Business 13 www.aftermarketonline.net MAY 2025 Photo: Vitali Adutskevich / Pexels automatic gearbox repairs — there are many ways to differentiate beyond a brand focus. Let’s be honest, even fast-fit centres specialise in being fast! The key is finding the balance between demand and your ability to deliver a consistent, high-quality service. If you’re starting to wonder whether this could work for your garage, I’ve created a free initial guide to specialisation. It’s designed to help you think through the options, avoid the common pitfalls, and start figuring out what’s right for your setup. Follow the link at the end of this article. Thinking about making the shift? Moving from an all-makes garage to a specialist set-up isn’t something you do overnight. It’s not just about tools or signage — it’s about mindset, positioning, and direction. What would need to change in your business to make a specialism work? For some, it starts with tooling. For others, it’s about gaining confidence in a chosen niche, knowing the local market, or preparing the team for a new way of working. Workshop layout, customer messaging, and even parts sourcing might need to change. Going about it the right way is important as there are plenty of ways to go off course. Consistency matters One thing’s for sure: the whole team must be on board. Especially frontof-house. As the face of the business, they’re the first point of contact — and often the first to set expectations. That’s a big responsibility, and it only works if they’re confident in what your garage offers, and who it’s for. It’s not just about turning work away. It’s about explaining why, without damaging relationships or reputation. That takes training, support, and clarity — because when the phones are ringing and the forecourt’s full, that clarity can quickly get lost. Specialist garages also tend to attract the tougher cases — cars that have already been through two or three workshops without resolution. Sometimes those are great wins. Other times, they drain time, energy, and morale if they’re not properly managed. Having the right process for triaging and quoting those jobs is just as important as fixing the fault itself. And of course, customers are more informed than ever. Or at least, they think they are. Your FOH team will increasingly face the ‘Google master technician’ — the customer who’s already diagnosed their own car. Handling those conversations with empathy, while gently reasserting your expertise, takes both skill and confidence in your process. Is the message clear? When someone lands on your website, do they instantly understand what you specialise in? And just as importantly, do they know what you don’t do? Your digital presence, your car park, even the way your team answers the phone — it all builds the picture. Are you competing with other independents, or positioning yourself as the alternative to the dealer? Forums and enthusiast communities can be a goldmine if you’re clear about your niche. But you only get one chance to make a first impression. Is your business-telling the right story? Does it stack up? Specialising can absolutely boost profitability. Technicians become faster, jobs are completed more consistently, and your labour rate can better reflect the expertise involved. But the higher rates have to be backed up by the right customer experience. Better tooling and training are essential — but so is clear communication, fewer comebacks, and a level of service that justifies the difference. It’s not a shortcut. It’s a shift. And like any shift, it needs to be planned, backed up, and delivered well across the whole team. Where do you go from here? For me, the transition to specialisation changed everything. I still remember walking through the car park one day and realising every vehicle there was a German brand. That was the moment I knew we’d done it. And I say ‘we’, because it only works when the whole team is on board. But specialisation isn’t about copying someone else’s formula. It’s about finding the right direction for you. Maybe you’re already halfway there — or maybe you’re just wondering what life could look like if you focused on the right jobs, for the right customers, at the right price. If that sounds worth exploring, grab the free guide. It’ll help you reflect, test the waters, and decide whether a specialism could help you build the kind of garage business you actually want to run. Visit https:// absolutelyautomotive. co.uk/help-guides to download the guide or scan the QR code.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjQ0NzM=