Documenting Damage: Make Sure Every Picture Tells a Story

One picture is worth a thousand words. That may be a cliché, but when it comes to documenting vehicle damage and repairs it should be the credo for every estimator and body shop. You want photos that support the estimate and provide irrefutable proof that the repairs were necessary and completed. To ensure you get the shots that clearly tell the story follow these best practices and tips.

 

As you point and shoot, keep in mind why good pictures matter:

• Pictures can make the difference between whether or not you get paid for the repairs. Look at your photos from the insurer’s point of view. Ask yourself: If you had to base your decision on the photos alone, without a written estimate, would you pay the bill?


• Your estimates may be letter perfect, but it’s the quality of your photographic documentation that will save you in a DRP program audit.

Invest in the right tools to get the best pictures:

• Don’t depend on a cell phone camera or cheap disposables. Get one with macro lens ability so you can capture close-ups. Cell phone cameras can’t get you much closer than 9 to 12 inches, which often isn’t adequate to show mechanical damage. A macro lens puts your focal length within an inch. That’s critical in tight spaces like the engine compartment.


• Choose a camera with built-in flash, decent battery life, adequate built-in storage capacity and the ability to accept SD memory cards for additional storage.


• Cameras used in shop environments get dropped. You want a sturdy camera that can stand up to real life conditions.


• Look for easy uploading capability.


• Consider an estimate photo management system. The best systems allow you to automatically link vehicle photos to the correct repair order or estimate, eliminating the manual upload process.

Get the best shots with these professional tips:

• Stay out of the shot. Use the viewfinder to make certain you or your fingers aren’t part of the picture. Stand to one side with the camera at eye level to the damage. If you need to call something out, use a pointer.


• To indicate hard-to-see dents on dark finishes, use graph paper.


• Avoid overexposure and blown-out photos. Turn off the auto flash or use a secondary light source to override it. LED lights are especially good for shooting inside a dark area like the engine compartment. Remember, the picture in the viewfinder may appear overly dark, but will usually lighten up when viewed on a monitor screen. You can always edit the brightness later, although it may not be acceptable as legal documentation. If possible, review the original shot on a monitor and reshoot if necessary under better lighting conditions.


• Use tools like gap gauges and rulers to show scale and extent of damage. When possible, take a shot of the same undamaged part on the vehicle for contrast.


• Take the time needed to get the right shots the first time. It will save your time and money later.

Take all the shots needed to tell the whole story:

• Every U.S. state has different requirements for photographic damage documentation. Familiarize yourself with the laws of your state.


• At minimum, get all four corners of the vehicle--full front, full rear, full left and full right--or as many of those as possible given the vehicle’s location and condition following the accident.


• Get shots of the license plate, the publicly visible VIN in the window, the VIN sticker (usually on the door post or inside the glove box), the mileage on the odometer and the model emblem to help identify standard equipment.


• Now go for the damage detail shots, following your written estimate protocol. Take these from several focal lengths including macro.
  For the best pictures, shoot so the lens is eye level with the damage.


• Remember to take before and after shots that show the damaged part removed from the vehicle and the new part installed.


• Review all your shots before uploading. Do they tell the story you want to tell? Would you be willing to pay for the repairs based on the pictures? If not, reshoot.

Our Solution: RepairCenter™ FastPhoto Manager
Mitchell’s RepairCenter™ FastPhoto Manager is a powerful, easy-to-use tool that integrates seamlessly within the RepairCenter Shop solution and other popular business management systems. It includes a ruggedized digital camera, which can be purchased as a standalone.

The camera is designed for demanding field and shop conditions, and features an on-screen menu of pre-programmed states documents and time-stamps photos from intake to delivery. 

FastPhoto’s barcode technology automatically links your photos to your repair order or estimate, and instantly sorts, sizes, and loads them wirelessly for secure, easy sharing with customers and carriers.

Photos can be accessed from anywhere, making this an ideal solution for shops with multiple locations. FastPhoto Manager also includes online support.


Save time and money with this special FastPhoto offer!
For a limited time, when you purchase the basic FastPhoto hardware kit with software and server, you'll get all cameras at 50% off. Call a Mitchell sales rep for more information at 1-866-639-7075 or contact us today to schedule a free online demo.

5 Local Online Search Tactics All Shops (That Care About Consumers) Must Employ in 2015

Statistics tell us that 86% of consumers perform an online search and 88% check out online reviews prior to purchasing a product or service from a local business.

Even collision repair shops that think they know everyone in their town are held to the fact that, increasingly, most buying decisions start out with an online search!

The category of local search engine optimization (local SEO) has picked up steam over the last few years as search behavior combined with the rapid growth of smart phone use created a truly mobile search consumer.

Local SEO is the process of optimizing your website so that you can gain higher local search rankings. Over a third of all searches in 2015 will be local and when you include non geo-targeted keywords that trigger local results, the number nears 50%!

