Hammer & Dolly May 2015

www.grecopublishing.com

www.wmaba.com

May 2015Volume 9, No. 5$5.95

Also this Issue:Which Internet Marketing Channels

Are the Right Ones for My Shop?

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3May 2015

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Images © www.istockphoto.com

Page 10: Photo by Mike Petzinger

DEPARTMENTS

6 Calendar of Events

10 Editor’s MessageJOEL GAUSTEN

12 Executive Director’s MessageJORDAN HENDLER

14 Technician of theMonth: Paul CrowlJACQUELYN BAUMAN

15 JERRY DALTONMEMORIALEDUCATION FUNDWMABA’s student scholarship application to cultivate thefuture of the auto repair industry.

16 What’s WMABA Up To?

17 WMABA MembershipApplication

45 In Memory…Johnny Dickerson

46 President’s MessageDON BEAVER

50 Advertisers’ Index

5May 2015

NATIONAL NEWS BY JOEL GAUSTENLEGAL ACTIONS, ANTI-STEERING EFFORTS HIGHLIGHT NORTHEAST® LEADERSHIP MEETINGState associations react to insurer pressure.

SCRS DETAILS IMPROVED IP RELATIONS AT SPRING OPEN MEETINGThe national association instigates change on behalfof members.

REPAIRER ROUNDTABLE OFFERS PERSPECTIVES ON FUTURE DEMANDSIndustry experts engage in a frank discussion on trainingand equipment.

CONTENTSMAY 2015

32COVER STORYSCRS HONORS WMABA NATIVES,DORN RECEIVES LIFETIMEACHIEVEMENT AWARDBOUDREAU GAINS SCRS BOARDOF DIRECTORS’ SEATCOVERAGE BY JOEL GAUSTEN

20

24

42Making sense – and sales – out of the many online options available to you.BY LEE EMMONS

MARKETING FEATUREWHICH INTERNET MARKETING CHANNELSARE THE RIGHT ONES FOR MY SHOP?

38A fiery parts procurement debate highlights the Aprilmeeting. BY JOEL GAUSTEN

CIC RECAPCIC GRAPPLES WITH A CHANGING INDUSTRY

28

WMABA WORKS FOR YOU!Turn to page 17 for your WMABA Poster Insert: Area Survey Results for Your Benefit

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June 11, 2015PLASTIC & COMPOSITE REPAIRCoxton’s Gold Team Collision Center, Yorktown, VAVEHICLE TECHNOLOGY & TRENDS 2015Harrison Body Works, Richmond, VAWHEEL ALIGNMENT & DIAGNOSTIC ANGLESKunkel’s, Baltimore, MDSQUEEZE-TYPE RESISTANCE SPOT WELDINGRadley Collision of Stafford, Fredericksburg, VA

June 13, 2015WHEEL ALIGNMENT & DIAGNOSTIC ANGLESN T Auto Body Inc., Alexandria, VA

June 15, 2015ADHESIVE BONDINGState Farm Insurance, Roanoke, VA

June 16, 2015PLASTIC & COMPOSITE REPAIRKeystone Linthicum, Linthicum, MD ALUMINUM EXTERIOR PANEL REPAIR & REPLACEMENTVirginia Farm Bureau, Lexington, VA SQUEEZE-TYPE RESISTANCE SPOT WELDINGHarrison Body Works, Richmond, VA

June 17, 2015STEEL UNITIZED STRUCTURES TECHNOLOGIES & REPAIRN T Auto Body Inc., Alexandria, VA

June 18, 2015STRUCTURAL STRAIGHTENING STEELSouthern Collision Center, Chesapeake, VAPLASTIC & COMPOSITE REPAIRKing Volkswagen, Gaithersburg, MD

June 22, 2015PLASTIC & COMPOSITE REPAIRState Farm Insurance, Roanoke, VA

June 23, 2015WHEEL ALIGNMENT AND DIAGNOSTIC ANGLESHarrison Body Works, Richmond, VA SQUEEZE-TYPE RESISTANCE SPOT WELDINGCoxton’s Gold Team Collision Center, Yorktown, VA

May 5, 2015HAZARDOUS MATERIALS, PERSONAL SAFETY & REFINISHSAFETYCriswell Collision Center, Annapolis, MDADVANCED STEERING & SUSPENSION SYSTEMS DAMAGEANALYSISState Farm Silver Spring, Silver Spring, MD

May 6, 2015CORROSION PROTECTIONDelcastle VoTech, Wilmington, DE

May 7, 2015VEHICLE TECHNOLOGY & TRENDS 2015Coxton’s Gold Team Collision Center, Yorktown, VA ALTERNATIVE FUEL VEHICLE DAMAGE ANALYSIS & SAFETYAutomotive Collision Technologies, Randallstown, MDALTERNATIVE FUEL VEHICLE DAMAGE ANALYSIS & SAFETYRadley Chevrolet, Fredericksburg, VA

May 11, 2015WATERBORNE PRODUCTS, SYSTEMS & APPLICATIONFirst Team Toyota, Chesapeake, VA

May 12, 2015PLASTIC & COMPOSITE REPAIRHarrison Body Works, Richmond, VAREPLACEMENT OF STEEL UNITIZED STRUCTURESCriswell Collision Center, Annapolis, MDAUTOMOTIVE FOAMSCoxton’s Gold Team Collision Center, Yorktown, VAALTERNATIVE FUEL VEHICLE DAMAGE ANALYSIS & SAFETYCanby Motors Collision Repair, Aberdeen, MD

May 13, 2015ADHESIVE BONDINGN T Auto Body Inc., Alexandria, VASTRUCTURAL STRAIGHTENING STEELDelcastle VoTech, Wilmington, DEPLASTIC & COMPOSITE REPAIRRefinish Solutions, Springfield, VA

May 14, 2015FULL-FRAME PARTIAL REPLACEMENTFrederick Co. Career & Tech, Frederick, MDVEHICLE TECHNOLOGY & TRENDS 2015Kunkel’s, Baltimore, MDADHESIVE BONDINGSouthern Collision Center, Chesapeake, VASECTIONING OF STEEL UNITIZED STRUCTURESRefinish Solutions, Springfield, VASUSPENSION SYSTEMSRosner Collision Center, Fredericksburg, VA

May 18, 2015HAZARDOUS MATERIALS, PERSONAL SAFETY & REFINISHSAFETYFirst Team Toyota, Chesapeake, VA

May 19, 2015COLOR THEORY, MIXING TONERS & TINTINGHarrison Body Works, Richmond, VAADHESIVE BONDINGKeystone Linthicum, Linthicum, MDSTEERING & SUSPENSION DAMAGE ANALYSISCriswell Collision Center, Annapolis, MD

May 4-6, 20152015 WIN Educational ConferenceBaltimore Waterfront Marriott, Baltimore, MDFor more info, visit http://tinyurl.com/WIN-2015-Conference

May 12, 2015, 2-9pmATI’s ”Cash Profits Boot Camp” (14 AMI credits)Tysons Corner, VAFind out more and sign up at www.autotraining.net

6 May 2015

Industry training opportunitiesand don't-miss events.

www.i-car.com or(800) 422-7872 for info

CALENDAR OFEVENTS

May 20, 2015ADVANCED STEERING &SUSPENSION SYSTEMS DAMAGE ANALYSISN T Auto Body Inc., Alexandria, VASUSPENSION SYSTEMSDelcastle VoTech, Wilmington, DE

May 21, 2015ALTERNATIVE FUEL VEHICLE DAMAGE ANALYSIS & SAFETYSouthern Collision Center, Chesapeake, VAADHESIVE BONDINGKing Volkswagen, Gaithersburg, MD 2015 FORD F-150 STRUCTURAL REPAIR TRAINING COURSEFrederick Co. Career & Tech Frederick, MD

May 26, 20152015 FORD F-150 STRUCTURAL REPAIR TRAINING COURSEHarrison Body Works, Richmond, VASUSPENSION SYSTEMSCriswell Collision Center, Annapolis, MD

May 27, 2015CORROSION PROTECTIONRefinish Solutions, Springfield, VA

June 1, 2015CORROSION PROTECTIONFirst Team Toyota, Chesapeake, VAFORD F-150 STRUCTURAL REPAIR TRAINING COURSEVirginia Farm Bureau, Lexington, VA

