CarServ is one of its kind mobile applications that will bridge gaps that exist between every-drivers and owner of repair and maintenance services. the application is being released to the general public shortly, to build trusting relationships with customers, other businesses, as well as car companies.
Executive Summary
If you are someone who struggles with getting to the nearest repair shop in your area, CarServ has a solution for your problems. With mechanical failures being among the top reasons for road accidents, drivers must have a tool that will show them a path to the nearest service station to them. CarServ will develop a convenient mobile application that will connect drivers to affordable quality care services and maintenance.
Currently, there is a gap between car drivers and garage service businesses. When there are mechanical issues, many drivers cannot get to the nearest service station due to the lack of coverage as well as wrong directions of faulty mobile service. However, CarServ can fix that with its easy-to-use interface and the coverage of all reputable service stations, so car drivers that have issues with mechanics can get their vehicles fixed in no time at all.
Service and maintenance stations in your area will be shown on the map that would include price details for car makes and models. Regular users will download the application for free, although for premium versions and updates, customers will be required to pay a fee.
The primary sources of income will include in-application ads and premium service charges. However, the greatest advantage of CarServ will be its focus on building relationships with customers, garage service owners, and car brands. Win-win connections with garage service businesses are the primary focus for CarServ: while business owners will get coverage by being included in the app, CarServ will get promoted by garage services through their recommendations. Currently, the application is in its final stages of development, so it will ‘see the light’ very soon and start bringing benefit to drivers around the country.
Problem/Opportunity
With the advancements in modern technologies, there is a great variety of apps that can either help track weight or remind users of water plants. However, when it comes to the pain of not knowing what broke down in your car, there is a shortage of mobile apps that could be helpful. Imagine that you are on your way to a sunny location near the ocean, you are speeding on the highway, but then, your car starts to slow down, with the engine making strange noises. You don’t know what to do you start panicking… But wait, you remember that you have recently downloaded CarServ, an application that will show you the nearest car service center that will fix your problem.
According to the research conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration of the United States, there are top 5 mechanical failures of automobiles that can cause car accidents. As mentioned in the research, a tire problem causes approximately 35% (+-11%) of vehicle crashes; brake issues cause about 22%, and suspension and steering problems account for 3% of car accidents. Therefore, if drivers had easier access to the locations of car repair services or car parts shops close to them, it would be possible to avoid crashes.
Therefore, the opportunities for developing a mobile app that will gather information about repair shops and service centers are vast. Moreover, if the application has a built-in profile for users to enter useful car details such as the date of next service or the date when tires were last changed, it will be even more helpful for an everyday driver who would like to keep a watchful eye on their car’s operation and stay away from preventable mechanical failures.
Another opportunity for CarServ to grow its business is associated with the lack of similar applications that provide information about the nearest garage service businesses. While there are apps that show locations of gas stations or show barriers on the road that drivers should avoid, there are not many apps that offer users information that could be instrumental in quickly getting their rides back on the road.
Unfair Advantage
By now, the readers of this plan may come up with a question such as “what differentiates CarServ from other apps that can show directions to a nearest car repair shop?” the answer to this is easy: the app is relatively inexpensive compared to others. The problem of many applications is that they are too expensive for everyday users, especially those that are not proficient enough in technologies. Furthermore, the app is mutually beneficial, which means that both customers and businesses gain a certain advantage: customers get an affordable service that will resolve their car problems while businesses get a promotion of their services and thus an increased flow of clients.
Among the components of the competitive advantage of CarServ is the strengthening of relationships with owners of car service shops. Such relationships are particularly useful in terms of gathering information about the available services, as well as providing them with more coverage and advertisement. CarServ is the first application on the market that will connect businesses and customers. Because it is very easy to use, the application will create a strong awareness of firms that offer repair services and develop a strong customer base that will make CarServ the go-to app of its kind.
Thus, the development of strong relationships between businesses and their customer is the strongest point of CarServ since it aims to bring benefit to those receiving and those providing repair services.
