Car Crafters is an ABRN 2012 Top Shop

In 2011, when Albuquerque, N.M.-based Car Crafters was first named as a Top Shop, owner Jim Guthrie proved as elusive as a March hare when ABRN attempted to locate him for an interview. Guthrie could be excused for the disappearing act. The long-time racing enthusiast had just slammed into a wall while traveling over 200 MPH and nearly broken his neck.

He's healed up now, racing again and delving into fresh marketing ventures – some of them perilous in their own way – to keep business flowing into a recently expanded, cavernous 70,000-sq.-ft. shop.

When ABRN last spoke to Guthrie, he was adding 20,000 square feet of space to his 30-year-old business in order to add mechanical repairs. That addition was to be a significant piece of the shop Guthrie had always wanted – an ultra-lean, super efficient production facility where he could offer a full range of services, all under one roof. Along with mechanical work, the extra space provides extra-large doors where parts can be delivered then inventoried (particularly important due to the shop's isolated locale where sourcing parts can cause delays), along with a state-of-the-art laser wash system. It also includes an area devoted to race car fabrication.

Guthrie says the addition already is paying dividends. The shop can now more efficiently handle its parts business. It no longer has to send vehicles out for mechanical work and is building its own mechanical service business. The laser wash system has proven itself an absolute boon to the shop's cycle time.

"In a shop our size it wasn't odd for a number of cars to be finished at the end of the day, but they still needed washed, which means we couldn't return them until the next day," says Guthrie. "Now we can wash a car in five minutes and save a day of cycle time."

With business running smoothly and Car Crafters generating more than $12 million a year, Guthrie now spends 80 percent of his time running a speedway he purchased in February. This speedway, which recently hosted the NASCAR INEX Legends Qualifier Race, plays an important role in a strategy to market the shop to customers.

"It allows us to cross promote the shop," says Guthrie. "It's part of the out-of-the-box thinking we want to use to draw attention to the shop with things like car shows and community events."

That out-of-the-box thinking is showing up on the shop's website and social media in the form of "Car vs. Bike Drift Battle" videos where Guthrie has taken the wheel of the drift cars, which his shop built. This effort has helped Car Crafters' Facebook page collect seven times more followers than its closest competitor. The shop also regularly runs contests on its site and posts new content to keep viewers coming back. When they're away from their computer monitors, customers continue receiving messaging from the shop digital billboards throughout Albuquerque where the shop buys ad time.

"The younger generation likes being able to find us on the computer. They like the racing," says Guthrie. "We want to send the message that it's 'cool to go to Car Crafters."

The marketing also keeps the Car Crafters brand on the radar of potential customers. "If they need repairs and ask an insurer for suggestions and that insurer mentions four shops, hopefully they'll recognize us," says Guthrie.

The shop also uses some innovative marketing tools to build its business another way – internally. In 2012, Car Crafters hosted a SkillsUSA competition. Not only was it an effective way to drive interest in the repair industry, Guthrie says it gave his business the chance to meet talented industry newcomers from all over the state who might someday work at the shop. He's planning to host another competition in 2013.

Offering 28 weeks of I-CAR classes at the shop gives Car Crafters the opportunity to build its team. Guthrie and his staff have the opportunity to meet established, experienced local technicians who get the chance to size up the shop and consider whether it might be a part of their future. "We get to know them and what they can do, and they get to know us," he says.

Insurers also have the opportunity to get an up-close look at Car Crafters, thanks to the continuing education classes it provides to agents. This helps build insurer confidence in his services, according to Guthrie.

Considering how new much of the shop's marketing plan is, it's a bit too early to judge the effectiveness of each part. That doesn't bother Guthrie. He didn't build his business by always playing it safe. He understands that with any risk – whether it's using a race track to leverage customer interest or taking a 200 mph turn at that track – the key is to keep the accelerator down and to keep moving forward. Even if the worst happens, you walk away with a better idea of how to succeed the next time.

That's how Top Shops are built.