During our discussions with Audi for last month’s EV servicing story, it was interesting to hear that their franchise dealers are already changing their servicing business model to future-proof against the upcoming growth of EV’s and the consequent reduction in servicing work – even though any significant reduction is still a few years into he future. In their case this involved bringing in-house work that in the past they might have used external suppliers for, such as supply and fitting tyres, repair and replacement of windscreens – including the ADAS recalibration work and minor paint and panel repairs.

When was the last time you sat down with some of your team and did some strategic thought/planning around the future of your business? What are the threats looking forward? Technology change is one – but so is other repairers opening in your area, or if you are in the paint and panel business, the growth of insurer-owned repairers. If a significant number of people keep working from home this may change the demographics for your customers (in a bad way if you are in a business area, but maybe in a good way if you are in a residential area). Once you look at the threats, also look at the opportunities. With more people working from home, what services would attract them – mobile repairs, pick-up and drop off etc. Even flexible drop-off times – if you are not driving to work then an early morning drop-off may not be as convenient. In strategic planning you look at four quadrants in what is termed a SWOT analysis – sounds scary but it is just listing out Strengths (of your business) Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. It’s actually a fairly easy exercise to do and may provide food for thought on the future plans for your business.

So maybe set aside some time and start SWOT(ing).