June 2, 2015RACK & PINION & PARALLELOGRAM STEERING SYSTEMSCriswell Collision Center, Annapolis, MDFULL-FRAME PARTIAL REPLACEMENTState Farm Silver Spring, Silver Spring, MD WELDED & ADHESIVELY BONDED PANEL REPLACEMENTCoxton’s Gold Team Collision Center, Yorktown, VA

June 3, 2015AUTOMOTIVE FOAMSRefinish Solutions, Springfield, VA

June 4, 2015PLASTIC & COMPOSITE REPAIRRadley Chevrolet, Fredericksburg, VAFULL-FRAME PARTIAL REPLACEMENTAutomotive Collision Technologies, Randallstown, MDREPLACEMENT OF STEEL UNITIZED STRUCTURESSouthern Collision Center, Chesapeake, VASQUEEZE-TYPE RESISTANCE SPOT WELDINGRefinish Solutions, Springfield, VA

June 9, 2015SECTIONING OF STEEL UNITIZED STRUCTURESHarrison Body Works, Richmond, VA ADHESIVE BONDINGCriswell Collision Center, Annapolis, MD SECTIONING OF STEEL UNITIZED STRUCTURESCanby Motors Collision Repair, Aberdeen, MD

June 10, 2015COLOR THEORY, MIXING TONERS & TINTINGRefinish Solutions, Springfield, VA

CLASSLISTINGS

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Rodney Bolton ([email protected]) 410-969-3100 ext. 250Mark Boudreau ([email protected]) 703-671-2402Kevin Burt ([email protected]) 301-336-1140

RT Plate ([email protected]) 703-929-8050Phil Rice ([email protected]) 540-846-6617

ADMINISTRATIONEXECUTIVE DIRECTORJordan Hendler ([email protected]) 804-789-9649WMABA CORPORATE OFFICEP.O. Box 3157 • Mechanicsville, VA 23116

STAFFPUBLISHER Thomas Greco

[email protected]

DIRECTOR OF SALES Alicia [email protected]

EDITOR Joel [email protected]

MANAGING EDITOR Jacquelyn [email protected]

ART DIRECTOR Lea [email protected]

OFFICE MANAGER Donna [email protected]

PUBLISHED BY TGP, Inc.244 Chestnut St., Suite 202Nutley, NJ 07110973-667-6922 FAX 973-235-1963

Reproduction of any portions of this publication is specifically prohibited without written permission from the publisher. The opinions and ideas appearing in this magazine are not necessarily rep re sen ta tions of TGP Inc. orof the Washington Metropolitan Auto BodyAssociation (WMABA). Copyright © 2015Thomas Greco Publishing, Inc.

BEYOND YOURBACKYARD

In late March, I attended the 2015 NORTH-EAST® Automotive Services Show in Secaucus,NJ. Over the years, I’ve seen this annual event(hosted by the Alliance of Automotive ServiceProviders of New Jersey) grow from being astrictly regional show to an extensive gatheringthat attracts participation from shop owners andindustry leaders from across the country.Thanks largely to the Internet, the American col-lision repair field is connected like never before,resulting in more widespread communicationand action between various states and associa-tions. This encouraging trend is exemplified innot only our coverage of the 2015 NORTH-EAST East Coast Resolution Forum & Leader-ship Meeting (page 20), but also in our storieson the recent Repairer Roundtable in Atlanta,GA (page 28) and the SCRS 2015 CorporateMember and Industry Awards Luncheon (page32).

If you ever feel like you are the only onewho is experiencing a particular issue or frustra-tion at your shop, I strongly encourage you totake a look at our ongoing national coverage inHammer & Dolly. Not only are you not alone,but your membership in WMABA already con-nects you with an ever-growing nationwide

Joel Gausten(973) 600-9288

[email protected]

MESSAGEEDITOR’S

10 May 2015

WMABA OFFICERSPRESIDENT Don Beaver

[email protected] 443-539-4200 ext. 17061VICE PRESIDENT Torchy Chandler

[email protected] 410-309-2242TREASURER Mark Schaech Jr.

[email protected] 410-358-5155SECRETARY John Krauss

[email protected] 703-534-1818IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT Barry Dorn

[email protected] 804-746-3928

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

network of concerned, proactive industry professionals working hard to better the field for allinvolved. You might be a member of a “regional” association, but rest assured that yourmembership helps WMABA represent you within the greater collision repair community.

Of course, this doesn’t mean that you can simply pay your dues, sit back and readabout everyone else’s activities. As nationally minded as the industry has become, neverforget that promoting change on the local level is equally important. Regularly attendingarea WMABA meetings and events helps fuel the association’s efforts in Virginia, Maryland,DC and beyond. WMABA is one of America’s most prominent and well-known industry insti-tutions, but its ongoing survival depends on you at home. Make a commitment today to be-come more active and engaged in what WMABA has to offer. Contribute to the group’sevents and legislative endeavors. Read this publication to learn as much as you can aboutthe industry around you. Connect with like-minded shop owners via social media. Learnabout ways to better communicate with your customers about their rights in the repairprocess.

WMABA takes the most important information from throughout the entire auto body in-dustry and filters it straight to you. All you have to do to enjoy this benefit is remain – or be-come – involved. For more information on WMABA membership or upcoming activities,contact WMABA Executive Director Jordan Hendler at (804) 789-9649. H&D

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11May 2015

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can be utilized to your benefit; all you haveto do is ask me.

Just look at the coverage from Atlantathat is taking up this issue. We were there,and so were Board members of WMABAwho represent you (Barry Dorn and MarkBoudreau). We have some of the bestminds in the country here in our backyard.

I want WMABA to be the organizationthat assists you in making your businessbetter. Improving your business might meanrunning it smoother, making more profit,

strengthening your vendor relationships orgiving an employee benefit. These thingsare why the association is here, and whywe’re here for you.

Whether you are a member or not, wewant to help you be a better repairer, soplease add us to the resources that youcan’t work without. H&D

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S Jordan Hendler(804) 789-9649

[email protected]

THE PRIVILEGEOF SEEINGTHE BIGPICTURE

I am often humbled by the position I havebeen granted, representing repairers both lo-cally and at the national conferences or associ-ations. This is truly a privilege and I am veryhonored to serve you.

Many times, I get the question, “What doyou think from talking to other repairers?” Thisis asked as if my perspective is unique to yours.That gets me thinking about where I am in rela-tion to the repairer. I do not fix cars with my twohands, write estimates or talk to very many cus-tomers. In spite of that, the perspectives that Ido get by talking to repairers daily, attendingmany of the meetings and talking with thoserepresenting companies at a national level areall very helpful to your everyday business.

When you see something wrong, never as-sume that it’s a coincidence or that others aren’taware of it. For instance, that’s exactly why theDatabase Enhancement Gateway(degweb.org) was born. Repairers who sawmistakes in the estimating platforms andwanted to have a way to address them madethe mechanism to do just that. Or, if you want toknow if an insurance company has changed“the rules” just for you or for everyone, that’s ananswer I can get, too.

Being at the 10,000-foot level offers a van-tage point to assist you with the macro-to-microissues you face. I have many relationships that

MESSAGE

12 May 2015

Check the website and newsletters for regular updates and reports from theExecutive Director’s perspective.

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13May 2015

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For a lot of people, 17 is a tough age. You stand at theprecipice of a life not yet lived, wondering what to do with yourselffor decades to come. At this time, most are contemplating what typeof career choice to take. Luckily for Paul Crowl of Sullivan’s AutoBody in Sunderland, MD, this was never the case.

“Like a lot of other technicians, I got my start at my vocationaltechnical school,” explains Crowl. While attending North Point HighSchool in Waldorf, MD, Crowl gained an interest in their body repairprogram.

“I liked being able to work with my hands. I still do,” he says.“When I was a senior in high school, I applied for a job at FortWashington Auto Body in Oxon Hill. [Owner] Laura Gay hired me asa helper. I stayed there for about five and a half years when Lauraand [her husband] Rodney asked me to move down to Sunderlandto work at the sister shop. I’ve been here ever since then.”

