Press Release for Immediate Release September 2022
Aftermarket Survey Reveals Opportunities for Garages to Upsell
A survey by Castrol has revealed garages are missing opportunities to offer high quality consumables alongside a vehicle service, with 5 out of every 10 motorists saying they would be ‘happy for their workshop to upsell more expensive, premium-quality consumables if the benefits were explained.’
Responding to this survey, Gilbert Groot founder and CEO of global brand JLM Lubricants said: “This is something we’ve been saying with real conviction for many years. The days are behind us when promoting consumables was something most technicians would swerve. This was in part because they were suspicious of the quality of additives and lubricants and in some cases, rightly so. However, with the growth in products over parts set against the backdrop of budgets being tightened and rocketing fuel prices, even the most originally sceptical mechanics are now talking to us. In their defence the market remains flooded with inferior products denoted by their low price and demonstrable lack of active, working ingredients. However, we have built the trade trusted reputation of our brand on the robust platform that top tier mechanics, including the global DPF Doctor Network – trust, use and recommend JLM products to their customers – at servicing, repair and in between. JLM products are a headline act in many workshops, so I welcome this survey because it spells out even more opportunities for growth.”
“The research has also revealed an even bigger win for garages – not simply to use trade quality products as part of vehicle servicing and repair but also to recommend some products to their customers – motorists and commercial,” continues Groot. “I’m talking about the roster of additives that will help keep vehicles in good working order all year long. The garage benefits with an ongoing income stream through regular repeat purchase. And a healthy vehicle also means vastly improved fuel economy. So, these products deliver a big ROI for the motorist and fleet owner too.”
“The fact that motorists are ‘open to paying more for better-quality consumable items for their car, provided the benefits are explained to them first’ should be music to the ears of every technician. So, whilst this research is great news for the trade, workshops must act on it and fortune favours the fast! This means having conversations with a business like ours where the unerring focus is on delivering trade quality formulas. In the coming months we’re ramping up activities worldwide, talking to technicians in the 46 countries where we have strong distributor representation. Fundamentally it’s the responsibility of the workshop to promote the benefits of every product they recommend to their customers, so they want to use them in between workshop visits. If they can do this everyone wins,” concludes Groot.
