New Capricorn online resource places your own business mentor at your fingertips.
Australasia’s largest automotive cooperative, Capricorn, introduces another benefit designed to assist the growth and development of Members’ businesses.
There is no doubt that given the challenges faced across Australia and New Zealand by the COVID-19 pandemic, all business owners and their staff have a newfound appreciation for the speed of disruption and the direct impacts of this to their business stability and growth.
Capricorn is assisting its Members to navigate through this challenging period by launching an online resource that provides wide-ranging content for all stages of business.
CapHub is a content portal providing easy access to valuable expert business tips and advice, automotive workshop hacks and important industry data to help develop and improve your business.
CapHub also includes a highly researched snapshot of the auto repair industry from the perspective of Members. The ‘Capricorn State of the Nation Report 2020’ is the culmination of Capricorn’s most substantial research project ever undertaken. The landmark report combines feedback from over 1,500 automotive workshop owners and operators located across Australia and New Zealand, to provide a range of insights on the industry, by the industry, for your workshop.
According to Capricorn Group CEO David Fraser, “Capricorn is always looking for more ways to support our Members to strengthen their businesses. This is especially important as we recover from the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.”
“In response to our Members telling us that they want to spend less time working in their workshops and more time working on their workshops, we are sure that this detailed report will enable direct comparisons and outline areas for improvement,” Mr Fraser stated.
This new Capricorn online business resource includes a variety of regularly updated automotive aftermarket business relevant articles and information within the Business section, while the Customer section has been designed to assist your business to attract, retain and engage with your valued clients. An Industry section provides instant access to a range of reports and event information to keep your business connected to key support information and activities.
Some examples of the business support now available from CapHub include seven tips to improve cashflow, how creating a great culture can transform your business and tough decisions: short term pain for long term gain. Using social media to enhance your customer service, what signals you may be giving to customers about your workshop and customer experience being your optimum marketing tools, are all current CapHub topics covered for the Customers section. These are joined by industry highlight features such as ensuring that your workshop is future-proof and protecting your business from cyber-crime.
The Capricorn State of the Nation 2020 Report enables Capricorn Members to compare their business’ efficiencies and concerns with their colleagues through easy to understand data analysis. It covers a total of 46 pages including proportionately equal Capricorn Member feedback from all Australian states and New Zealand. 69% of Members own and operate mechanical workshops, 10% are panel repairers, 5% auto electricians, 5% mobile mechanics, 3% tyre and suspension specialists, and the remaining fitting into other automotive categories. This ensured that the information gained from this report came from a vast range of Capricorn businesses of all types and sizes, providing a snapshot of the automotive aftermarket industry.
The Capricorn State of the Nation Report features easy to read sections relating to the total Member survey data gained. These sections include Confidence, Challenges, Perceptions of Success, Efficiency, Our Customers, Know Your Value, Parts Pricing, Technology, The Future, Apprentices, Staff Rates, Experience and Training, Succession and Future Planning and a set of General Recommendations.
“This is a relevant report on the industry, by the industry. This is not assumed data; it is real information from real Capricorn Members across Australia and New Zealand. I encourage Members to benchmark their own business performance compared to their automotive aftermarket industry colleagues. It is not a report to leave on a shelf. It’s a resource that will guide us all towards a more successful future,” Mr Fraser stated.
“If there is one major factor that stands out from the findings of this report, it is the optimism of Capricorn Members for the future. This is a future that we will be directly alongside our Members for – because as the success of our cooperative has shown across nearly five decades, we are always stronger together,” Mr Fraser added.
Capricorn Members and non- members are welcome to access the new CapHub content portal and Capricorn State of the Nation Report from the Capricorn website at www.capricorn.coop/caphub