National Car Care Month: A GOOD TIME TO BECOME CUSTOMER-AWARE

Motor, Feb 2004 by Nash, Tom

National Car Care Month and the 'Be Car Care Aware' campaign offer shop owners an opportunity to improve public relations, add new customers and interact with the community. Get with the program!

After years of celebrat- ing National Car Care Month in October, the National Car Care Council, now under the umbrella of the Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association (AAIA), declared last year that April will now officially be National Car Care Month.

The other facet of the Council's ef- fort is a year-round initiative called "Be Car Care Aware." This is much more than merely a slogan designed to educate the driving public about the need for preventive maintenance (PM).

AAIA says an estimated $62 billion of vehicle maintenance goes unperformed each year. So in 2002, AAIA launched the be Car Care Aware campaign and recruited aftermarket companies and other organizations to climb aboard. The response from the industry has been very positive.

Designating a National Car Care Month (NCCM) is an attempt to make the driving public aware of the need for routine preventive maintenance on their personal vehicles. It's also meant to urge aftermarket repair facilities to extend the educational process. It's the proverbial win-win situation: Your customers win by keeping their overall repair costs down and extending the life of their vehicles. Your shop wins by performing scheduled maintenance work, with the possibility of finding any problems that might affect a vehicle's safety and operation. It's a great opportunity to network with your customers, potential customers and the community in general.

The Be Car Care Aware campaign will be successful only if you are aware of your customers' needs. National Car Care Month is the perfect time for shops to become customer-aware.

Hold a Customer Appreciation Day

Many shops have held successful Customer Appreciation Day events, which can include food, refreshments, entertainment, balloons and handouts on car maintenance. The point is to invite your regular customers to visit on a particular day to thank them for their business-and further cement the relationship. The surprising result can be that drivers passing by, or those who've heard of the event, may stop in, giving you ready access to potential new customers.

Food and refreshments are a great draw for a Customer Appreciation Day, and a local favorite food is always a sure winner. For example, one shop in Texas holds a free barbecue for its customers during National Car Care Month. I once visited a repair shop in Massachusetts that was serving lobster rolls (sandwiches) and clam "chowdah" during a community festival. The only cost to attendees was a small donation, which was then given to a local charity.

The National Car Care Council also publishes informative brochures, which you can distribute to your customers. For example, "Your 120,000 Mile Asset" and "How to Find Your Way Under the Hood and Around the Car" are available inexpensively from the Council.

Maintenance schedules, which can be terrific handouts, are also available from the National Car Care Council. Drivers can keep them in the glove compartment for easy reference.

Vehicle Check Lanes

Setting up vehicle inspection lanes, or check lanes, has been the most visible and successful NCCM effort over the past several years. When the need for maintenance is pointed out to customers, they'll usually have it tended to.

During 2003's National Car Care Month, check lane results showed that 90% of vehicles failed inspection in one form or another. Figures show that 38% of the vehicles inspected needed an oil change, 25% had low power steering fluid, 22% needed transmission fluid and a frightening 10% were low on brake fluid. At least one belt was in poor condition in 19% of the vehicles inspected, and 19% had unsatisfactory battery clamps, cables and connectors. In the tire departmcnt, 54% of the vehicles had improper pressure inflation and 14% showed tires with worn tread that were in need of replacement.

If you're thinking of holding check lane inspections, you can easily log on to the National Car Care Council's website at www.carcare.org to download step-by-step instructions for holding a successful event. Among the materials included are event site selection guidelines, a complete event planning guide, a detailed event planning calendar, a vehicle check lane inspection procedure and checklist and information on handout literature.

Be Car Care Aware

There's lots of support available to help you begin a successful Be Car Care Aware program, even if you don't think you have time to create a National Car Care Month event this year. The Car Care Council offers a BCCA starter kit, which also includes some National Car Care Month materials. The kit includes a service schedule poster and counter mat, a number of technical handouts, plus a wide assortment of banners, posters and decals.

The entire package is available for a $175 donation, part of which may be tax-deductible. The National Car Care Council doesn't offer handouts (such as tire pressure gauges, key chains and T-shirts for staff) for be Car Care Aware events, but many shops will create them for the occasion. Guidelines for the logos are available at www.carcare.org/Media/logos.shtml.>