A marketing powerhouse

Jan. 1, 2020
Another Arizona company strikes gold in the Top Shops contest
There must be something in the water in Arizona that creates top shops. Last year’s winner, Auto Body World, makes it home in the Grand Canyon State, as does 2009 contest finalist O’Rielly’s Collision Center, which landed in the top 10 again this year, along with three other Arizona-based shops.
Owner Chuck Danielson credits his wife and team with his company’s recent accomplishments, which includes several top company and business awards in 2010 alone. Click here for more photos.

While this could be a coincidence, Chuck Danielson, owner of 2010 finalist Mesa, Ariz.-based Invision Auto Body, suggests otherwise. He says the competition between these shops, or just their awareness of each other, might be driving the trend of excellence. In any case, standing toe to toe with these top-tier businesses – or standing apart from them – isn’t easy. Invision manages both these feats, in large part, with an industry-leading marketing program that helps drive more than $5 million of business into its work bays each year.

Marketing is a top priority at Invision – as would be expected because of the company’s success with it. Danielson’s wife, Leslie, runs the marketing program. The company employs two full-time marketing representatives who work with customers in the field and represent Invision in the community. The company’s marketing begins with reaching out to the insurance community.

To manage its insurer relations best, the company classifies insurance agent customers by company and geographic location. It uses a service called Salesforce.com to organize calling efforts. Another service, Constant Contact, delivers company messages between personal visits and distributes special company news and announcements. Top producing insurance agencies are delivered special lunches. On special occasions, the company puts together goodie baskets with granola and fresh fruit and drops them off to insurance agents.

Community involvement is another other key part of Invision’s marketing. The company is a member of the Gilbert and Mesa Chambers of Commerce and sponsors the Mesa chapter’s annual chamber golf tournament. It’s an exhibitor in the East Valley Expo and is a Winter Visitors Expo Title sponsor. It participates in the Recycled Rides and the NASCAR Angels program and sponsors local high school sports. It also sponsors a professional Sprint Car team and is involved in education, sponsoring Ford AAA Student Auto Skills and the Arizona Skills USA Championships Collision competition. On state and nationwide levels, the company is involved with NABC, ASA and I-CAR.

A large picture window in Invision’s waiting area allows customers to see work being performed on their vehicles. Click here for more photos.

If potential customers aren’t already aware of Invision’s community investment, its website features news and information about the company. State-of-the art technology allows the site to broadcast a host of modern features – including YouTube videos and links to the company’s Facebook page and other social networking sites – to viewers more effectively.

Customers who visit the company are greeted immediately with another marketing effort – a new, professionally designed corporate logo and color scheme. The company invested in the logo, which appears on t-shirts, polos, hats and uniforms, to help differentiate itself from the competition. It’s also part of the advertising scheme for Hosford Racing, the professional Sprint Car team the company sponsors. Helping garner the company even more attention, the logo is featured on bottled water made available to customers at the company and at special events it supports.
Painter Andy Helsel work’s in one of the business’s two paint booths. Click here for more photos.

To create further buzz, the company has built a reputation of taking on unique projects where it can leverage its services and raise awareness of the business. Invision has produced a number of award-winning restoration projects. Some take it well outside the auto industry. The company has provided custom paint jobs on Harley tanks and pedestals of the Hard Rock casinos. Recently, the company painted a replica P51 Mustang for a retired WWII pilot.

As if all these efforts weren’t enough, Invision receives plenty of attention via good, old-fashioned word-of-mouth advertizing. More than 85 percent of its business comes from repeat business or those brought in by referrals. So far in 2010, the company has received a 100-percent satisfaction rating from the customer exit surveys it conducts. It also maintains an A+ rating with the BBB.

These accomplishments are catching the eye of the business community. Being named an ABRN 2010 top shop is just one in a list of recent honors. In 2009, Invision received the AutocheX Customer Satisfaction Premier Achiever Award (one of two shops in Arizona). In 2009 and 2010, the company collected the AAA Top Company Award. In 2010, the Mesa Chamber of Commerce recognized Invision as Business of the Year.

Ironically, for all of his company’s accomplishments, Danielson remains rather low key about the matter. When asked about the key to running such a well-respected company, he quietly jokes, “It’s a trade secret.” He passes the credit onto his staff and, in particular, his wife, Leslie, who also oversees the company’s office duties. (Danielson says she runs the company equally with him.)

Danielson may be a modest man giving others their due, but he doesn’t have to say much about his company because the business is doing one heck of a job speaking for itself.

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