Author | Gary
Source | Auto Service World (ID: asworld168)
In recent years, if there are any dividends in the automotive aftermarket, Internet celebrity projects are one of them, such as the treatment of burning engine oil, rubber sleeve replacement, etc.
Things have changed this year.
Some time ago, a repair shop in Wuhan played the slogan of "688 for the treatment of burning engine oil", and finally rolled the price war to the Internet celebrity project.
In addition, gimmicks such as carbon deposition 288 and release piston ring 680 have also been common.
Although the above-mentioned price war phenomenon has been questioned by some industries, and there is a possibility that it is not worthy of the name, the Internet celebrity project in the automotive aftermarket is no longer the same at many levels, and many store owners have also expressed their determination not to do Internet celebrity projects.
The first-mover advantage behind the window period has gradually disappeared, and how long the Internet celebrity project can be popular is a topic worth thinking about.
1. Internet celebrity projects are caught in a price war
In the past few years, projects such as the treatment of burning engine oil and the replacement of rubber sleeves can be regarded as Internet celebrity projects in the automotive aftermarket.
On the one hand, these projects arise on online traffic platforms such as Douyin, and are often popularized by industry IPs; On the other hand, the project contains certain technical barriers, so the unit price is not low.
After several years of accumulation and the promotion of a number of training institutions, Internet celebrity projects have been seen everywhere on Douyin.
The accumulation of the supply side will inevitably cause fluctuations in the price system.
Some time ago, a repair shop in Wuhan hung out the price of 688 engine oil and 288 carbon with the slogan "A car repair master in Wuhan was driven crazy", which aroused some industry attention and discussion.
What exactly is this price?
Two years ago, the car service world interviewed a local chain in Xi'an, when the company will treat the burning of engine oil as a differentiated project of the store, the person in charge said: "Burning engine oil is not a simple point of the problem, but a comprehensive problem, the factors that cause the burning of engine oil may be 6-8 points, the price is basically 6000-8000 yuan." ”
This is the price system two years ago, the current market environment, from Douyin to see that a repair shop in Shanghai with the name of "free dismantling treatment of burning engine oil", the price of the four-cylinder engine is 2480 yuan, and the five-cylinder and six-cylinder correspond to 2980 yuan and 2680 yuan respectively, and its main focus is "no additional man-hour fees".
In addition, Liang Xiaoying, a columnist for Auto Service World, added that the price of carbon deposition packages is generally 500-1000 yuan, and the replacement of exhaust valves for German cars is 300-600 yuan, which is a lot lower than in previous years.
Columnist Huang Can also confirmed that the price of the treatment of burning engine oil is indeed very powerful, and now there is a way to play: "Some stores let car owners buy several maintenance, then the treatment of burning engine oil is free, in order to lock the future maintenance in the store." ”
In contrast, the 688 yuan treatment of burning engine oil can be said to be a step further, which is another form of price breakdown.
Of course, in the face of such a low price, there are also some doubts, an industry person said: "688 yuan feels like just working hours, and it should cost 3500-4000 yuan when all of them are calculated." ”
In this regard, the boss's reply was, "The final price depends on the specific problem, the release piston ring is 688 yuan, and the valve oil seal is not in the range of 688 yuan." ”
It is worth noting that there is no isolated case of controlling engine oil burning.
On Douyin, the release of piston ring 680, carbon 288, etc. can be seen everywhere, although there is no lack of certain unspoken rules, but the industry trend is very accurate: the price war has been swept up in the Internet celebrity project.
Second, the logic behind the rise
The rise of the post-auto Internet celebrity project is inseparable from the influence of three factors, one is the industry IP, the second is the rise of Douyin, and the third is the consumption concept of car owners.
In recent years, the highest perception of the industry should be the control of engine oil, this problem is common in German cars, essentially because of the sealing problem of the car's power system, resulting in the oil penetrating into the engine cylinder and participating in the combustion process with gasoline.
Long-term combustion of engine oil in the cylinder can lead to increased carbon deposits, decreased power, increased fuel consumption, etc., and at worst lead to engine damage or even scrapping.
Burning engine oil is a relatively common problem that can be light or heavy.
However, it is a troublesome process to control the burning of engine oil, because there are many factors that lead to the burning of engine oil, such as the aging of the valve oil seal, the oil pan gasket, the timing system gasket, the deformation of the radiator seat gasket, etc., and sometimes it is a mixture of multiple factors, which makes it difficult to completely solve the problem of burning the engine oil, and it is easy to repair after sale, and the general store is unwilling to do this project.
It is precisely because of the pain points and technical barriers in the industry at the same time that some individual IPs in the industry aim at this project and focus on the research and promotion of the project.
This is the first factor.
The second factor, of course, is inseparable from the driving role of Douyin.
Even if the technology is good, if it is still the original offline business logic within a three-kilometer range, it is difficult to break the circle, and it is impossible to build a so-called Internet celebrity project.
With the popularity of Douyin, around 2020, many people in the industry opened accounts on Douyin, mainly to repair and maintain car knowledge in the early days, and there is no current group purchase system, mainly through content to attract fans, and then use address navigation, bottom messages, etc., to attract car owners three kilometers away to the store.
In this process, burning engine oil is a common pain point in the industry, and it is easy to attract the attention of car owners, so a group of after-car Internet celebrities have become KOLs in this field and promote the project by taking advantage of the trend.
