Idea Napkin No. 2

1)      You. Who you are. What your talents are. What your skills and experiences are. Also: what are your aspirations? Specifically regarding your business concept, how do you see this business (if you were to start it) playing a role in your life?

a.       I am a sales representative.  My skills involve customer service, problem solving, thinking outside the box.  I have over 12 years of sales and customer service experience and 10 of those years have been in the automotive industry.  Currently I work as a Service Advisor at a Chevrolet dealership.  If I were to start this business it would turn into a major portion of my life, and I feel that would be necessary for success.  I would have to operate when the service department is open and would likely go an extra before open and after close to ensure customer satisfaction.

2)      What are you offering to customers? Describe the product or service (in other words, how you'll solve customers' unmet needs). 

a.       I am offering my customers an opportunity to have their vehicle serviced or repaired without the inconvenience of actually having to go to the repair facility.  The process would be fairly straight forward.  I would work as vender of the dealership and they would contact me when a customer would like to utilize the service.  The customer schedules their service appointment at which point the dealership would contact me and schedule a pick up time.  From there I would meet the customer at the agreed location at the agreed time and pick up there vehicle.  For an additional fee if requested by a loaner vehicle can be left in for the customer to use while theirs is being serviced.  I would then deliver the customer’s vehicle to the dealership and let them do their work.  After repairs are completed I would then pick up the customer’s vehicle from the repair facility and bring it back to the customer and exchange vehicles.  My bill would be included on the repair facilities invoice as I would be paid directly from the repair facility and if the dealership would like to offer the service as benefit they can do so.   I am still not sure if I want to do a flat rate (ex. $15 per person) or charge by the mile similar to a tow company. 

3)      Who are you offering it to? Describe, in as much detail as possible, the demographic and psychographic characteristics of your customers. Think especially of this question: what do your customers all have in common?

a.       I am offering this service to anyone who needs to get their vehicle serviced or repaired.  My demographic is extremely large and diverse.  Of course anyone who would like a loaner vehicle while theirs is being worked on must be over 21 for insurance purposes.  Also, in order to obtain the loaner vehicle you must carry full coverage insurance including bodily injury.  No deposit is required but you must also keep a credit card on file.  The thing that all of my customers have in common is that no one wants to get their vehicle serviced, and even less want to take time out of their day to actually bring it to the repair facility.

4)      Why do they care? Your solution is only valuable insofar as customers believe its valuable to them. Here, explain why customers will actually pay you money to use your product or service.

a.       They’ll care and spend the money simply because as a society we are becoming so geared towards a “What will make life easier?” mentality that we spend excess money daily so things go faster.  Why do you think that we have to have the latest and greatest phone?  Remember how slow dial up was 15 years ago now if the page isn’t instantly loaded we complain that the computers are slow again.  We are so hell bent as a society for everything to go faster and be right now and don’t interrupt my life to get it done shelling out an extra $15 is nothing that most people would even think of anymore.  True this service is not required and people do not have to use it, but it would be successful just because let’s face it, who wants to take time out of their day to get their vehicle worked on, that’s right NOBODY.    

5)      What are your core competencies? What sets you apart from everyone else? Also: what do you have that nobody else has?

a.       Yes, this is a service that anyone can do or start up.  Where my company is will be different is in the little things.  Customer service will be put on a premium.  Making sure we are not late for a pick up or drop off, being polite to the customer and treating them with respect, addressing them by Mr. (Last name) or Ms.(Last name), never delivering a dirty vehicle, and of course the utmost caution while driving the vehicle so as to minimize any risk of accidents.  These are the things that will set my business apart from anyone else’s.

I feel that my idea fits well together and would be successful if implemented.  One of the bigger bridges to cross, once started, is getting the name out there.  Letting the customer know that the service is available.  I think that once people begin to use and see how much easier it makes their life it will be a service that they come back to time and time again.  They will also begin to tell their friends and family about it, after all word of mouth is still the best form of marketing.

The feedback I received last time the biggest negative comment was whether or not people would spend the extra money to have this service provided for them.  I did address how I felt toward that do not see that being a major road to get past.  True this service will not be for everyone and of course there will be people who do not want to spend the extra money, but I feel that a majority of customers would jump at the chance to not have to actually go to the facility if it is avoidable.  Another aspect that was questions was cost of running.  I think that startup cost could be on the higher side.  Would need to acquire the appropriate licenses and insurances, but overall overhead in the long run would be minimal.  The cost of the employees will grow with the business and the main office could be run out of my house more like a mobile business which means no extra power, water, and infrastructure expenses.  The rest of the feedback was mostly positive and everyone seemed to agree that it was a service that most people would be interested in.