of long-term business growth.
“What makes our group unique is that every one of our shops has at least some form of OE certification, meaning that they met that manufacturer’s tools, equipment, training and modified facility requirements,” Stein said.
CCG places a high value on OEM certifications to ensure its network shops stand out in their markets, she said.
“We're very proud of the fact that our shops tend to be the top performers in that marketplace,” she said. “We give them a network and a platform for them to be able to compete against the large operators.”
Benefits of OEM Certifications
Having OEM certifications is a differentiator between shops that can meet the minimum standard to properly repair a customer’s car and shops that can’t, Stein said.
As vehicles get more complex, it can make it more difficult for the customer to figure out who to trust to fix it in the wake of a disruptive event like a crash. Certifications help customers identify those shops.
Shops need to leverage their certifications by marketing them to the community, but that’s not intuitive for a lot of operators, she said.
“There's a lot of shops that I see, when they're certified and they don't even have the sign in their lobby. They don't have the logo that identifies that they're OE certified even on their website, on their marketing material,” Stein said.
Some OEMs are beginning to roll out apps to help their vehicle owners find a certified shop right after a collision, like GM’s Collision Assistance, “but the shop still needs to identify themselves as being certified by that brand,” Stein said.
Stein said on average, it takes seven brand impressions before a customer makes a purchase. Body shops are at a disadvantage because customers don’t want to think about their brand until they need it after a collision, and at that point, they need to make a choice immediately to “take away the pain.”
Shops need to consider how to stand out from others in their market, so they are top of mind for a customer when they need it.
“Are we doing things the same way that the guy down the street is?” Stein said. “Why are we only open 8 to 5? Do we offer a concierge? Do we offer car clinics to teenage drivers? Because you know what? When you market the teenage driver, you get the parents. On average, there's three cars per family.”
In addition to marketing, Stein also recommended shops keep track of how its customers are finding it, whether it’s word of mouth, a billboard or any other form of paid advertising, “so at the end of the year, you can say what was effective, what wasn't effective.”
Stein said shop operators should understand units of operation, or the number of a particular manufacturer’s vehicles that have policies written in their market.
“If there's only two Rivians in your marketplace, that may not be one that you want to emphasize. But if it's growing, then maybe that is right,” she said.
She recommended talking to the shop’s paint vendor or jobber to help put together a business plan “for you to work on really leveraging your strategic partners as partners.”
Steps to Getting OEM Certifications
Stein said most OEMs list the tools, equipment and training required to be certified on their respective websites. Shops can start there to find out which certifications they are already equipped to pursue, and which ones would require an investment.
The next step is to reach out to OEM certification program administrators to get a more exact idea of what it will cost.
Once a shop knows the cost, it can calculate how many vehicles it would need to repair to make money on the investment.
Having the right tools and equipment to perform repairs to OEM specifications is also important because “liability is borne by the shop,” Stein said. “If you don't have the right tools and equipment, then you really need to think about what's at risk.”
“It's very easy to get caught up and to go, ‘I just got to get this [vehicle] out.’ But we have to make sure that we have the right processes in place to be able to do that,” she said.
As customers continue to buy new vehicles with more technology and features, the industry has to be ready to meet the demand to repair them.
“Certification is the first part in that journey, because that means that you meet the minimum standard,” Stein said. “Then the next step in that journey is making sure that you have processes and procedures in place.”
Meeting Customer Service Expectations
“We have an evolving consumer, and we need to meet the consumers’ needs where they're at,” Stein said.
Shops should help customers navigate the complicated claims process, as most customers won’t be familiar with it, she said. Communication in the customer’s preferred method is key.
“Ask me [as the customer], how do I want to hear from [the shop]? Don't make me have to call you for an update,” she said.
Shops should “build that process in” to regularly communicate with customers, which could include “some great electronic solutions to empower our people to have full transparency and visibility.”
Lessons Independent Repairers Can Take from CCG
Stein said CCG’s shops work closely with their strategic partners to help leverage the business, making it possible to compete on a larger and more sophisticated playing field.
“We're really fortunate to be able to have this hands-on relationship,” she said. “Business is a relationship game. How you treat others is really going to pay dividends.”
She also encouraged shop operators to choose a small number of goals to concentrate on at one time.
“You can get presented with a million ideas and you want to execute everything, and then you execute nothing,” she said. “Being able to say, ‘OK, I'm going to do this one thing,’ and give yourself a deadline, and making sure that you get those things done within that timeframe.”
A shop’s employees are its best advertisers, Stein said. Make sure employees understand the importance of OEM certifications, so they talk about it when people ask where they work and why.
“Technicians in this industry rightfully take great pride in in what they do,” Strandberg agreed.
Stein said she recently visited one of CCG’s shops, where the manager was excited to show her a recent improvement.
“People want to be better,” she said. “I fundamentally believe that there are some people that want to take shortcuts…but the ones that want to do it right, we have an obligation to help show them and to help coach them and mentor them and help praise them, because it's a tough business right now, and a lot of people get beat down. We need to shine the light on those that are doing it right.”
Square One Systems, one of CCG’s business entities, has a performance group, Coyote Vision. Stein said performance groups are “the best defense for shops, because they're aligned.”
Some of the shops in a given performance group may be competitors in their marketplace, but they work together to make every business better.
“You're getting with your peers and you're holding each other accountable,” Stein said. “There's nothing better to coach shops than other shops, and especially someone that's walking in your shoes.”
The Future of OEM Certifications
“I think we're going to see some significant changes in some of the [OEM certification] programs and how they're facilitated,” Stein said. “I think we're also going to see some changes in how those programs are communicating with the consumer or not communicating with the consumer. I think some will get stronger and some may evolve into something else.”
Some OEMs are considering when to communicate to a customer that there is a certified repair network.
“Point of sale is tough because it's already 45 minutes [at the dealership] and they're trying to get out the door, so then how do I remind the consumer that they have a network?” Stein said.
OEMs are also considering how to ensure their certified shops are doing the work properly.
“I think we're going to see some OEMs may seem like they're going to take a step back before they take a step forward,” she said. “I think it will evolve as the consumer's evolving, because the manufacturers are going to want to know that that car was repaired properly. But how they're going to be able to do that, they have to determine that.
“I think there's going to be some analysis,” Stein added. “But in the meantime, shops can leverage what they have to be able to market and see what marketing is effective in their in their area, because every market is different.”
Abby Andrews