And for Crowl, he intends on being there for a very long time. “In 10 years, I still see myself doing this, working at this shop,”

he predicted. “I love what I do here. There’s no reason to leave.”As an auto body technician, it is sometimes hard to stand out

from the crowd, but Crowl believes it is his work ethic that earnedhim this nomination for Technician of the Month.

“I work hard and I come in every day and do everything theright way, just like Rodney Gay taught me to,” he explains.

When not at the shop, Crowl likes to do what a lot of people intheir mid-20s likes to do on their days off – hang out with his friendsand watch Game of Thrones.

He extends a warm thank you to Laura and Rodney Gay fortaking a chance on him all those years ago. Crowl’s employment atthese two shops is a perfect example of how young rookies can

become longtime employees. Don’t forget to remain active in yourlocal vocational technical schools to scout for new talent and keepyour shops at the level they need to be in this ever-changingindustry.

Crowl’s advice for future techs looking to achieve the samelevel of success is simple: Always work hard and do your best.Come in every day and give 100 percent, no matter what. H&D

THE MONTHTECHNICIAN OF

PAUL CROWL

BY JACQUELYN BAUMAN

If you would like to nominate someone as Technician ofthe Month, please contact Hammer & Dolly Editor Joel

Gausten at [email protected]

Hammer & Dolly chats with theWMABA community’s best and brightest.

Paul Crowl is building a long-lasting career in the collision repair field.

14 May 2015

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15May 2015

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WMABA published the 2015 Labor RateSurvey results in the January and February issues of Hammer & Dolly (available online atgrecopublishing.com) to give you usable information to understand your own market. Aspart of those expanded results, there was information the association felt would be of service in a more visible format than an article.

That is why the WMABA team is bringingyou this poster that can be utilized in an “estimating or office area” (not necessarilyfor the customer area) as a reminder of the region practices that have data associated.The results were significantly conclusive to therespondents; nearly all operations were morethan 90 percent. The “you are the only one” defense becomes moot, or not applicable. Theseresults can give feedback for the promotion ofvaluable communication.

If you use it for what it is (an education tool),then you can show it to those not only in your office, but those who frequent your shop on thebasis of estimating repair damage – adjusters orappraisers for the insurance company. They maynot have access to this information, and it couldbe a positive way to start a conversation aboutwhat the market looks like from the repairers’viewpoint.

Some insurance companies do not survey atall, or use contractual relationships or subroga-tion to assume survey data. That leaves their em-ployees with a possible artificial sense of thoserepairers they come in contact with. If they’re

Find more association updates atwww.wmaba.com.WHAT’S

16 May 2015

UP TO?

only looking at repairers “in-network,” then those out of network or outside those agree-ments are not operating under the same pretenses. The option to discuss things pla-tonically, based on a third-party outside survey, is now there for you to use.

There is one small thing you can do today. The association does encourage thatyou go online to the State Farm B2B website (b2b.statefarm.com) – whether you arein the Select Service program or not – and input your retail rates for their consideration. They use the survey data they collect to determine area rates. The ratethat you put in is part of that collection process and should be your retail non-contractualrate. Like it or not, they are a large majority holder of the insurance market, and theirreimbursement rates affect other companies’ rates as well.

This poster is a reminder that a collective voice is productive to speak for change.If there is a way that the association can continue to foster education, give real information and promote the repairer, then we will pursue it wholeheartedly and withvigor on your behalf. H&D

WHY THIS 2015 WMABASURVEY RESULTS POSTER?

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18 May 2015

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BOB BELL FORD 7125 RITCHIE HWY, GLEN BURNIE, MD 20161Phone: 410-689-3038Fax: 410-766-1275www.bobbell.com

WALDORF FORD2440 CRAIN HWY, WALDORF, MD 20601Phone: 301-843-3028Fax: 301-843-0334e-mail: [email protected]

TED BRITT FORD11165 FAIRFAX BLVD, FAIRFAX, VA 22030Phone: 703-673-2420Fax: 703-870-7982www.tedbrittparts.com

PLAZA FORD1701 BEL AIR RD, BEL AIR, MD 21014Phone: 410-879-3367Fax: 410-877-7248www.plazaford.com

SHEEHY FORD5000 AUTH RD, MARLOW HEIGHTS, MD 20746Phone: 301-899-6300Fax: 301-702-3650www.sheehyford.com

HAGERSTOWN FORD1714 MASSEY BLVD,HAGERSTOWN, MD 21740Phone: 800-200-0276Fax: 301-733-0603www.hagerstownford.com

KOONS FORD OF ANNAPOLIS2540 RIVA ROADANNAPOLIS, MD 21401Phone: 410-266-3083Fax: 410-224-4239www.koonsford.com

Contact these Ford or Lincoln Mercury dealers for all your parts needs:

© 2014, Ford Motor Company19May 2015

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NATIONALNEWS

On March 20, industry representatives fromacross the country gathered at the MeadowlandsExposition Center in Secaucus, NJ for the 2015NORTHEAST East Coast Resolution Forum &Leadership Meeting. Considering the many issuescurrently impacting the collision repair industry, itwas not surprising that the afternoon gathering(held before the opening of the 2015 NORTHEASTAutomotive Services Show) saw in-depth discus-sions on various activities in the legal, regulatoryand consumer outreach arenas.

Tony Passwater, executive director of the Indi-ana Auto Body Association (IABA), shared some ofthe many ways his organization is making inroadsin establishing better communication between

consumers and collision repairers. Recently, IABA launched a website, ihavebeen-steered.com, that uses an animated video and other media to warn consumers of in-surer steering. The site also includes a form that consumers can fill out to share theirexperiences with this practice. They can also provide this information by using a spe-cial toll-free number, 855-NO2-STEER(ing).

“If you ask the consumer to fill out a complaint form, [they say], ‘I don’t know...Idon’t want to do that,’” he offered. “But if you used the words, ‘I’d like to know whatyour experience was,’ that is a little bit different.”

Passwater said that he would forward any information received by consumersoutside of Indiana to their respective state associations and expressed hope that theihavebeensteered.com effort will help the industry gather useful information on in-stances where consumers’ rights were violated.

“We all know [steering] happens daily, but we haven’t been doing a very good jobdocumenting it,” he said.

In legislative news, Auto Body Association of Connecticut (ABAC) President TonyFerraiolo detailed his association’s efforts to support a bill that would amend a currentstate regulation that he says creates a “double taxation” issue for shops by makingthem pay a tax to the vendor at the point of purchase for paint and materials, in addi-tion to paying a state tax on those products.

“We’re watching what’s going on legislatively and we’re supporting this bill for thepaint and material tax because it’s a benefit to all the shops,” he said.

The paint and material taxation issue has been a focus for the Society of CollisionRepair Specialists (SCRS) as well, who have used their regular Affiliate Associationcalls to take a look at different approaches to regulating paint and material tax acrossthe US. The research, led by Howard Batchelor of the Georgia Collision Industry Asso-caition (GCIA) in collaboration with SCRS, demonstrated that in some states, this taxis representing a cost to the business instead of being paid to the jobber or the stateand then collected on the estimate. In other states, there may be regulatory barriersthat prevent the business from collecting the tax on the repair order at all.

Ferraiolo credited SCRS for providing ABAC with examples of other states thatwere also facing the taxation dilemma.

“The more information we share about what’s going on out there, the better,” hesaid. “Our legislators want to know what other states are doing.”

Additionally, Ferraiolo provided an update on the class action suit filed by ABACand hundreds of body shops against the Hartford Fire Insurance Company for (ac-cording to an association press release) “engaging in unfair business practices byusing its in-house employee appraisers and network of Direct Repair shops to artifi-cially suppress Labor Rates paid in the State of Connecticut.” In November 2009, aSupreme Court jury in Stamford awarded the shops $14.7 million for compensatorydamages. Three years later, a Connecticut Superior Court judge awarded an addi-tional $20 million in punitive damages. The Hartford appealed the order, with closing

20 May 2015

ABAC President Tony Ferraiolo provided an updateon the class action suit filed by his association andhundreds of body shops against the Hartford Fire Insurance Company.

Legal Actions, Anti-Steering Efforts Highlight NORTHEAST® Leadership Meeting

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arguments heard on January 13. The finalverdict is expected to be heard this calendar year.

