Page 30 - Australasian Paint & Panel Magazine Sep-Oct 2019

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BUSINESS & TECHNOLOGY
30 SWOT Analysis • 32 Benefits of I-CAR Gold •
PAINT&PANEL SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2019
COLLISION REPAIR BUSINESS
SWOT ANALYSIS
ANNUAL SWOT SESSIONS ARE ESSENTIAL TO GAIN AND MAINTAIN A COMPETITIVE EDGE SAYS BUSINESS COACH BEN FEWTRELL.
Maybe you have state of the art repair equipment to reduce errors and increased effi- ciency leading to improved customer satisfaction. Do you offer additional services giving you the ability to ser- vice your customer with more than collision repair? This also leads to the strength of having a di-
versified income.
Write down the many characteristics that
you believe strengthen your business.
WEAKNESSES
I usually find that this is where we need the help of the team. As a business owner it can be very difficult to be honest about the weak- nesses of the business that we have built.
When determining your weaknesses, you need to look at what areas could be im- proved. For example; do you have a lot of reworks? Do you lack profitability? Do cus- tomers complain?
Do you have a weakness in marketing? If you rely on referrals from insurance compa- nies for all your work, then you may consid- er this a weakness.
Look at your competitors.What are they doing better than you?
Make sure you’re honest and realistic when listing your weaknesses. Identifying areas for improvement will help you turn these weaknesses into strengths.
OPPORTUNITIES
This is your chance to develop strategies that will assist in growing your business or probability.
What changes in technology could you utilise to become more efficient, more profitable or to enter new markets? What trends are happening right now that you are aware of?
For example, technology in motor vehicles requires specialist equipment for repair and servicing. An opportunity could exist to be- come the expert or authority in that field.
When considering trends, consider things like changes in human behaviour. People are getting busier and appreciate dealing with organisations that can make life easier.
Having quicker check-in, additional servic- es and adding value with a high level of cus-
T
HE COLLISION REPAIR INDUSTRY
is changing rapidly, this re-
quires that you to remain agile and have the ability to review your business regularly making sure you are running an effi-
cient and profitable business.
An exercise I regularly conduct with
business owners is a SWOT analysis. A SWOT analysis should be done annually, and the turn of a new financial year is the perfect opportunity.
SWOT is an acronym for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Your SWOT analysis can help you develop strategies that are more likely to be suc- cessful in achieving your goals.
This exercise is ideally carried out as a group with many people providing feed- back, giving you data and information and helping you make better strategic de- cisions for the future of your business.
This is your chance to get feedback
from your team and enrol their help to de- termine your future plans.
STRENGTHS
What advantages do we have? Is there something that we do better than anyone else? What unique qualities or resources do you have that make sure you have a continued supply of work?
It’s also a good idea to look at the strength of your industry. For example, in the collision repair industry, individuals are forced to take a car to approved repair- ers. This means that you may not have the risk of unpredictable marketing to create most of your revenue. This could also be seen as a weakness or threat.
You also need to consider the strength of your business compared to your com- petitors. Do you have better systems? Bet- ter people? Contracts with insurance com- panies, fleet operators and the car dealerships?