Brand Recognition?

[Waxman]

Are there really worthwhile benefits of using well-known brands of chemicals for carwash and detailing?

Do customers respond more to names they recognize or is quality first and foremost in our industry as far as customers' perceptions?

There are always opportunities to align onesself with brand names but is it worth it?

 

[soapy]

Yesterday I was approached by the Mark V detail supplier. He was a nice guy and I have seen Mark V detail stuff around for a long time. He said that it is the commercial line of MOTHERS car care products. I told him I was not interested in Mark V after all the negative ads that Mothers recently ran in all the car magazines. On the other hand I have found that 3M products work great. Since 3M now owns Meguiars I have been trying their products and find their professional line to be very good also. For my top line details I do use the name brands.

 

[robert roman]

A brand is one of the elements that contributes to the image of your business because it represents a promise to the customer. A brand is also one way to develop trust. Aligning your business with recognized brands (national or regional) can be valuable in hepling you maintain a high standard of visual appeal and customer service.

 

[Chiefs]

In a word, no - unless you believe that the products - whoever makes them, perform best for you, your car wash and your customer. Then whatever intrinsic value they may have is a plus. However, in no way do I beleive customer come to you becauise you use Blue Coral, Turtle Wax or Simonize. They come to you because they have come to trust in your delivery to them of a clean, dry and shiny vehicle. You are the professional in their mind and they trust you to use the best products that produce that clean, dry shiny vehicle.

Use the products you believe perform the best. The rest is a dog and pony show.

 

[emwachtel]

no not at all. Its all about the end results.

 

[Earl Weiss]

I believe customers do nott care if the solutions used in the tunnel or SS are name brand. The end result / overall experience matters, and brands have little to do with that. An exception is with vending itmes. Brands provide a "Known quality" and they will choose a known brand vending item. One exception seems to be with air fresheners. Have had great succes with the custom label ones.

 

[TheDoc]

What???

Did you ever consider that McDonald's (the largest and most profitable fast food entity) use Coca Cola instead of their own McWhatever blend?
That is because the Coke Brand is a strong and recognizable as McD's itself.
RR is correct. Brand allows you to build a relationship better and faster than without it.
People buy brands, even during a recession and some companies are seeing marginal increases as consumers are buying better products that offer value.
There will always be players on both ends, you'll have people that buy on price only - typically those products are ripoffs of existing products and then the buyer who prides themselves on offering better everything with little or no additonal cost as the cheaper stuff may not last as long.
Hey this is only written as my opinion, but much like E.F. Hutton, people like to stop and listen!
FYI, the Hyundai Genesis sedan was voted North American Car of the Year, there are many people who would never drive one because it's a "Hyundai", they would rather drive a more expensive BMW, Mercedes, Cadillac, etc. Why is that? Brand + Service = better experience overall.
Brand is so important taht Hyjndai is building a reputable one faster than any manufacturer in the world.

The Doc

 

[pitzerwm]

Doc, IMO the difference here is that Coke, spends billions to create that brand, no one does that in this industry. If there was a brand that did, i.e. Rain-X then it would make sense, but who has heard of Kleen-rite, JBS, Blendco?

IMO, when there is a brand that the public might recognize, and you can charge accordingly, it makes sense.

 

[TheDoc]

While I understand your position, it is true in fact that there are a couple of chemical manufacturers who do have national and some worldwide recognition. The brands DO matter and are at the forefront of creating "evolutionary" products that then get copied and "w#0Red" out by copycat brands.
While those "cc" brands may produce some good products, you are correct that the recognition is somewhere between little and none.
Operators who are smart enough to engage the consumer with great product offerings and brands to back them up IMO do have a "leg up" on their competition.

BTW, Glad to see this forum doing well, another one doesn't seem to have too much participation.

The Doc

 

[rph9168]

Doc,

When you go to the cleaners to you care what chemicals they use or whether they get your clothes clean without damage? How about the customer that says "Why should I go to the wash using XXX Brand name when I can go to the auto parts store and do it myself?" In a way using a name brand at the wash is advertising for your competition.

