Würzburg, October 31, 2008
They are called Meisterhaft, Auto-Crew and Auto-Einmal-Eins, but hardly anyone knows these workshop systems. The AD-Auto-Dienst, Autofit, AC Autocheck and Automeister service companies are also unknown to around 90 percent of drivers. This was the result of a survey conducted by the expert organization KÜS and the weekly journal "kfz-betrieb".
In contrast, almost three quarters of those surveyed were familiar with Pit-Stop and 90 percent with A.T.U branches. 42 percent have already had maintenance and repair work carried out at Auto-Teile-Unger outlets. Only ten percent of vehicle owners are completely unfamiliar with the red and white specialist stores with their six to ten workshop boxes.
Good services
A good half of drivers are familiar with the Bosch Car Service workshop network. However, only ten percent of those surveyed had experience with the repair services of the Karlsruhe-based chain - and they were satisfied: On a scale of one (very good) to four (poor), they gave "service advice and competence" a 1.7.
-On a scale of one (very good) to four (poor), they gave "service advice and competence" a 1.7 and "quality of work and parts" a 1.8. In contrast, the A.T.U dealerships only received a 2.1 for both performance characteristics.
89 percent of Bosch Car Service customers and 82 percent of A.T.U customers would visit these workshop chains again. This loyalty of the drivers speaks for their satisfaction with the services.
The workshop chains also received good marks in comparison to the car manufacturers' own workshops: A good two thirds of respondents believe that the quality of work and parts at the chain businesses they know is just as good as that of authorized workshops. In addition, 64 percent of motorists rated the price-performance ratio of the service chains better than that of franchised companies.
Experts comment:
Don't neglect service quality
Peter Schuler, Federal Managing Director of KÜS, comments: "In recent years, there have been remarkable upheavals in the automotive service landscape. Car manufacturers and importers have streamlined their sales networks and in many cases also reduced the number of their affiliated workshops. This led to a sharp increase in the number of independent workshops. The new Trend-Tacho survey shows that the brand-independent service companies are by no means in the second row: 88 percent of respondents are aware of the car manufacturers' workshops, but 84 percent already know the independent workshops as a point of contact for vehicle servicing. That is a remarkable proportion. However, many workshop systems on the independent service market are unknown to drivers. And yet they are ahead of the game when it comes to value for money. According to Trend-Tacho, the flashy advertising campaigns of some service chains with their extreme dumping prices for certain workshop offers reach one in three motorists. Whether marketing geared towards the "cheap is cool" mentality will last in the long term without having to accept a loss of quality image is at least doubtful."
System providers need to raise their profile
Agnieszka Sion, Consultant at BBE Retail Experts Unternehmensberatung GmbH & Co. KG, explains: "90 percent of car drivers know A.T.U, Pit-Stop achieves a level of awareness of over 70 percent. The workshop systems of parts manufacturers and parts wholesalers are not even close to this level of success. Only Bosch Car Service is relatively well known to German motorists, the other workshop systems much less so. Drivers hardly recognize the system workshop as a brand. For them, the owner's name is the brand. The labels of the workshop systems are lost in the increased flood of offers and the intensifying competition.
At the same time, the system workshops can clearly score over the authorized workshops in many criteria, such as the price-performance ratio. However, the quite successful workshop systems are not able to establish the umbrella brand of the system provider in the long term. Stronger advertising activities, targeted brand communication and more active marketing of the special offers could increase awareness of the workshop systems."
The complete study with the survey results on the awareness of the workshop chains as well as the evaluations of the services and the perceived advertising activities can be ordered for 49 euros. E-mail: info@kfz-betrieb.de.
Information on the study:
The representative survey was carried out by ABH Marketingservice and BBE Retail Experts Unternehmensberatung. They surveyed 1,000 randomly selected car drivers throughout Germany who are responsible for the repair and maintenance of their vehicle.
You can find our Trend-Tacho archive at www.trend-tacho.de. The graphics are also available for download there.
"kfz-betrieb" is a trade magazine published by Vogel Auto Medien, Würzburg. The most widely read trade magazine in the automotive industry has been informing the automotive trade and service sector for 97 years. "kfz-betrieb" is the official organ of the German automotive trade (ZDK), the professional lobby for over 40,000 car dealerships and workshops. Daily news from the entire automotive industry can be found at www.kfz-betrieb.de and in the daily newsletter.
If you have any questions, please contact
Norbert Rubbel
Editorial office "kfz-betrieb" weekly journal & online
Service & Technology Department
Vogel Auto Medien GmbH & Co. KG
97064 Würzburg
Tel. 0931 418-2634
E-mail: norbert_rubbel@vogel-automedien.de
