John Scheidhauer has owned Alpine Auto Works (Memphis, Tenn.) since 1992, just around the time Bill Gates appeared on morning television to talk about a hot new thing called the internet. It’s hard to imagine those dial-up days from where we are today, but one aspect of ROI remains crucial to shop owners now just as much as it did then—the ability to reach customers and conduct business in a reasonable way.
It starts with your website.
“I was spread out in four or five different projects for CRM, text, email, web, and social media, and I was told KUKUI could handle it,” Scheidhauer says.
“I’d received email solicitations from them before, and I dug it up, looked into the program and it’s just too good to be true. Everything I was chasing around is now available in one slick package.”
Scheidhauer embodies the idea of one slick package. Before owning Alpine, he worked at a BMW dealership, became a master technician, then worked in various departments, service advising, shop foreman, “and pursued everything I could to ease life as a shop owner.” He was fortunate to have a partner who could finance the opening of the shop and Alpine was on its way.
“The cars are the easy part,” he says, “there’s not always a solution to people.”
Being able to communicate with them, however, goes a long way toward unlocking that particular Pandora’s Box. And the key is KUKUI.
Simplify, Simplify, Simplify
Despite all his preparation for running a shop, Scheidhauer was not prepared for the constant updating, upgrading and upkeep of a contemporary website.
“I was running my own Google business data and that’s a full-time job for an owner. I never realized—coming from being a technician--how important specific marketing is. If I want a specific customer base, I have to direct that.”
Now, however, Scheidhauer speaks regularly with a dedicated KUKUI representative to ensure his site runs smoothly, is up to date and reaches the audience he needs to reach—BMW owners. His shop specializes in BMW repair, so reaching the Bimmer crowd is crucial to success.
“We update the site quite a bit and they assist with the tools, best practices and help to modify the analytics. Our rep has been fantastic as far as critical response and helping to build the website. I was a trainwreck in that and they helped us really lock it down. They make you look like a pro.”
Scheidhauer describes living with “antiquated tools” before working with KUKUI. Now he can make changes whenever he wants, and he hasn’t seen any other company offer the sort of all-in-one package KUKUI does for busy shop owners. Since embracing the KUKUI platform, Alpine has seen more business, higher AROs and ultimately more revenue.
“I can market to specific markets or demographics to whom I consider productive customers,” Scheidhauer says.
“The ability to monitor shop factors such as parts margins on a daily basis and compare to the rest of the market is pretty big. The dashboard gives me a number about where I’m at and how I compare to the rest of the country. I can adjust areas where I didn’t even know I was being negligent or underperforming, and my rep can help me tailor my marketing and get those numbers to where I want to be.
“The tools KUKUI provides is invaluable,” he continues, “the platform extracts information from every point of contact and it’s been amazing to see it all come together. Having such a quick answer to gauge how our shop is doing day to day, week to week, month to month is crucial.”
KUKUI helps Scheidhauer realize how crucial modern communication and technology is, and he realized that combining texting and CRM in one platform is extremely efficient and beneficial to the shop. His customers report a more personal connection to him (whether he’s in the shop or not) and he looks forward to using text-to-pay.
“I’m more like a freightliner than a jet ski,” he says.
“I like big, long turns. I intend to increase my growth by 25 percent this year, which is pretty ambitious. Between embracing KUKUI, remodeling our shop and rolling out new marketing, it felt like the time to do it.”
To learn how KUKUI can help unlock your shop’s potential, visit kukui.com.
