In the March issue of GEARS, we covered some ideas for creating your company’s mission statement. Hopefully you’ve given the idea some thought and come up with a few for your shop. But before you run out to etch it in stone, I thought we’d go through a couple other ideas that might help.
If the thought of creating a mission statement got you excited, then you’ve probably gone to the internet and looked for examples to get your mind working, only to get caught up in some of the terminology. You’ll find articles on mission statements, as well as purpose statements.
As you go through the articles, you may not be able to distinguish the difference, so why the different terms? The two terms are generally interchangeable, with one exception: The mission statement is usually targeted more toward your customers. That is, it tells your customers why you’re in business and how your business benefits them.
The purpose statement is for you and your team and reminds you why you’re in business. The same statement can work for both or you can have a slightly loftier version for your customers, but they should say essentially the same thing.
But there’s a third statement, one I’ve never seen used, so we’re coining this term together: the image statement. The idea came to me after reading an article by Mariam Ali, manager at AAA public relations, titled, Most U.S. Drivers Leery of Auto Repair Shops. In it, she talks about a survey they conducted that revealed the top reasons U.S. drivers don’t trust repair shops:
- Recommending unnecessary repairs (76%)
- Overcharging for services (73%)
- Negative past experiences (63%)
- Concerns that the work won’t be done correctly (49%)
Here’s the link for the complete article: http://newsroom.aaa.com/2016/12/ u-s-drivers-leery-auto-repair-shops/
We can argue whether the consumers who participated in this survey were justified in their responses. We can even reassure ourselves with statement like, “We don’t break ’em; we just fix ’em.” In the end, it really doesn’t matter, because the results of the survey got that way for a reason. People think what they think, even if we think they’re wrong.
Consider a mission statement you might be working on: To provide reliable repairs in a timely manner and without unnecessary expense to the customer. It’s simple and to the point. It tells customers that you have an interest in getting their cars fixed right, on time, and without padding the bill.
The message tells customers what to expect if they do business with you. It also gives your team an idea of the customers’ expectations. It’s a standard for behavior and performance: No, we’re not going to let a car sit here for a week waiting for parts. If we can’t rebuild it in a timely manner, we’ll buy a unit… that sort of thing.
But what it doesn’t do is address any of the problems addressed in the survey… at least, not directly. All of the problems people perceive are from bad experiences, either personally or from others:
“They seemed terrific until I had a problem. Now they can’t get me in for three weeks.”
“Oh, sure, it worked great for two weeks. Now they say I need more work for an additional $1000.”
“When I went to pick up my car, they said I needed additional work or they can’t warrant the transmissions.”
All of these are experiences that speak to how the shop handles post-repair scenarios. Here’s where working on your image comes in.
It comes from declaring things like:
- We move all warranty repairs to the front of the line.
- We won’t sell a transmission job without identifying all additional work necessary to make it right.
- We won’t try to sell additional work that isn’t necessary for the safety of the consumer or the dependability of the repair. These are all matters that show up after the customer has agreed to the initial work, and they play a major role in how customers perceive you as a business owner.
Unlike the mission and purpose statements that talk about what you do and why you’re in business, the image statement is for “you” and defines who you are as a person. It’s the perception you want customers to have of your shop… that they see you the way you’d like to be seen.
And that’s a pretty good image!