Sales and Marketing
Since the CarServ app is directly related to the world of technology, sales, and marketing tactics will also be associated with technologies. Online advertisements such as Google Ads, in-app ads, and promotions on Apple Store and Google play will become primary focuses to spread awareness of CarServ to a broad audience. Social media is another powerful tool for achieving this objective, along with radio networks to cater to those people that do not interact with Internet-related platforms regularly.
Building relationships and acquiring contacts with major car brands is another component of the promotion strategy. By establishing close connections, CarServ will provide advertisements for car brands inside the application while car brands will promote the app to its customers. Such a win-win interconnection will ensure the increased flow of clients to and from different sources: while brands such as Toyota, Audi, Mercedes, and others will get promoted with the help of CarServ, the application will gain tremendous competitive advantage from being recommended by the top car brands in different countries.
It is expected that the same win-win model will be applied to the relationships with service center owners that also require some advertisement, especially those that lose customers due to the lack of coverage. It is beneficial for service stations, the addresses of which will be placed on a map for better convenience of customers whose vehicles have broken down.
Competition
In the market of mobile applications that are trying to capture the attention of thousands of customers around the world, competition is always on the rise. For this reason, CarServ must know its competitors to ensure that the application has more advantages and captures larger audiences based on what other businesses can bring to the table. Moreover, with the ongoing competition in the sphere of apps, CarServ has an opportunity to prove that it is viable, beneficial for prospective customers, and potentially profitable.
Among possible competitors of CarServ, GasBuddy (free), iOnRoad ($4.99), iWrecked (free), Torque Pro ($4.95), and Reach Unlimited (free) are the most prominent due to their rising popularity. For instance, Reach Unlimited is an application that allows drivers to see speed traps, accidents, road hazards, traffic jams, and other barriers that can make car rides uncomfortable. Although the purpose of this app is not the same as CarServ, it operates on the same principle – showing users a map with the locations of the nearest barriers. Another example is the GasBuddy app that shows locations of the nearest gas stations along with prices for the convenience of drivers, which is also similar to what CarServ does.
Nevertheless, the selection of apps that specifically show repair shops and service stations on the map is very limited, with MeriCAR being one of the most popular, although the reviews of it cannot be considered excellent. Dubizzle and Yellow Pages have also delved into the world of applications and thus present the greatest competition for CarServ. Dubbizle is a popular marketplace for customers to post ads. However, it cannot include a display of services including prices by model, which is an advantage for CarServ.
While Yellow Pages offers direct access to all garage businesses, it does not possess up-to-date information. With regards to competition that is not concerned with the market for mobile applications, dealerships offer access to a large database of customers and offer guarantees; however, the advantage of CarServ over dealerships is that the application offers many substitutes for services based on locations and prices.
Therefore, there is a tremendous opportunity for CarServ to capture a great share of the market since there are not many applications that focus on helping drivers with broken-down vehicles to get to the nearest service station. It is important for CarServ to analyze the strengths of competitors, for instance, by following the example of GasBuddy, the app will include prices for the most popular services at stations and repair shops by car makes and models so the users would make decisions based on the affordability and the proximity of stations located on the map.
Business Model
It has been initially planned that the greatest share of the revenue for the CarServ application will be generated through in-app advertisement as well as fees for premium subscriptions (while general users will get the basic version of the app for free, those interested in widening the selection of app options will be paying an upgrade price). The in-app advertisement is another way for CarServ to generate revenue: by getting paid for placing ads for other businesses inside the application, CarServ will build a large base of customers interested in promoting themselves through CarServ. In-application advertisements will rise in price as CarServ starts gaining more clients and thus generating more traffic.
In-application advertisements are displayed with the mobile app and can include banners or even more advanced auto-play videos or sponsored Facebook or Twitter posts. While it is hard to make a forecast about which format will be the most effective, the success of in-app as will depend on the goals of businesses and the results of trials. For instance, if a business has no brand recognition, video ads will be the most effective.
Getting paid for doing a marketing job is something that predominantly marketing companies tend to do; however, because CarServ is planning to establish close connections with car companies and owners of repair shops, it is expected that both parties will be interested in mutual marketing efforts targeted at achieving a win-win scenario when it comes to promoting parties engaged in a business relationship.
