Cashing in on the ‘Green’ revolution

While doing some research on green technologies I came a across a couple of news items that caught my attention. The first was about a Mercedes-Benz dealer in Arizona who has taken to the airwaves to highlight his green practices. He has even produced a high-quality brochure outlining his dealership’s use of such things as solar panels to generate power, a low-water high-efficiency car wash and the use of natural light to reduce energy consumption further. The other bit of news was about Earth Cars, a Webbased referral site that directs people to information about hybrids and other alternative fuel cars, including dealers who sell them.

Both items quoted customers that seemed very happy with what each of these businesses were doing, with the customers saying how environmental questions were now influencing their decisions on products and where they were going to buy them. Last fall, General Motors conducted a survey and found car buyers were not only showing a greater desire to purchase alternative fuel and hybrid vehicles, but they were also keen to send their dollars to dealers that had sound environmental practices. GM has announced it is in the process of conducting a more extensive survey to see how people feel about buying cars from green dealers.

There is a great opportunity here for independents to develop a new customer base. Right now, customers are gravitating to hybrids and other alternative-fuel vehicles in such numbers that manufacturers and dealers can’t keep up. When they do get their hands on these vehicles, people will be looking for someone to maintain and repair them, and they will send their dollars to businesses they believe are environmentally friendly. Independents can grab these clients and move them away from dealers by taking a page from what the dealer in Arizona and the Earth Cars Web site are doing.

Many independents are already staring to move to being more ‘green friendly,’ by focusing on better disposal of waste and more efficient use of resources, for example. As well, many technicians are already up-to-speed on hybrid technologies and other alternative fuel systems. What needs to be done better is getting that message out to people, either through advertising that puts a direct emphasis on a shop’s green credentials or using the Web to get that message out to people who do their buying research online.

For example, shops could put a profile on their company’s Web site about their technician who has training on how to maintain and repair hybrid vehicles, or even feature that same technician in a print advertisement that says “Your first choice for hybrid maintenance.” Or how about setting aside an evening and invite people from the community to drop by and learn about hybrid technologies and answer all of their questions about the repair and maintenance of the vehicles. It would also be a great way to showcase how green your shop’s operations are as well.

Local organization representing independents could also help by showcasing some of their ‘green’ members in the community and sponsoring ‘green days’ where they can bring people out those shops and help raise their profile amongst car owners.

If there are shops out there already doing many of these things, SSGM would like to know and I want to encourage them to write to us and tell us their stories and what they are doing. This is a great opportunity to showcase what makes this industry so exciting and forward thinking.

Do you agree? Disagree? Let us know! letterstotheeditor@ssgm.com