For more than a decade, shops have been told to compete on quality of repair, shop size, CSI and appearance. But this advice took shops only so far. For shops to make a difference in sales performance, ultimately they must be distinctive - combined selectively to create an undeniable formula for satisfying customers.

Great marketing is no accident. For Phoenix Solutions, it is much more than a matter of getting just one, or even a few things right like a shop brochure or a successful DRP acquisition. For Phoenix Solutions, a marketing program that drives real business performance is complex, pervasive, results centered and must be sustained

Marketing in one or all of the five key collision repair sales segments (consumer, dealers, agents, claims, fleet) has been the focus of Phoenix Solutions for the past decade. Our research has shown a growing gap between shops in their approaches to marketing. This gap increasingly corresponds to similar variations in their financial performance.

Take Shop A (one of many), a 7,000 square foot shop located in Illinois. It shifted its strategic focus from localized basic marketing (yellow page ads, cable, baseball teams) to target customer dominance. To execute the new strategy, they implemented a number of new marketing strategies. The result? A significant margin jump and market-share increase. Between 2001 and 2005, gross margins climbed more than 52%.

In July 2005, Shop A posted nearly an 80 percent sales growth without acquiring DRPs (2001=$980,000.00 – 2004= $1,750,000.00). Meanwhile, its competitors’ revenues lost ground. Shops A’s success comes not from a single marketing activity or skill, but rather from mastery of a broad range of marketing strategies, long-standing and well honed.

“Phoenix, taking a handcrafted approach to growing your business.”

Marks of Distinction