Offering a Premium Wax

[Waxman]

I found a product I love. It deepens the finish and produces a long-lasting shine on vehicle paint.

I am toying with the idea of offering a premium wax, priced about 30% above my standard paste wax.

Has anyone done this? I know shops and dealers offer a paint sealant but I'm more enthusiastic about natural waxes over the many sealants I have tried.

 

[bigleo48]

I know that in my IBA, 25% of my customers pick the top wash and the only difference is the rainX. So it should work do OK.

 

[pitzerwm]

If you can show them the value, a lot will take advantage of it. The customer makes decisions on the perception of value. A wash in Australia had a car hood there with one side using the product ant the other without.

 

[soapy]

A local competitor sells a premium wax job for a premium price but I have no idea how many they sell. I have been looking at the Glare polish line since they give a 5 year guarantee with their polish. I think that is a little long but the company does back it with a written warranty.

 

[Waxman]

FWIW

I think a 5 year warranty on any paint protection is suspect. I have heard many customers' stories about buying a $350-550 protection package which is overpriced to me.

I am sure that any written warranty contains language about 'reapplication' at some point within the 5 years, like, say, once a year.

What I am talking about is merely a higher quality paste wax that I apply and remove by hand. The results are to me what warrant a higher price, not any type of warranty, which I wouldn't feel at all comfortable with offering to my customers.

 

[pitzerwm]

Waxman, Everything is what the customer perceives, more than reality. If you show the customer why he will benefit by paying you for that service and in the end he feels that he got good value for his money, he will come back and tell others. Your presentation is more important than the execution, but of course, the execution better back up the presentation.

 

[rph9168]

Bill is right. In reality a paste wax is not any better than a liquid. It contains the same basic ingredients. For years this perception has been accepted within and outside the detail community. It is also a reality that man made waxes normally outlast and in many cases outshine natural waxes. Microcrystalline waxes are built with the characteristics the manufacturer wants in the product so they can be designed to meet their product needs. Carnauba is usually added more as a marketing measure to increase sales. In most cases, polishes and waxes today normally also have sealant properties to increase durability as well as natural or synthetic waxes to add to the depth of shine.

Bottom line here is that perception is often more real to the consumer than reality and whatever sells, as long as their is no deception involved, is fair game.

 

[DavidM]

We have offered a premium wax option for many years. We have not advertised at all but customers will ask for it and often repeat purchase year after year. You should go for it.

In our full serve wash we have found that there is a percentage of people that will always buy the most expensive because they perceive that to be the "best"

David

 

[smokun]

Here's another option to consider:

Good stuff, all. Here's another alternative that won't risk devaluing your current protection product.

Develop a bundled process of protection and sell additional benefits, features and advantages. We did it quite successfully for years in my upscale detail operations and offered the customer a choice of upgrading from a single product to a more elaborate level of protection. No guarantees or time-limits suggested. Just logic combined with perception.

Combine the many benefits of chemical polymers from one product and layer it with the classic protection of Carnauba as a topcoat. The total result becomes greater than the sum of its parts. Durability, shine, improved DOI (distinction of image) and a slippery outer-coat that inhibits stone chips and scratches. The magic is in the story and its presentation of factual information combined with the consumer's comfort level of a logical conclusion.

Keep in mind that the process requires an additional step, but the task takes only minutes to achieve.

Rather than selling the merits of a single premium product, simply offer the additional level that increases the safeguard protection package. You've moved the customer from a single product leap of faith... to a combination process that makes logical sense in their value equation.


-Steve

 

[Waxman]

Please say what you are talking about in a more clear and concise way, Smokun.

Maybe I'm not that bright or it is Saturday and it's been a long week, but you seem to be dancing around a point. Just say the method you are referring to.

 

[smokun]

Create A Maximum Protection Process

DANCING? DANCING!!!

Wake up and pay attention! This is as simple as I can say it:

We live in a good-better-best world of consumerism. Upgrade options are profitable.

Bundle a polymer protection product (synthetic paint sealant) plus a classic botanically-natural protection product (Carnauba wax) into a 2-part protection process; each with its own unique features, benefits and advantages!

Give the protection process or package... or bundle of protection a marketable name... and an ultra-premium price.

Remember that a great deal of detailing is theater; not just what you do, but also how you do it.

IT'S SHOWTIME!

If you need more help, contact me directly... and avoid my taking up valuable space on this forum.


-Steve

 

[Waxman]

Thanks. Good info.

I am fully awake now.

ps; these posts are what acf is all about and are in no way a waste of space.