Who is your retail customer?

[brent]

I'm doing a business plan and I need your help with the customer segmentation. It's easy to say that everyone with a chip/crack on the windshield is my customer but let's go a bit deeper than that. Are they more likely 20-30 years old men driving premium German cars or middle age women driving Vauxhall?

Who are the majority group of your retail customers?

- The age
- The ***
- The income level
- The car they drive
- etc...

Thank you for participating in this questionnaire! It will be great help with my business plan.

[Windshield911]

Age- 50+
Income- medium to high income

Lots of people diss the yellow pages but they have definitely worked for me. Older people still use them in my area.

[screenman]

I do not do retail customers as they are, for me anyway are too expensive to service compared with other markets. I want to be repairing 3 or 4 windshields per time not just one. One of the nice things about this trade is get the customer base right and you can earn a lot of money per hour, way more than any other smart repair service.

I am going to shout this word out so that everybody hears it, FLEETS! that is where the regular money is 12 months of the year.

[Glasseye]

Like Graham, I focus only on trade, not retail. Most of the retail UK market is serviced by insurance cover.

[clearquest]

70% insurance 25% cash 5% fleet/dealer. 75% of work done in shop, 25% done mobile. Estimated average age of customer 45. Average repair pay $62. Mostly mid income customers.

[t4k]

99% fleet and dealer, 1% retail. Mostly high income customers, BMW, Lexus, Infiniti, Land Rover, Acura.

100% mobile, lower overhead.

[clearquest]

For a newbie in my area, fleet and dealer work would likely get you nowhere. Its a segment of the business that is already heavily saturated with either long term existing guys or new guys who are trying to get their foot in the door by offering cheaper rates. Its a never ending cycle that tends to keep a cap on what fleets and dealers are willing to pay. I spent the first 6 years doing everything mobile and the last 6 having a shop location. The trade-off in overhead is almost equal. Mobile service isn't cheap given fuel costs. But you really cant develop a business plan based on what others do. what works for me doesn't work for others and vice versa. You have to simply go out and find your niche. Go out and do quality work with exceptional service and things will fall into place for you. Dont expect that to happen overnight.

[screenman]

How is your insurance market?

[clearquest]

My insurance market is good. As mentioned, around 70% of my total.