For years, I have been trying to convince auto dealers that auto detailing is "coming out of the back alleys" and positioning itself alongside many other legitimate auto services. For that reason, a dealer needs to understand what is important in the overall success of a detail venture.

Let us take location for example — you must understand the difference between an impulse decision to buy and a planned decision to buy the service by the consumer.

If detailing is an impulse purchase, then location is absolutely critical to success. The automatic car wash is a consumer impulse buy, and therefore, requires a prime location. For success, the car wash must be on a highly visible site with high traffic count and easy ingress and egress. In addition, it must be in a good demographic area, meaning middle- to upper-class area.

The quick lubrication and oil change business is another auto service that is purchased on impulse because it can be performed in 15 to 20 minutes. It too requires a highly visible location with easy access to be successful. And, like car washes, their customers are the high-end buyers, so they need to be in a good demographic area.

Auto service businesses such as auto repair shops, radiator shops and auto body paint shops, as well as your dealership's service department, are planned purchase decisions, and they are destination-oriented rather than impulse purchases.

The customer plans to come to such businesses, and they plan to leave their vehicle for a full day or more. That being the case, physical location is not as critical to success.  A destination-oriented service can be located on a site off the main street because customers who plan to use the service will look for and find the business. High traffic and good visibility are not critical to the sale of such services.

Certainly being on a well-traveled street with good visibility does not hurt, but you do not need to have such a location to be successful selling destination-oriented services.

Demographics, however, play a huge part in the success of a "planned decision service" business.
Demographics & Auto Detailing

As a dealer, it is important for you to know this information so you can estimate the potential of your effort to sell detailing services to the public. While your location is already set, you need to know how to evaluate it in terms of selling  detail services.

Before deciding to embark on a program of selling detailing services at your auto dealership, you must analyze the demographics of your current location and your customer base. If you plan to solicit "off the street" business or business from your current customer base for the detailing department, you must be sure that the customers are easily accessible to your dealership — either living or working in the area.

The customers who will purchase detailing services are those who do not want to do it themselves and have the money to pay for it. They are not only the rich, but also many middle-class people who want to protect their leisure time and their investment.

Typically, this type of customer is found in higher-end neighborhoods, driving higher-end vehicles and working in the business or financial districts.

If your present dealership location and customer base fits any of these types of locations and/or sells upper-end cars, it is likely you can count on good off-the-street business. If not, you must survey the market to determine where and how much off-the-street business you can expect from the area.

Detailing & the Auto Dealership

The key reason you should consider auto detailing is that it fits well with your present business. That should be the determining factor in your decision to sell detail services.

If you cannot serve both your present in-house needs and sell to your current service customers, I am not sure that you should add detailing.
As a dealership detail shop, you should realize the advantages you have over a freestanding detail operation or anyone involved in auto detailing. The advantages include:

1.    Already in business.
2.    Have a reputation with and confidence of the public.
3.    Have a large customer base.
4.    Already provide automotive services.
5.    Have a location.
6.    Have a facility.
7.    Have an in-house need for detail services.
8.    Know how to hire, train and work with employees.
9.    Understand how to promote and advertise a business.

These are only a few, but they clearly illustrate that an auto dealer has a huge head start over anyone else in the detail business.