2020_ADN_V5_No3_web

THE BUSINESS OF
DETAILING
What Type of
Detailer
Do I Want to Be?
By Rob Schruefer
rob@onspotdetailing.com
Every person who opens a detailing shop,
or is mobile, has to decide what type of detailer
they want to be. I am not talking about how
they will be as a person, I am talking about who
the target market is for their business. Within
the detailing community there are several
“types” of detailers (in no particular order):
✔ Car wash/Express
✔ High-end boutique
✔ Commercial, and
✔ Production
For years, on forums and Facebook, some
of these factions have been negative towards
one another. There seems to be a segment of
the detailing world that thinks if you are not
doing high-end paint corrections and coatings
you are not a real detailer, and that there is
no money to be made. I can tell you, from
someone who does not limit themselves to
a single category, that this is absolutely false.
Every segment of the detailing industry can
be profitable and can create the base for your
business. In this article we will explore the different
options and avenues that a detailer has
when they are deciding what type of detailer
they want to be.
Car Wash/
Express Detailer
This segment is given the
hardest time, but the reality is
it is where most of us got our
start. The detailing industry’s low
cost of entry creates a new flock of
express detailers every year, so it is important
to separate out the “bucket brigade”
as they are sometimes called, from
the professional detailers who just focus
on the more economical end of the detailing
world. There are a lot of vehicle
owners that just could never wrap their
head around spending thousands of dollars
to have their vehicle cleaned. The
express detailer lives in the $60-$300 detail
realm, and this is also where the vast
majority of residential
detailing customers
exist. An
experienced detailer
can service
between 3-10
of these customers
a day depending
on what service they are
providing. Regular and maintenance customers
also make up a large amount of
the sales. Since these customers can also
be serviced in a detailing shop or with a
mobile unit, the ability to scale your business
is completely based on your drive
and ambition. The downside to this type
of detailing is that it is weather/season
dependent, and it requires a constant
flow of customers to make sense.
High End/Boutique
The high-end market is where
every detailer aspires to be when
they start out in their detailing
journey. This is the glamorous side
of detailing that makes for great
pictures and industry fame. The volume
is low, but the average ticket price
is high, sometimes very high. A single
detail can run well into the thousands
and may take days to complete. There
is also the added advantage of working
on Ferraris, and not filthy minivans. It
takes years of experience to break into
this category, and even more to establish
the reputation for customers to trust you
to spend that kind of money. High-end
detailing also requires very few or any
additional detailers
to function.
The work can
be done by
you, or one
or two other
trusted employees.
This keeps the
profit of the business
high without having to strive for huge
revenue numbers. The downside is the
length of time it takes to establish yourself
at this level. There are far fewer of
these clients to go around, so they can be
harder to get even when you have been
established for a while.
24 | AUTO DETAILING NEWS | VOL. 5, NO. 3 • FALL 2020