The third factor is also related to the change in the consumption concept of car owners.
For example, 90% of BMW's engine oil is caused by the aging of the valve oil seal, at this time, the store will recommend the use of oil seal activator to soften the valve oil seal and alleviate the phenomenon of burning engine oil.
From the perspective of car owners, as long as the seals and wearing parts are replaced, the potential engine overhaul can be avoided, which is a money-saving logic, which is obviously in line with the current trend of consumption rationalization.
Once it occupies the minds of car owners, the promotion of the project becomes relatively natural.
This is the core logic behind the rise of the Internet celebrity project after the automobile.
3. How long can the Internet celebrity project be popular?
However, after the past few years of market education and promotion, the progress of the after-car Internet celebrity project cannot be static, and it will inevitably usher in variables.
As mentioned above, price wars are the most obvious phenomenon.
With the spread of Douyin and the promotion of a number of training institutions, the so-called Internet celebrity project has also been popularized, and more and more stores have joined the competition.
Auto service stores in the automotive aftermarket are already crowded, with more individual participants and saturation of the supply side, which will inevitably lead to a decline in prices, and it is carried out in a way that directly lowers profits by half.
A store owner said: "There is a store near us, releasing piston rings 680, cleaning carbon 2 bottles 286, oil maintenance 480, adding up to about 1400, we charge 2500, and the owner does not follow the price when he hears it." ”
Beyond the surface of the price war, there are deeper reasons.
First of all, Douyin is the main position of the Internet celebrity project, and now the overall traffic decline is more obvious, and the reason is very simple:
These Internet celebrity projects with in-depth maintenance as the core, different from maintenance, are not rigid needs, and the overall business volume is limited.
Secondly, there are potential after-sales risks in influencer projects.
Taking the treatment of burning engine oil as an example, this project can only alleviate the problem, but cannot fundamentally solve the problem, and there are many problems in a car, which is not easy to solve at one time.
An industry source said that the treatment of burning engine oil is generally two years of life, and after a certain time, the problem is repeated, and after-sales disputes are likely to occur.
Third, after the popularization of the Internet celebrity project, customers have been screened again, therefore, some stores may have sluggish emotions and phenomena in operation and construction, which is why it is difficult to collect prices now, and those stores that have established standardized processes can collect prices.
In fact, price wars are often linked to low quality and low quality, resulting in a decline in the overall tonality of Internet celebrity projects, the collapse of reputation on the car owner's side, and the result of bad money driving out good money.
Finally, and more essentially.
At the beginning of the rise of the Internet celebrity project, it was questioned by a certain industry: its original intention was to avoid potential car repair or even overhaul risks through the maintenance of some areas of the vehicle.
An industry source said that some stores lack comprehensive diagnosis capabilities, and blindly pushing Internet celebrity projects to customers may be counterproductive, "Sometimes it should be repaired or repaired, and according to the actual situation, the problem of the vehicle is fundamentally solved." ”
On the whole, the current after-sales Internet celebrity project is facing many practical problems such as declining traffic, price competition, uneven service quality, and potential after-sales risks.
It can be said that the early first-mover advantage and existing customers are gradually being consumed, and how long the Internet celebrity project can be popular is a questionable topic.
Fourth, auto service stores should do a good job in the basic business?
While the Internet celebrity project is in full swing, in the past few years, it has continued to this day, and many stores have expressed their determination not to do Internet celebrity projects.
Some time ago, Auto Service World interviewed a special store in Shanghai, and the boss revealed that he was mainly worried about after-sales disputes in the Internet celebrity project, which would easily knock down the store's reputation, so he never did it.
In fact, many store owners now put forward such a point of view: it is better to do Internet celebrity projects than to do basic business.
Throughout the past few years, there are three main types of stores that have done well in the industry.
The first is to seize the dividends of Douyin, and win the window period on some projects, when the project still has a time difference, take the opportunity to earn a wave, Internet celebrity projects, old car maintenance, three films, etc. are more typical cases.
However, at a time when Douyin is becoming more and more popular, this kind of time difference is no longer feasible.
The second is to focus on very vertical areas, either vertical projects, vertical model brands, or vertical customer groups, and establish clear industry barriers, which are difficult for other players to enter, as was the case with the bow tie station, FCC, etc., which were reported in the early days of the automotive service world.
The third is to return to and stick to the base business, maintenance, repair, etc. are still the main projects of the store, but in the operation, management and other basic skills, with technology and services to stabilize the base of customers.
This year, Huasheng clearly proposed to return to and focus on the fuel vehicle business, and at the same time cultivate internal skills and improve internal operation capabilities.
In addition, some time ago, Auto Service World interviewed a comprehensive repair factory in Guangzhou, and even doubled the plant in 2022, which is characterized by a unique employee management mechanism, standard customer service process, and technical ability barriers.
Surprisingly winning, overtaking in corners...... These ideas are often of the nature of the times, and there are not many opportunities for them today.
The essence of car service is still reflected in every inspection, car wash, maintenance, repair and other businesses, which is also the car maintenance and repair needs of the vast majority of car owners.
An industry source concluded: "If the store can't even do a good job in the base business, let alone the so-called Internet celebrity projects and special projects." ”
In a slightly impetuous market environment, it may be a more pragmatic approach for auto service stores to settle down and cultivate internal strength.