In an industry where some people still prefer fax over email, Jason Allan, co-founder at Smash Repair Bid; a website which allows you to get multiple quotes for smash repairs; says hitting the phones and being persistent has paid off.
The Smash Repair Bid website allows people upload photos of the damage to their car. These photos, plus a description of the damage, are sent to smash repairers, who can put forward a quote to do the work.
“I had the experience last year of crashing my car; someone ran into me,” says Allan.
“I wanted a (smash repair) shop I could trust, so I knew I’d have to take time off work to drive around and get quotes. It’s a hassle because people are pretty time poor these days.”
Allan has been working with his brother Trent (co-founder and CTO) on the site since March this year. The startup is based out of the Fishburners space in Sydney. Allan says they’ve now commissioned more than $30,000 of work and have 50 smash repairers in Sydney providing quotes.
The pair are looking to scale soon and hope to raise a six-figure funding round. This will allow them to recruit staff, improve the website and start operating in other cities in Australia.
Acquiring customers – what works?
Tracking down a good smash repairer is the sort of thing you only think about when you need to. As a result, marketing can be a little more difficult. Having tried a bunch of marketing channels, Allan says paid search optimisation has proven most effective.
They engaged an “adwords guy” who has helped reduce their cost per lead from $35 to $24. Allan says they’ve seen better quality leads and conversion has also increased, from around 40% to 50%.
Allan says he couldn’t have predicted the customers who have found the site most useful. He gives a breakdown of the profiles:
- People who speak English as a second language. Around 60% of customers fit this profile. Allan attributes it to this group not having insurance or perhaps minimum coverage. It’s also easier to compare smash repairers industry online, particularly if you don’t know a great deal about cars;
- Mothers/career women. Accounting for around 30% of customers, this is a group which is time-poor and find it easier to get quotes online. It also means they can check feedback on each smash repairer before choosing;
- P-platers with a damaged ride. P-platers who have damaged their car are the other major group using the site.
Building a marketplace
Securing customers before suppliers was a good move, says Allan: “we got customers and then went to shops.”
He says that other marketplaces worry about getting suppliers first, but in this case the opposite helped look in the smash repairers. The reason? Allan says the ones that responded could “see the value of it”, because there was work already available.
“Someone would email through a job in a new area, and I’d go to the shops and get quotes.”
Customer service tools to try…
When you’re communicating with both suppliers and customers, getting systems in order is important. Smash Repair Bid use a couple tools to keep track of their customer enquiries. Smartr is a Gmail plugin which filters your emails and identifies people and their social networks so you know who you are talking to. Streak, a CRM that works alongside your email inbox, is another “good tool for startups”, says Allan.