Mike Parker, president of the VermontAuto Body Association (VABA) and owner ofParker’s Classic Auto Works in Rutland, in-formed attendees of his recent $53,000 vic-tory against Allstate for short-pays in amultitude of areas including paint and mate-rials, sublet markup and P-Page operations.Initially filed in October 2012, the suit en-abled Parker’s Classic Auto Works to standin the shoes of 70 Allstate insureds and re-quest compensation for the work performedat the shop.

“We, Parker’s Classic Auto Works, didnot sue Allstate,” he explained. “We took theAssignment of Money Due [option]; it givesus the opportunity to do any legal measurethat the consumers themselves can do tocollect the money, including suing the insur-ance companies.”

In addition to being awarded$35,091.58 for the short-pays, Parker alsoreceived $18,167.69 in pre-suit interest. Thispre-suit interest is a matter of law in Ver-mont. The rate was set by the legislature at12 percent per annum and accrued from thedate each invoice was presented to Allstateto the date of the jury verdict on February18. H&D

Industry issues discussedin New Jersey.

BY JOEL GAUSTEN

21May 2015

Vermont-based shop owner Mike Parker discussed his $53,000 legal victory against Allstate.

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23May 2015

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It is really great to have a Board member of WMABA elected to the Board of SCRS. We arevery proud they have added our longtime colleague, Mark Boudreau! - Jordan Hendler

Executive Director’s Thoughts

NATIONALNEWS

On April 7, members and leaders of theWMABA-affiliated Society of Collision Repair Special-ists (SCRS) gathered in Atlanta, GA for their SpringOpen Meeting. The afternoon gathering offered a vastarray of news and updates that demonstrated the na-tional association’s ongoing progress in representingthe needs of their state affiliates and the industry at-large.

In addition to celebrating their largest member-ship and strongest financial position in history, SCRSreported success in working with the industry’s threemajor Information Providers (IPs) — Mitchell, Auda-Explore and CCC — to address issues and concernsfrom end-users. In his report to attendees, SCRS Ex-ecutive Director Aaron Schulenburg discussed effortsto respond to member complaints regarding “ever-green clauses” in current IP subscriptions. With allthree Providers, contract terms automatically renewfor subsequent periods; depending on the agreement,those auto-renewals can sometimes last the samelength as the initial term (one year, three years,month-to-month, etc.). The parties are obligated togive written notice of termination prior to expiration ofthe then-current term; however, none of the programscurrently provide reminders of the auto renewal priorto the deadline. SCRS has fielded concerns fromshops that have missed the 30-day window becausethey are not given proper reminders (similar to thosegiven by McAfee or another popular products that uti-lize auto-renewal terms) that their subscriptions areabout to renew automatically. This has resulted insome facilities going into another term when they nolonger wish to do so.

SCRS recently sent letters to each IP on behalfof members facing this issue. During the meeting,Schulenburg read direct responses from each of thecompanies aloud. While CCC and Mitchell respondedthat they believe their current auto-renewal formatshelp avoid disruptions in a shop’s dailyoperations by keeping a subscription going instead ofsuddenly shutting it off when the term expires, AudaExplore has announced changes to how theyhandle these renewals. As a result of the SCRS letter,new AudaExplore contracts beginning June 1 willcontinue to have an evergreen clause; however,

SCRS DetailsImproved IP Relationsat Spring Open Meeting

The national association updatesthe collision repair field.

BY JOEL GAUSTEN

subsequent renewal terms will now only be for one year, regardless of the initial termlength. The company plans to apply this new policy retroactively to existing client contractson a case-by-case basis. Although Schulenburg acknowledged AudaExplore’s efforts as amove in the right direction, he noted that SCRS would still “love to see a notificationprocess from all Providers so that customers are informed to the auto-renewal takingplace.”

In other news, Schulenburg noted positive developments in the industry’s push tohave feather, prime and block acknowledged as a non-included refinish operation. Accord-ing to reports received from SCRS members, State Farm has started addressing the proce-dure in their field-written estimates in a number of different markets across the country.

“It’s been explained to us that it has been identified [in the estimate] by actually reduc-ing the repair time on repaired panels, and then introducing the feather, prime and block asa repair operation on an additional line,” he explained. “It’s an interesting development thatit’s now being defined on their estimates, [although] it is still not necessarily recognized theway CIC defined it in 2006 as a non-included refinish operation.”

Additionally, Schulenburg announced that SCRS has received word from AudaExplorethat the company will be releasing a new feature on their estimating program that will actu-ally provide for feather, prime and block as a refinish operation. In the updated program,feather, prime and block will be a separate material rate and defined in the refinish cate-gory. The release date for the new product was not announced at press time.

“As far as I’m aware, [AudaExplore] are the first Information Provider to address whathas been a decades-long issue on behalf of repairers,” he said, eliciting applause through-out the meeting room.

In his Database Enhancement Gateway (DEG) Report, Past SCRS Chairman BarryDorn shared the encouraging news that the system has received 8,000 database inquiriessince its launch in late 2007. The industry’s ongoing use of the DEG platform has enabledrepairers to address discrepancies in the labor times offered in the products by the IPs,which has resulted in more realistic hours and compensation in thousands of collision repairjobs across the country.

“That’s all because of us,” Dorn said, referencing the room and indicating the effect ofproactive information sharing from the industry.

The SCRS Open Meeting also included a special multi-slide Education Committeepresentation (given by members Toby Chess and Kye Yeung) on the proper techniques andprocedures needed to handle a BMW 3-Series quarter panel replacement, as well as anupdate by Georgia Collision Industry Association Executive Director Howard Batchelor onhis group’s activities on behalf of his state’s collision repair community. Additionally, SCRSelected their new Board of Directors, which now includes former WMABA President MarkBoudreau.

More information on SCRS is available at www.scrs.com. H&D

The new SCRS Board of Directors (left to right): Luis Alonzo (Director At-Large), MarkBoudreau, Michael Bradshaw, Domenic Brusco, Andy Dingman (Chair), Brett Bailey (Secre-tary), Ron Reichen (Immediate Past Chair), Paul Val, Dustin Womble, Rodes Brown, KyeYeung (Vice Chair). (Not pictured: Bruce Halcro, Treasurer)

24 May 2015

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25May 2015

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26 May 2015

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27May 2015

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28 May 2015

Repairer Roundtable Offers Perspectiveson Future Demands

Vehicle designs and technologies arechanging at an exponential rate, but is thecollision repair industry moving quicklyenough to develop the procedures, facilitiesand skill sets necessary to handle these advancements?

This was the primary concern addressed dur-ing the April 8 Repairer Roundtable in Atlanta, GA.Hosted by SCRS and moderated by Executive Di-rector Aaron Schulenburg, the morning event washighlighted by a special panel discussion featuringKen Boylan (global training manager for Chief Au-tomotive Technologies), Dave Gruskos (presidentof Reliable Automotive Equipment) and SteveMarks (industry technical support manager for I-CAR) that offered a frank exchange between thespeakers and audience members on how thechanging landscape of automobiles will impact therepair industry moving forward.

Naturally, the Roundtable kicked off with alook at the most important step in any repairprocess – education. Boylan opined that a cultureof “swiss cheese learning” in and out of the colli-sion industry has allowed students to pass throughholes in the educational system without truly hav-ing the comprehensive skills and knowledge theyneed in the field.

“Personally, I don’t want someone welding onmy car who got 70 percent on the test; I wantsomebody who got it 100 percent of the time,” hesaid. “Maybe the paradigm shift is in how we edu-cate, and what the level of education needs to bebefore someone starts working on the car.”

As more complex automobiles enter the mar-ketplace, shops will need to work harder than everto ensure quality control in their processes. Marksnoted that constant evolutions in vehicle composi-tion have done away with the black-and-whitethinking of the past. In his mind, shops will soonface repair bays full of vehicles comprised ofmixed materials.

“It’s going to be a whole new area to workwith because we won’t have the luxury of takingan aluminum car and putting it into the aluminum

area or a steel car in the steel area,” he said.”What do you do when you have three differentmaterials on the same car? As materials are beingworked on [for] a particular vehicle, you’re going tohave to make sure that cleanliness [is beingachieved]. You’re also going to have to know theproperties of each material you’re working with.”