As Google continues to gain a better understanding of users search intent they are going to show local results for more non-location specific search terms as well, making local search the leading type.

This means searching a phrase like "best auto body shops" could return local businesses mixed in with the organic results. The bottom line? If you have a business that can service local customers or has a physical address, you need to be optimizing for local search.

Below are five local search tactics that demand your attention today if you are a local oriented business.

Get the NAP right

NAP stands for Name, Address and Phone. Obviously, the search engines want to make sure that when someone is looking for a local business there's no ambiguity around what and where the business is.

Google depends upon list and data compilers to make sure this information is accurate and up to date. If you've been in business more than a few months there's a good chance your business is in one or more of the directories that Google depends on. However, in addition to adding business to these directories, you must make certain that the information is correct and consistent.

Local profiles matter

Profiles in social, local and review sites such as Yelp, Google+, Yahoo Local, and dozens of others can be a great place to add lots of local information about your business.

While many people are familiar with the more popular networks such as Google+ and Facebook, there are other important directories (~ 50) that might help in giving your local business an edge.

Localize your content

Many people forget to consider their web content and make sure that they are adding localized content where it makes sense. Obvious things like listing the local communities and suburb names you service as well as maps with directions are a must. You might also consider adding a community calendar and blogging about events that happen in your town.

The Yoast Local SEO Plugin is an invaluable tool for optimizing content on WordPress sites. Consider adding location specific, individual landing pages where you might have content specific to a suburb, town or even neighborhood.

Reviews drive local trust and better search engine results

As I mentioned earlier, 88% of consumers check out online reviews prior to purchasing a product or service from a local company. Reviews are one of the many ranking factors Google throws into what businesses show up for a local search.

If you search on a term like "Auto Body Shop" and Google thinks you are in say, Kansas City, you are going to see a list of Kansas City-based auto body shops.

If you do this search yourself take note of the fact that all of the local pages listed also have Google+ Pages associated and while not all have reviews, the ones that do certainly stand out. Our experience tells us that a shop with 25 or more Google+ reviews will, almost certainly have a spot on the first search page!

Your shop must get serious about collecting reviews! Tools like Mitchell's Digital Marketing platform can help your shop request, capture and share reviews on most major review sites, your website and your Facebook page.

SoLoMo (short for social-local-mobile)

Don't forget to add to your overall local approach by localizing much of your social media activity. As mentioned above, your profiles are a great place to start, but you can go beyond that as you post new content and updates.

Think about ways to curate local content to share in social media. GeoTarget your social media advertising with local personalization.

Find and use popular localized hashtags. See if anyone has created local Twitter lists of influencers you can tap into.

When you work consistently on the local search tactics outlined above you can expect to gradually start raising your local search profile to the point where Google may become your greatest source of leads.

Need help with you local search optimization? Capturing, managing and sharing online reviews? Need a new website? Want to start an email based newsletter? Need help with your social media marketing?Want more information?

Call us at 1-866-639-7075 or contact us for a quick demo of our Digital Marketing platform, a marketing automation system designed exclusively for collision repair shops.

Read More about Digital Marketing:
•    50 Most Important Stats for your 2015 Auto Body Shop Business Strategy
•    Digital Marketing Product Overview
•    Digital Marketing Product Video on YouTube
•    Request a 5-minute Demo of Digital Marketing

Wish your Customers a Happy New Year with New Years’ Resolutions for Every Responsible Car Owner

It’s hard to believe that it’s 2015! Every year, we ask ourselves: Where did the year go?!

Just like you, your shop customers will be making a New Years’ Resolution that (hopefully) they can keep. Help them achieve success with attainable goals that will keep them driving in style and maybe generate more revenue for you. How? Send them an email with a list of new years’ resolutions for responsible car owners like them.

Mitchell’s Digital Marketing is a Sales and Marketing Automation platform that includes a powerful email marketing engine. With it, you can not only send out email blasts to all of your customers, but you can even segment them by vehicle make, model and year. Imagine how pleasantly surprised your customers will be to receive a helpful list of ways to help them better care for their unique vehicle in 2015. Most likely, they’ll be delighted enough to bring their car in for a detail or other service by your skilled auto body repair technicians.

Here’s an example of an email template available via our Digital Marketing platform. In addition to easily branding all your emails like this one, you’ll find pre-written content for educating customers, example templates to create special deals or promotions, and fun newsletters, thank you cards, and holiday greetings. These emails designed and written exclusively for your auto body shop business are available through Digital Marketing at no additional cost.

  

Happy New Year from all of us at Mitchell International!

Read More about Digital Marketing:
•    50 Most Important Stats for your 2015 Auto Body Shop Business Strategy
•    Digital Marketing Product Overview
•    Digital Marketing Product Video on YouTube
•    Request a 5-minute Demo of Digital Marketing