When it comes to car washing the reality is that brand means little or nothing as far as revenues are concerned and even less when it comes to performance. The important issue is that the chemicals you use do the job. Building a brand and generating good revenue is something each operator must do for their own wash to establish themselves in their market.

By the way, when a brand like Coke is used by someone like McDonald's there is usually some form of significant payment made in the form of coop advertising, payment for product placement or major discounting of the product. When is the last time you saw a so-called brand name reduce pricing or remunerate the operator for using their product. No, they offer signage with their logo or other marketing with their name all over it. Who is using who to market their product?

If an operator wants to use a brand - fine. I really have no problem with that. That choice is up to them but they shouldn't think that it is a substitute for having a well run wash and good marketing to be successful.

 

[Earl Weiss]

IMNSHO the Coke analogy fails for this rerason. With this type of product there is a known tactile experience - Taste. That is the consumers main goal. They are expecting a certain taste and that't what they get wih Coke. Now one could argue that they are also expecting a certain overall experience from McDs and that is what they get when they go there.

With a Car wash the end result is cleanliness. The experience has little else to do with tactile expectations. For some chains they are develloping overall chain recognition for the experience, but I think that what solutions they use to clean the car have little to do with that experience.

There are some car care brands that have developed this recognition factor. I know it applies to vending Armorall vs other brands. Details shops may capitalize on some branding just as salons partner with ceretin Shampoo and conditioner suppliers. But I still think it's a nominal effesct in the Tunnel or SS area except that I think trying to explain Rain X is somewhat simpler due to brand recognition than an unknown name.

 

[TheDoc]

This is Great! I love that we can post our opinions and decide what is right for us. I personally believe in brands and the recognition they receive. I hope that you don't believe that all of your customers believe what you believe as I do not do the same.
I do know from my personal experience that branded products do better and can lead to higher revenue.
What about comparing branded and non-branded oil for fast lubes?

Thanks guys,

Steve

 

[Earl Weiss]

Ask 5 Car Washers a question and get 10 opinions.

 

[Chiefs]

If you produce a great car wash, have a good location, have dirty cars driving by and a good weather forecast for today and tomorrow, you're going to wash a lot of cars.

Take away any of these factors and you don't wash a lot of cars - regardless of the products that you use.

The vast majority of motorists are oblivious to anything execpt whether you deliver to them a clean, dry, shiny vehicle and do it safely. If there are benefits to touting the name brand solutions you use to achieve that, they are marginal at best and will not make people drive out of their way because of it.

What I care about is the end result I deliver to the customer. If I fail on that score, no promotion of any brand is going to overcome that shortfall.

 

[MEP001]

The vast majority of motorists are oblivious to anything execpt whether you deliver to them a clean, dry, shiny vehicle and do it safely. If there are benefits to touting the name brand solutions you use to achieve that, they are marginal at best and will not make people drive out of their way because of it.

This has now been stated in a very "matter-of-fact" manner several times. Is there some source that can confirm this or is it really only an opinion?

I believe brand recognition can be useful. I added the brand-name logo next to the triple-color wax on the rotary switch and have noticed an increase in the use of that function over the year that it's been labeled that way. I know that if I've used a product by a particular manufacturer and liked it, then I'll be more inclined to use another product by them.

 

[rph9168]

"This has now been stated in a very "matter-of-fact" manner several times. Is there some source that can confirm this or is it really only an opinion?"

I think it would be difficult to find objective information on this since only a brand name company would spend the money to research it and you might guess the result of that research. The only research I have seen that might come close was which brand among brand names is preferred.

I think that most experienced car wash people would favor the concept that what makes the difference in a successful wash is the quality of the wash, not a brand name. If you feel it has benefited your wash to identify with a brand name I don't think anyone would challenge that. The choice to use or not use a brand name product is the operator's. Whether it makes a big difference is debatable.

 

[MEP001]

Whether it makes a big difference is debatable.

Exactly my point.