In light of these anticipated changes, WMABABoard member Mark Boudreau (Spectrum AutoPainting & Collision Center, Arlington) suggestedthat instead of having a separate labor categoryfor aluminum, the major Information Providersshould have one for “advanced materials.”

“Maybe an ‘aluminum repair station’ is notwhat’s going to be happening in two or threeyears,” he observed. “Perhaps it will be a ‘multiplematerial station.’”

Past WMABA President Barry Dorn ques-tioned what the future of automobile structuresmight look like.

“If you could look into your crystal ball andlook forward ahead just two years, what would yousee as far as vehicle substrates?” he asked thepanel. “Where is it going?”

“A good guess would be outer skins at 6,000aluminum, the inner pillars would be boron and theinner shell of the car will be regular steel,” repliedGruskos. “The front half of the car is going to bealuminum...There is going to be a tremendousamount of riveting. I personally think you’re goingto see a lot of areas of the car go [with] carbonfiber because it’s just so light. They have to put insteel to have the strength, but to pick up the light-ness, it’ll be carbon fiber.”

Mark Allen, collision programs and workshopequipment specialist for Audi of America, cau-tioned attendees to avoid ‘generalities’ in identify-ing the procedures necessary to properly handlerepairs in 2015 and beyond.

“There are different steels; there are differentaluminums and different carbon fiber materials,”he said. “What you think is a repair process forone material [and] one manufacturer does notapply to all.”

NATIONALNEWS

From top: Steve Marks, industrytechnical support manager for I-CAR; Dave Gruskos, presidentof Reliable Automotive Equipment; Ken Boylan, globaltraining manager for Chief Automotive Technologies

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To illustrate his point, Allen stressed thatAudi does not suggest any pulling on heat-treated aluminum.

“It’s not acceptable; it will cause cracks,”he stated. “I’m not going to tell you how to fixour colleagues’ cars...Heating to 500 degreesmight work okay on military-grade aluminum,but I have to tell you that on aerospace alu-minum, you don’t do that. Know your materials.If you have a question, pick up the phone andcall the manufacturer.”

Although the Repairer Roundtable offeredvaluable information and insights for the proac-tive industry members in attendance, WMABAExecutive Director Jordan Hendler voiced con-cerns that the conversations held in the roomwere not effectively reaching the shops thatmost needed to learn about and embrace thenew culture surrounding vehicle repair.

“How do we keep them from being able todo the repairs they are ‘generalizing’ and put-ting back out on the road? What can we do asan industry to protect the cream of the cropfrom the bottom of the barrel?” she said.

Hendler expressed equal dismay overshops that make the investment to join certifiednetworks but do not follow through on the pro-cedures and equipment usage recommendedfor those specified vehicles.

“There are shops within every one ofthose networks that are capable – they boughtall that shiny new equipped – but they have itover there [in the corner] like a trophy anddon’t even use it because they’re bowing to an-other master,” she observed. “Who is going tobe checking to make sure that not only arethey capable, but doing it?”

“People who don’t want to do it the rightway are going to find a way to not do it theright way; unfortunately, there are too many ofthem out there,” replied Schulenburg, who sug-gested that the industry’s best recourse is tocontinually get relevant content out to thoseprofessionally minded shops currently engagedin getting information, and expand that into abroader audience.

Above all, the ability to successfully navi-gate this new world of collision repair will comefrom greater cooperation and education be-tween the inter-industry and the motoring pub-lic it serves.

As Allen said, “There’s not one group inthe industry that’s responsible to be a moralcompass. As manufacturers, we try to take thelead and say, ‘Okay, this is what we see you

should do for your business to do proper re-pairs and take care of the people who work foryou.’ But ultimately, it’s not us; it’s everyone –the body shop, the insurance company and theconsumer.” H&D

29May 2015

It’s unbelievable how much information comes outat these national meetings that EVERY repairerneeds to know. We do our best to give you the resources that we can, but there’s just no way tomake shops go do it on their own. - Jordan Hendler


Open discussion highlights educationand the industry’s future.

BY JOEL GAUSTEN

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30 May 2015

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31May 2015

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COVER STORYSCRS HONORS WMABA NATIVES, DORN RECEIVES LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARDBOUDREAU GAINS SCRS BOARD OF DIRECTORS’ SEAT

32 May 2015

SCRS Honors Barry DornDuring the 2015 SCRS Corporate Member and In-

dustry Awards Luncheon in Atlanta on April 8, the associa-tion honored WMABA Past President and current Boardmember Barry Dorn with a 2015 SCRS National LifetimeAchievement Award for his years of tireless dedication andservice to the collision repair industry.

A second-generation shop owner, Dorn’s extensivehistory as an industry advocate and leader includes (but iscertainly not limited to) active participation in SCRS, serv-ing a variety of positions including Chair during his 10-plusyears with the group. Additionally, he has served as an active Board member and past President of WMABA, theformer Virginia Auto Body Association and was one of theforefathers of the Database Enhancement Gateway.

“[Barry’s] list of accomplishments and activitiesserves as an inspiration to anyone who wants to knowwhat one individual is capable of,” offered SCRS Execu-tive Director Aaron Schulenburg during the award cere-mony. “Any one individual can make a change and makethis industry better.”

Not surprisingly, Dorn is moved and humbled by the honor. “I want to thank all of my mentors over the years who have helped me become who

I am and guide me down a path that I couldn’t venture down without their help,” he says.“People like Lou DiLisio, Jeff Hendler, March Taylor, Toby Chess and Gary Wano. Menwho helped me understand that I can’t do what I do for SCRS for my own personal gain,but I do what do for the betterment of the industry and at the will of our membership. Mywife, Jordan, and my kids, who deal with my frequent travel and hectic schedule alongwith the numerous phone calls at night and during weekends. My co-workers at Dorn’s,who make it possible for me to be gone and do what I do to help the industry. My mother,who I lost last year. She forged me into who I am. She taught me to stand up for whatwas right, work hard at whatever I do and to be honorable, humble and to never give up.Lastly, I want to thank Aaron Schulenburg and the Board, both present and past. All ofyou make it possible for me to learn what I do, each day. I am truly blessed to know andwork with all of you, and I can’t thank you enough for all that you do for this industry. Allof you are like my brothers and special to me in many ways.”

Dorn wasn’t the only WMABA member to receive recognition during SCRS’ time inAtlanta. Mark Boudreau of Spectrum Auto Painting and Collision Center in Arlingtonwas elected to the SCRS Board of Directors. Being a current Board member forWMABA and past president, Boudreau said he was impressed by what the SCRSboard had accomplished. “This [SCRS] Board gets things done,” he said, adding thatit was not afraid to take a stand. Boudreau also noted that observers have no idea ofthe “complexity” of running a modern body shop. H&D

Aaron Schulenburg (left) and Jeff Hendler (right) present former WMABA PresidentBarry Dorn with the 2015 SCRS National Lifetime Achievement Award.

Mark Boudreau gives a passionate speech forhis candidacy before being elected to the

SCRS Board of Directors.

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Industry leaders are recognizedfor their contributions.BY JOEL GAUSTEN

Some of the Corporate Members who help make SCRS a success

John Bosin (right) accepted the SCRS Collision IndustryNon-Individual Achievement Award on behalf of I-CAR.

Jeff Hendler adds a SCRS Past Chairman Pin to Outgoing Chair Ron Reichen.

Bob Jones, recipient of the2015 SCRS Regional Lifetime

Achievement Award

Michelle Coombs accepted the SCRS Lifetime Honorary Membership Award on behalf of her father, Gene Hamilton.

Georgia Collision Industry AssociationExecutive Director Howard Batchelor (right)

received the SCRS Collision Industry Individual Achievement Award.

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34 May 2015

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35May 2015

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36 May 2015

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37May 2015

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CICRECAP

If there was an ultimate takeaway from theApril 8-9 Collision Industry Conference in At-lanta, GA, it was that getting the repair industryup to speed on the changes going on around itwill be no easy task.

