Who do auto glass manufacturers market to. . .or do they?
Recently I went shopping for new tires. While doing so, it crossed my mind that tire shops aren’t terribly different from auto glass shops, or are they? Since I’ve spent many years serving an auto glass client base, I’m particularly interested in new ways to do things and emulating what works for other markets when it looks like a good fit for auto glass. To make a long story short, well shorter…here’s a quick observation that came to me while sitting in the tire store waiting room, drinking my hot, fresh coffee made just 4 or 5 days earlier.
When it’s time to buy new tires for our cars, most of us walk into the local tire store and choose a set of tires based on our own knowledge of which brands are best, the information shared by the resident tire expert and price. Which has the most impact on our decision-making process? Our own perceptions tend to weigh heavily on which brand we choose, even when the price is slightly higher. How do we gather this “product knowledge”. . .mostly from marketing driven tire manufacturers who market to consumers. Does it work? Absolutely. Most of us can name three tire manufacturers without hestitation.
However this is where the auto glass retail business tends to differ. Consumers seldom request a specific brand of windshield, fact is most of us don’t even know what’s in our car, nor do we know who the original equipment manufacturers are, or the importance. Armed with only price as our “auto glass product knowledge base” which brand do we choose? Why don’t we know which windshield is better?
Consumer awareness of OEM auto glass manufacturers is almost non-existent. Try finding any video clips on YouTube that relate to OEM auto glass manufacturers and you’ll find nothing. Look for auto glass repair and you’ll find retail glass shops working hard to market themselves and the benefits of high quality, OEM replacement auto glass.
If auto glass manufacturers took a more active role in marketing their product to the consumer, this industry might not be so price driven. Consumers would request the brands they know and trust. Glass shops would stock the brands consumers request. As the industry moves toward a “cash and carry” business, auto glass manufacturers need to take a more active role in marketing to the consumer.
With the prevelance of information available via the internet, and the low cost to develop a strong internet marketing strategy, it baffles me why auto glass manufacturers are not utilizing this medium to increase brand awareness with the consumer.
