Startup spotlight: Entrepreneurs giving independent garages the upper hand
“WE’RE a small company looking to challenge the big boys,” said Ben Smith, founder of Smart Garage Solutions, which aims to bring transparency to the automotive industries through innovative technology.
Mr Smith (pictured below) had owned a media company for several years by the time he wanted a change of scenery. He had friends and family working in the garage and motor industry and heard firsthand the difficulties businesses face when trying to develop a relationship with customers.
The company offers two products, My Sales Trust for car dealers and My Service Trust, aimed at garages. Both use innovative but simple technology to give independent businesses the upper hand against larger franchises, with more resources at their disposal.
My Service Trust enables mechanics and technicians use an iPod touch, to create a video that highlights any urgent or advisory work and show the legitimacy of the repair.
A one or two minute video will allow customers to educate themselves about the problem with their vehicle, said Mr Smith, and specialist garages including Porsche have been eager to sign up.The video is sent to the customer via SMS and email, which link to a branded responsive webpage, which is personalised to the customer.
“It sounds advanced for an SME, but this customer centric experience is becoming the norm for most businesses, so why not independent car dealers and garages,” said Mr Smith.
“People have a totally different mentality when it comes to technology,” he said. “They expect, and even demand it, in every area of their life.
“We want people to be able to make an informed decision about their vehicle quickly.
“Bigger franchise dealers are doing everything they can to pull customers away from the independents. What we’re doing is giving independents an opportunity to compete.
“It’s an expandable solution, and can work in other sectors. It’s all about evidence capture, creating that customer experience and allowing transparency and giving legitimacy to a garage’s work.”
He said that the way people buy cars has also changed “dramatically” over the last 30 years. People now visit an average of 1.6 dealers, instead of several – this means you have a 60% chance of selling a car as soon as a person steps on your lot said Mr Smith.
My Sales Trust ensures that a broker can go into detail about the car’s condition online before you even arrive on the lot.
“Before, a picture could hide a multitude of sins,” said Mr Smith. “80% of people make a purchase decision after seeing a video, so the decision is effectively made off site.”
“The automotive industry is slow in taking up new technology. But by 2020 15% of the more than 22,000 independent car dealerships will be out of business. The ones that are proactive now at meeting their customer’s demands will flourish.”