With procedures and technologies evolvingrapidly in recent years, the CIC Definitions Commit-tee used their April 8 slot to host a special paneldiscussion on whether or not it was time to reviseand update its existing “Class A” Shop Require-ments document. The topic led to considerable de-bate over CIC’s place as a governing body over thenational collision repair industry.

“We’re not an organization; we’re not an en-tity,” offered Committee member Rick Tuuri (Auda-Explore). “We’re just a conference...All we can do isshare our thoughts and hope that the world adopts[the document].”

“If you’re going to go down the rabbit hole, youhave to get very detailed and very complex,” addedpanelist Aaron Clark (Assured Performance). “Itbegs the question, is this body the right group toeven engage in [this] type of product? I’m chal-lenged by that.”

“I think the document when it began [had]great intentions,” shared panelist Barry Dorn. “The

CIC Grapples with a Changing Industry concern is, as products advance, this document needs to advance along with them.The issue is, if we’re not going to advance it, should we keep it?”

Gary Ledoux, assistant national manager for American Honda’s Collision PartsMarketing group, opined that CIC is the perfect arena for a revision of the “Class A” re-quirements.

“We have some of the best minds in the industry in this room who come to thesethings every time,” he said.

Bringing the talk to the CIC floor, an audience poll revealed that more than 80percent of attendees were in favor of having the Class A shop document segmentedinto separate categories to reflect different levels of repair complexities, while morethan 80 percent were also in favor of the Class A shop document having a specific listof recommended tools and equipment (excluding any specific brand endorsement).Additionally, 60 percent were in favor of the Class A document having a specific list oftraining requirements or equivalency. The “Class A” discussion was slated to continueat the July CIC meeting in Detroit.

Similar to their Education Committee presentation at the SCRS Open Meetingheld on April 7, CIC Technical Committee members Toby Chess and Kye Yeung of-fered a multi-slide overview of the OE procedures for the replacement of a quarterpanel on a 3 or 4-series BMW. It was abundantly clear throughout the April 8 discus-sion that technicians are making a huge mistake if they fail to adhere to the manufac-turer’s recommended processes. For example, the first thing they need to do in thiskind of repair is put the car on a suitable bench and add (as Chess put it) “all the jigsto it, as per the repair bulletin from BMW.”

“If this car came in your drive and your estimator went to write an estimate, howmany estimators would have recommended putting this on a bench - [and] a fixturebench on top of that?” Yeung asked the audience.

Chess devoted considerable time focusing on the important differences betweenwelding and gluing and riveting.

“When we weld, we generate heat up to 2,000 degrees, and that heat will destroyany corrosion protection,” he explained. “[With] BMW, even though the car was spot-welded, their replacement for it was glue and rivets for a number of reasons – onebeing corrosion protection.”

Chess stressed that technicians need to repair BMWs and any other vehiclesbased on OEM recommendations, as poor repairs could lead to the offending shopbuying the car or paying to have it re-done properly.

“In California and a number of other states, if you don’t follow OEM procedures,the repairer is responsible,” he said. “It is paramount that we have the training to usethe proper equipment. If you don’t have it, you’re going to have improper repairs.”

Of course, one way for technicians to receive proper training is through I-CAR. Ina special presentation to the CIC body on April 8, I-CAR CEO John Van Alstyne gavean update on the organization’s ongoing work to bring worthwhile education to the col-lision industry. In addition to celebrating its 35th anniversary in 2014, I-CAR spentmuch of last year promoting the Ford F-150 training program it developed with themanufacturer. Van Alystyne noted that the arrival of the aluminum-intensive vehicle isindicative of a much greater trend that will soon have a substantial impact on the field.

38 May 2015

Gary Ledoux of Honda encouraged CIC to take on revising the Class A document.

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39May 2015

Quarterly conference addresses education, shoprequirements and parts procurement.

BY JOEL GAUSTEN

“I would argue that this industry is just seeing the tip of the iceberg today,” he said. “TheF-150 is one vehicle; we’ve got a whole lot of vehicles to come after [it]. What’s going to keepus ahead of this wave? It’s going to be learning.”

Additionally, Van Alstyne provided an intriguing snapshot of the current state of automo-tive education.

“Say we’re an industry of 35,000 shops,” he offered. “Half of those shops are in repairnetworks – about 12,000 of those have some sort of training requirement on them. Justunder 9,000 are training with I-CAR, [and] we have 6,000 shops on either Gold Class or onthe road to Gold. Seventeen percent of the industry is Gold Class or the road to Gold – that’sa pretty significant number.”

However, Van Alystyne was quick to point out that 66 percent of the industry is likely notengaged in training.

“That is not a good place for us to be, and I don’t think that’s an acceptable place for usto be,” he said.

Although the topic of insurer-mandated parts procurement has been reasonably quietthroughout the industry in recent months, that changed in a big way during a panel discus-sion by the CIC Parts & Materials Committee on April 9. Originally created to look at the inef-ficiencies of the current parts procurement system, the presentation took a different turnwhen panelist and North Carolina-based shop owner Clint Rogers praised the controversialPartsTrader system currently being used by State Farm referral shops for improving efficien-cies at his business.

“I think there was a lot of apprehension in the industry about the PartsTrader program,”he said. “A lot of people feel like it was pushed on us. But I can tell you my situation; I wantedto give it an honest run. Before I was going to criticize something, I wanted to see how it re-ally was. It’s hard to say something does or doesn’t work until you give it a fair shot. Iswitched to 100-percent PartsTrader; every ticket I order goes through PartsTrader at thispoint.”

Rogers also noted that he has not encountered resistance from State Farm over thetypes of parts he orders through the system.

“I’m not seeing a line drawn in the sand that says you have to use the cheapest part,” herevealed. “That’s not what I’m seeing in my market. If fact, I’ve almost never chosen thecheapest part. The reason is, the cheapest part isn’t always the most efficient or effective forthat repair...I’m personally not getting any pushback on that. None whatsoever.”

I-CAR’s John Van Alstyne updated attendees on theorganization’s goals moving forward.

CIC and CCIF Help HaitiCIC has always been devoted to helping the

collision industry thrive. Now, it is adding itssupport to technicians in Haiti.

Joining forces with the Canadian CollisionIndustry Forum (CCIF), CIC is working to raisefunds for the Haiti ARISE Technical InstituteCharitable Project. According to the CCIF, theHaiti ARISE Technical Institute exists to providequality and practical education and hands-ontraining in skilled trades and technical studiesto the people of Haiti. The original school facilityhad just been completed (and had begun serv-ing hundreds of students) before being hit by aJanuary 12, 2010 earthquake that severely dam-aged it beyond repair. Part of the ongoing re-construction process of the original schoolincludes building a teaching facility for colli-sion repair. The American auto body industry

can help by making a financial investment,donating tools, equipment and supplies or vol-unteering at the Haiti ARISE Technical Institute.The ultimate goal is to provide the infrastruc-ture, tools, equipment and training to create along-term sustainable educational program toimprove the lives of thousands of Haitian fami-lies and create positive change in the commu-nity and country. Haiti ARISE is a registeredcharity in both Canada and the United States.

CCIF Haiti ARISE Committee member TomBissonnette (Parr Autobody, Saskatoon) andHaiti ARISE Ministries co-founder Marc Honoratappeared as special guests of CIC and askedattendees for support during an April 9 presen-tation on the endeavor. More information on theprogram (including donation levels) is availableat ccif.ca/Haiti_Arise_Project.html. A list ofnecessary collision repair items is available atccif.ca/uploads/HaitiAriseToolsNeeded.pdf.

Above all, Rogers credited the insurer for help-ing the industry embrace electronic parts orderingas a way to improve the repair process.

“It was time for us to make a change,” he said.“Unfortunately, part of the problem was, as an in-dustry, we weren’t driving that change. Let’s be hon-est... no one was pushing the electronic thing untilState Farm came along.”

Despite Rogers’ enthusiasm, not everyonewas convinced by his words.

“We were using electric parts ordering eight or10 years ago,” offered panelist and Oregon shopowner Ron Reichen. “It wasn’t new to us.”

Marc Honorat of Haiti ARISEMinistries

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40 May 2015

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41May 2015

Addressing the panel from the crowd,SCRS Executive Director Aaron Schulenburgvoiced the frustration of those CIC attendees“who are tired of sitting in this room and fieldingcommercials.” To that point, he asked Rogers ifhe had received compensation from Part-sTrader to participate in the CIC panel.