On the other end of the spectrum, CarServ will still have to spend costs on marketing when it comes to promoting the application online. Google Ads and other platforms will require a substantial payment for advertisement placement.
Forecast
With the current situation on the market of applications and difficulties with kickstarting a successful business from the very beginning, it is expected that the first two years of CarServ operations will not be profitable, and the profits for the third year will be equal to zero. Nevertheless, years four and five are expected to bring profit to the firm, although, the forecasts can be false and CarServ could start being profitable from the second year.
Because the app will be predominantly free for regular users (excluding premium upgrades), CarServ should build a loyal customer basis to attain profit from in-app ads paid for by other brands. This means that the number of downloads will directly impact the establishment of relationships with companies that will advertise their products and services with the help of the app.
In the table above, the first two rows show how many customers and employees CarServ will need to develop and expand its business – the more downloads, the more employees are needed. The last three rows show the forecasted sales, expenses, and profits. As already mentioned, it is expected that the fourth year will start bringing profit; however, it is important to remember that if the team is effective during the first year and the app gets more downloads than expected, the profits can be zero in the second year.
Team
The initial team of CarServ will include app developers, promoters, and the head of the marketing department as these three categories of workers will be able to kickstart the application and introduce it to the first group of potential customers. Application developers will be responsible for creating the app’s interface as well as be in charge of its maintenance. Developers will work closely with freelance computer analysts and engineers to use Java, ORACLE, or C++ languages for creating the necessary software specifications. Also, their role will include testing, debugging, and improving general faults inside the app.
The job of the head of marketing will consist of making sure that CarServ gets the best possible exposure; furthermore, this team member will be responsible for engaging the general public to follow CarServ on social media, stay up to date with upgrades, as well as leave feedback. The Head of Marketing will provide service leadership associated with the sphere of marketing and communications, ensure that the services are delivered efficiently and consistently, and play an important role in the process of problem-solving and decision-making.
Lastly, promoters will play a defining role in establishing close and trusting relationships with repair service businesses and customers to expand the networks and offer prospective customers exclusive deals. Promoters will also participate in conventions where they will demonstrate the benefits of CarServ to customers as well as businesses interested in paying for in-app advertisements.
The greatest advantage of CarServ’s deal is the fact that every player will be working towards developing a platform that will unite businesses and customers for the sake of a common goal. Grounding both marketing and sales efforts based on trusting relationships between CarServ, other businesses, and customers is a way towards widening the coverage and spreading awareness, which is a tool to success.
Status and Milestones
CarServ is expected to be the first mobile application that will bridge the gap between customers and businesses. Since car maintenance and repair are key to ensuring safety and smooth driving, offering drivers a platform that will help them get the closest and the most affordable repair services is a useful task that will be received with amicability. Even though the first milestone of CarServ will be launching the application, the real milestone will be achieved when the first driver with a flat tire or a suspension issue gets to the nearest service station with the help of CarServ.
The market for mobile applications is currently growing with every day, and opportunities for businesses are vast despite competition. As CarServ is one of its kind applications for modern drivers, it expects to achieve a high standard of relationships with customers, car brands, and repair shops. While CarServ will start in the United Arab Emirates, it will expand to Europe and Asia by creating connections with trustworthy garage owners and car companies.
Among other milestones, CarServ is planning to first cover service stations in Dubai and then breaching the entire UAE market. Next, CarServ will expand its coverage to include other services such as tire shops, auto parts shops, and include smart services for premium users such as trackers for maintenance schedules.
Currently, CarServ is in its last stages of development and is expected to launch to the general public very soon. Overall, the presentation of CarServ has shown that mechanical failures in cars present a massive challenge to drivers in any part of the world, and developing a tool for eliminating that challenge is a business opportunity in which it is worth to invest. As there already are mobile applications that help drivers navigate to the nearest gas stations or avoid traffic and closed roads, it makes sense to introduce a real problem-solving tool that will bridge gaps between car drivers and garage service owners.