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The Mobile Media Specialist Association needs new blood to steer the association and help shape the future for the independent car electronics specialists in the UK. With income having fallen over the last two years to the point where the association has been unable to continue a proactive role in the car electronics sector, beyond the provision of its still popular consumer information web site, the time has come for new people to seize the chance and help revitalise the association.
There has never been a more important time for the car electronics specialists to come together, to share their business fears and knowledge, and pool their technical knowledge so that a credible independent, nationwide installer network can be assured into the future.
At a time when many long-established people in the car electronics aftermarket have retired or are taking a back seat in the business, it is the time for the next generation to unite their industry, and there can be no better ready-made body under which to do it than the Mobile Media Specialist Association, a non-profit limited company setup specifically to help promote and market the independent specialists. We are looking for new directors and company officials, regional chairmen and members to keep the association alive. It's your livelihood - protect it.
To flag your interest in finding out more about the opportunities for an involvement in the association, please contact the Secretary, Kevin O'Byrne, on 0118 970 1612 or by email to admin(at)mmsa.org.uk.
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Winning the Consumer's Trust
What makes you a specialist in the eyes of your customers?
Calling yourself a "specialist" isn't enough these days. There are major retailers touting themselves as specialists while working under a canopy in a car-park. The majority of consumers aren't that gullible, and those that are presume it really must be an easy job and so will try it themselves. Either way the word specialist has become devalued. Years of "free fitting" has likewise devalued the biggest single benefit of visiting a true ICE specialist.
There's also a lack of consumer education. The average person has little idea what makes a dealer a "specialist" as opposed to simply a retailer. Consumers need to see hard proof in a form they can trust, because above all it comes down to trusting someone's knowledge and skill. With so much marketing hype, it's very difficult for consumers to "cut through the crap", so being able to trust a company and the advice of its employees is something most people willingly pay extra for.
We're all consumers and so we all go through the same thought processes at some point. With me most recently it was for a new washing machine. We've had the same independent service engineer see to our machine for years, and after the last call he warned us it would be the last time our current Hotpoint would be worth servicing. True to his word, just before the end of January, the thing failed big time.
Prior to the "big crash", I had asked our service chap what he recommended. He simply pointed to our Bosch dishwasher and said "one of those, nothing else", going on to say how Hotpoint wasn't the Hotpoint of old.
I trust this guy because he's worked on our machines for years. He doesn't sell them and so has nothing to gain from recommending a brand, except perhaps the knowledge that he'll have less hassle from disgruntled customers wanting to know why their machine keeps going wrong and effectively blaming him for the shortcuts in the original manufacture.
My wife and I duly went to the local supplier (an independent, I hasten to add), and although they didn't have the Bosch model we wanted in stock and it was £100 more than the competition, I simply wouldn't be swayed. I couldn't have faced our chap coming in to service our new machine and seeing it was a make he didn't rate, not that he'd have said anything. Plus, I trust him to recommend a machine that will be well worth the extra £100 in the long run.
In our own business, as dealers you have to build the consumer's trust in you as a real expert in what you do, and be able to demonstrate it. To be able to do that you first need to connect with the consumer and get them into your store. And as suppliers you need to build and market your products as a cut above the standard Chinese tat, and you don't do that by coming down to their level. [KOB]
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This Trade Section is currently open to all to read, apart from some
areas of our Message Forum and Downloads section which require a username
and password.
Roy Harriss's
Personal History
of Car Radio is a strongly recommended read. It is a wonderful
step back to how things were and will make you
smile. And for anyone working on a thesis on car audio and electronics
for a university or college project, Roy's story of his life in
the car radio industry with one of the pioneering companies will provide great material.
For the list of our Corporate Partners and Sponsors, Council Members & MMSA Directors and Officials, follow this link.
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