“Did you pay for yourself to enter [CIC]like everybody else?” he inquired.

Roger responded that Schulenburg’s sug-gestion was “way off base,” stressing that hemerely wanted to offer his “honest experiencewith the product” and that PartsTrader’s finan-cial contribution to his appearance was nothingmore than a $200 plane ticket.

“If the product you’re endorsing paid foryou to be in the room, and the rest of the panelisn’t being paid to be the room to endorse otheraspects or programs, I think there’s somethingdisingenuous to the audience about that, andthey deserve to know,” Schulenburg countered.“Did PartsTrader pay for you to be in thisroom?”

“Yeah,” Rogers replied.Despite the controversy surrounding

Rogers’ involvement and statements, the con-cept of electronic parts ordering was looked atin a favorable light throughout the morning dis-cussion.

“From an efficiency standpoint, electronicparts procurement is the only way to go,” of-fered panelist and industry consultant DavidLuehr (Elite Body Shop Solutions.) “When youpick up a phone and call an order in – or even,in many cases, [send] a fax – you’re invitingdefects in your process.”

Information on upcoming CIC events isavailable at www.ciclink.com. H&D

Shop owner Clint Rogers defended his PartsTrader-sponsored participation at CIC.

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Anyone who owns a body shop (or is a part of a shop’s marketingteam) has heard the mantra, “If you’re not marketing online, you’re los-ing out.” Every seminar and workshop in the last 10 years has had a hotnew social media channel that you have to be a part of, because “it’s thenext big thing.”

In 2015, there are so many online marketing options and socialmedia platforms, the idea of getting involved in any of them can be over-whelming. Many of the shop owners I work with come to me periodicallywith questions like this: “I just heard someone give a speech on Insta-gram – do we need to be on Instagram?” Does your shop need to be on every single Internet marketing channel to have an effective onlinestrategy?

The answer is, “No. You don’t have to be on Instagram.” Wouldthere be a way to use Instagram to benefit your shop? Absolutely. Is itpossible there are other online marketing options that would provide abetter return on investment? Yes.

To be clear, I’m not singling out Instagram as a bad investment. Onthe contrary, it can have great benefits for certain types of shops, in cer-tain situations. My point is simply that you don’t have to invest valuabletime and resources into every available online marketing option in orderto have a strong strategy. What’s important is that you understand themarketing channels available to you and decide which will fit in yourbudget and which will work together to create the highest ROI.

At first glance, Google AdWords may seem like the most expensiveonline marketing channel available, with keywords demanding upwardsof $6 to $10 per click in the collision industry. But then, consider thenumber of hours necessary for creating new content for social mediachannels, or for targeting “organic” or unpaid search engine results.How many hours of an internal employee’s time, or of your time as theowner of the shop, are required for taking pictures to share on socialmedia, or writing new pages and posting them to your website?

MARKETING FEATURE

WHICH INTERNET MARKETINGCHANNELS ARE THE RIGHT ONES

FOR MY SHOP?

42 May 2015

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Exploring how to use technology toget the most out of your business.

BY LEE EMMONS

43May 2015

Before you choose your Internet marketing strategy, consider whatyour investment will be into each channel, in terms of both time andmoney. And then consider the question, “How well does each channelcompliment the other?” Remember, you’re using these channels as acoordinated strategy designed to increase brand recognition for yourcompany and generate more leads.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)There was once a time when a business could stuff a paragraph of

keywords onto a Web page and, as a result, show up at the top of Inter-net search results when potential customers searched for their services.Those days of easily manipulating search results are long gone, asGoogle has significantly changed and (for the most part) improved theiralgorithm.

Does this mean that search engine optimization is “dead” or nolonger a viable marketing channel? No, SEO is still at the core of inter-net marketing and goes hand-in-hand with making sure your website isuser-friendly, well-structured and technically sound.

One of the most important things to remember with search engineoptimization is that Google’s primary purpose in changing its algorithm isto improve the quality of the results it provides for its end-users. There-fore, you’ll get further if your website provides a good user experience.Here are some tips:

Make sure it’s easy to navigate through your website and find in-formation about your company and your services.

Make sure it’s very easy to contact your shop through the web-site, and that your phone number, contact/estimate form and ad-dress are all very easy to get to.

Make your website a place that potential customers can find outeverything they need to know about your shop, without clutteringany one particular page. Structure your website so that all of themost important information can be found very quickly, but then linkfrom your main pages to more in-depth pages about topics such asmanufacturer certifications, information about your technicians oruseful articles about car maintenance. Posting new content im-proves your search engine rankings, gives you more material toshare with your followers on social media and can be an opportu-nity to create landing pages for paid search campaigns throughGoogle AdWords (which we’ll get to next).

Make sure that you have Google Analytics set up to track trafficto your website. And very importantly, make sure you have it set upto track goals, such as when someone submits a contact form orcalls in after finding your website. This will help you track the num-ber of leads that your online marketing efforts are generating, andas a result help you track ROI. (Here is an excellent beginner’s reference guide from Moz:

moz.com/beginners-guide-to-seo)

Google AdWordsPay-Per-Click search engine marketing through AdWords can seem

intimidating to companies that aren’t familiar with it, or that haven’t triedit. The idea of paying between $6 to $10 per click (which can be therange for keywords like “collision repair” and “auto body shop”) cansound very expensive in comparison to social media marketing and or-ganic SEO.

However, when done correctly, Google AdWords campaigns can beone of the best, most direct ways to get access to a customer who isready to make a purchase. AdWords is also one of the most measurableand targeted forms of Internet marketing, allowing you to market to aspecific neighborhood, or to people with an interest in a specific vehiclemanufacturer.

Some important things to think about when you get started withGoogle AdWords:

Make sure you have conversion tracking set up. This is espe-cially important for AdWords, and will allow you to know whensomeone has called or submitted a contact form after clicking onone of your ads. You can then use this conversion data to make ad-justments based on which campaigns are providing you with ROI,increasing your budget to ads that result in leads and pausing or re-placing ads that are costing you money without resulting in sales.

Create user-friendly landing pages for your campaigns. Whenpeople click on your AdWords ad, it takes them to a specific pageon your website. You’ll want that page to be as relevant to the adthey’ve just seen as possible. (For example, if someone clicks anad for paint repairs, they should go to a page with relevant informa-tion.) This not only increases their chance of contacting you, but italso improves the rankings of your ads in Google results.

Social Media MarketingSocial media marketing is an affordable way to build brand aware-

ness and engage with an audience of past and potential new customers.It can also be one of the most confusing and overwhelming marketingchannels. With so many different platforms, people can get easily over-whelmed with posting, tweeting, sharing and commenting.

The best thing to do is to start small and build your brand well onjust a few of the social media platforms that make sense for your busi-ness. There is no use in having accounts on 15 social media platforms ifyou don’t have the time or content to post on all of them regularly. It’sbetter to master a few social media profiles and build your following oneach of those first than to create a dozen profiles that never get any attention.

For example, you could start with a Facebook page and commit toregularly posting relevant updates, articles, photos and videos. Set abudget for advertising through Facebook, which allows you to boost and sponsor particularly relevant or exciting posts or special offers.

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Facebook gives you the ability to target by demographic and interest, al-lowing you to build a following in your service area, relevant to the spe-cific capabilities of your shop.

If you have the aluminum certification for the 2015 F-150, createnew content and promoted ads tailored to social media users with an in-terest in that vehicle. With all forms of social media, think of yourself asbuilding a community united by common interests relevant to the serv-ices you provide.

Any social media platform – when done right – can have a powerful impact on your business. However, to do it right requires thatyou engage with and give back to your followers, so be realistic aboutthe time you have to commit to each channel.

Email MarketingOne of the most cost-effective online marketing and (customer rela-

tionship management) channels is email marketing. Sometimes given abad rap thanks to spammers, email marketing is, in truth, highly effectiveand inexpensive.

You can set up simple email campaigns in an email serviceprovider (free and/or inexpensive options include Mail Chimp, ConstantContact and Exact Target). Most of these ESPs have easy-to-use inter-faces that don’t require any HTML knowledge. Here are some usefulpointers to keep in mind:

Use discount offers and website content in your emails. Cus-tomers and prospects alike will appreciate emails with special dis-counted service offers, and the new pages you’re creating on yourwebsite can be repurposed as useful email content. And if youremail audience feels that they receive useful content in the emailsyou send them, they won’t feel that you’re sending them spam.

Email marketing provides a tremendous return for the cost –which is often pennies for 1,000 sends.

A great way to cross-promote your social media and email chan-nels is to add in social media share buttons in your emails and addemail sign-ups on your Facebook page and website.

Provide multiple opportunities for your customers and prospects tostay in touch, and you will see engagement soar.

Video MarketingLast but definitely not least on our list of online marketing channels

is video marketing. Relevant and interesting video content can beposted on your website, posted on social media platforms, embeddedinto email campaigns and, of course, added to the company YouTube

page. Did you know that YouTube has become the second most popular

search engine after Google? It’s true: According to SocialMediaToday,more people search on YouTube than on Bing, Yahoo, Ask and AOLcombined. All the more reason to utilize video as a marketing and adver-tising tool.

Custom video content can tell your company’s story, showcasecompelling firsthand testimonials and provide relevant content for socialmedia. Video can make your approach (in every area of your marketingstrategy) more successful. For example:

SEO – Video embedded on your website can help your searchengine rankings, as well as improve the user experience. Visitors toyour website would much rather watch a video than read the texton the page, so embedded video will make your web pages muchmore engaging.

AdWords – Videos can be used in highly targeted video adsthrough Google AdWords, displaying targeted advertising to Inter-net users on YouTube and in the Google Display Network, in yourservice area, with relevant interests.

Social Media Marketing – Videos can provide perfect content toshare to social media. Not only can you share links from YouTube,but with platforms like Facebook, you can upload the video file di-rectly and create ads tailored to video advertising.

Email Marketing – Videos also provide great content to includein emails. Content like videos and interesting website content willmake it feel more like you’re providing a useful newsletter, as op-posed to “spamming” your audience.

Lee Emmons is vice president in charge of AP Media based in Sykesville, MD. His public relations and market-ing efforts on behalf of collision repair shops throughout the Mid-Atlantic have gained industry press coveragefor those shops in trade publications and local media. He and his agency are certified Google Partners, withcertifications in AdWords and in Google’s Video Advertising Advanced Certification. Marketing for auto bodyshops has become his passion and personal area of expertise. You can visit his company’s website at AbsolutePerfectionMedia.com.

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Industry Mourns Loss ofBeloved I-CAR Instructor

Last month, the collision repair education field took aserious blow with the unexpected passing of Johnny Dick-erson, a nationally recognized welding expert and I-CARinstructor for over three decades. Like many others in theindustry, Dickerson got started in collision repair at a youngage and took over his family’s business in Texas, all thewhile working towards the betterment of the industrythrough local and national associations and initiatives.

Over 30 years ago, Dickerson became an I-CAR in-structor and for the past 10 years had worked as a memberof the I-CAR Field Operations team, most recently as Per-formance Training Coordinator. According to a press re-lease, Dickerson “helped lead efforts to shift I-CAR’sWelding Training & Certification courses to an in-shop event, kept the program up to date andhelped make the program the best collision repair welding program in the country.”

Many peoples’ lives were touched by Dickerson, as his influence was far-reaching. Onesuch person was WMABA President Don Beaver, who received his welding credentials fromDickerson and spent four days with him in Wisconsin at the I-CAR tech center for weldingboot camp.

“He was one of those guys who always had a funny story to share,” says Beaver. “Hetaught me a lot in those four days. We used to speak quite often by phone. He really was ahuge asset.”

Dickerson is survived by his wife Mary, their two sons and two grandsons. In lieu of flow-ers, the Dickerson family has requested donations be made to the Friendship House, 620 W.Ave. “D,” Garland, TX 75040 (phone: 972-272-1010). H&D

Johnny Dickerson

This approach is what works best in our industry: Don’tbe everywhere; be everywhere you can be effective. I seerepairers in our area range from having nothing to havingeverything online, and those who are most effectiveimplement the viewpoints Lee has outlined. One morething: Mobile-friendly websites are now getting Google’spreference. - Jordan Hendler


Use a Coordinated Online Marketing StrategyUse a combination of these online marketing

channels to increase your brand awareness, drivesales and benefit your bottom line. Some of the plat-forms mentioned in this feature (like social media) aremore effective for branding, while some (like GoogleAdWords) are especially effective at converting web-site traffic into leads. All of these platforms should beworking together to generate sales.

For example, use branding to stay at the forefrontof potential customers’ minds so that when the timecomes that they need a repair, they already know andtrust you enough to give you a call or submit a requestfor an estimate.

Your goal shouldn’t be to use every online mar-keting channel you’ve ever heard of. Your goal shouldbe to use the right combination as a coordinated strat-egy to get the best ROI for your business. H&D

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WHAT’S REALLY IMPORTANT?

This past weekend, we had reallynice weather that had a lot of people ingood moods after a long hard winter.The windows in the house were openand I could hear the neighbors’ kidsyelling and squealing, running around inthe yard. My wife had started her annualspring cleaning and was singing whileshe worked. I love to hear my wife sing. Icould smell the other neighbors grillingand stopped and thought, it’s the littlethings like this that are important. It’s notalways about the almighty dollar. Really,it’s not even close. It also made me thinkabout how quickly these little things can

MESSAGEPRESIDENT’S Don Beaver

(443) 539-4200 ext. [email protected]

I appreciate WMABA working on my behalf at the state capitol(s)!Here is my contribution to the legislative efforts.

Name: ______________________________________Company: __________________________________

Address: __________________________________________________________________________________

City:____________________________________________State: ______________________Zip: ________

Phone: ______________________________Email: ____________________________________________

Donation Amount: $50 $100 $500 Other ________________

Check Enclosed Credit Card (Visa, Amex, MC)# __________________________________________________________ Exp: ________

Name on Card: ______________________________Signature: __________________________________

WE NEED YOUR LEGISLATIVE CONTRIBUTION!

P.O. Box 3157 • Mechanicsville, VA 23116

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be snatched away without a moment’s notice. Every day, we have the obligation to help preservethese little things. Every day, we hold peoples’ lives and their families’ lives in our hands, and that isa massive responsibility. We owe it to everyone on the roads to restore vehicles back to their origi-nal safety and integrity. We have the obligation to use quality parts and materials. We have the obli-gation to use vehicle manufacturers’ repair procedures and recommendations. If we don’t, we maybe responsible for someone’s loss of what’s really important. When you are tasked with repairing awrecked vehicle, remember what’s really important before you start your repairs. Am I going toworry about that dollar, or am I going to worry about those kids on their way to soccer? It justmakes you ask yourself, what really is important? H&D

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ADVERTISERS’INDEX

Air-Tech Products ................................25

Alexandria Toyota ................................21

All Foreign Used Auto..........................41

AP Media ............................................45

Audi Group ..........................................13

Audi Silver Spring ................................IBC

Axalta Coating Systems ......................OBC

BMW Group ........................................26-27

BMW of Silver Spring ..........................IBC

BMW of Fairfax....................................3

CAPA ..................................................22

Car-Part.com ......................................25

Chesapeake Automotive Equipment ..41

Empire Auto Parts................................21

Ford Group ..........................................19

Future Cure ........................................29

GM Parts Group ..................................18

Hendrick Honda ..................................37

Honda Group ......................................30

Hyundai Group ....................................48

Koons Ford ..........................................37

Malloy Auto Group ..............................7

Mazda Group ......................................49

MINI Group ..........................................31

Mitsubishi Group..................................34

Mopar Group ........................................23

Nissan Group ......................................9

NUCAR................................................11

O’Donnell Honda ................................50

Packer Norris Parts ............................8

Porsche Group ....................................35

Porsche of Silver Spring ......................IBC

PPG ....................................................IFC

Russel Toyota ......................................?

Safety Regulations ..............................50

Sherwin-Williams ................................4

Subaru Group......................................47

Toyota Group ......................................40

VW Group............................................36

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Hammer & Dolly May 2015

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