A minimal investment can push revenue to the bottom line.
Shop operators looking to add revenue to their bottom line might just find window film installation to be a viable option. The increasing popularity of applied window film for vehicles offers lucrative new business opportunities to body shop operators. An aggressive, active marketing and sales organization with skilled employees selling the best film products will achieve results.
There are four basic types of applied film for application to the interior of vehicle windows. Tinted, reflective and spectrally selective or clear films are installed to block unwanted solar heat and glare. A fourth type, decorative film, usually provides no heat blocking capabilities.
Though heat control continues to be the primary function of most applied vehicle window films, some films can provide increased insulation performance against vehicle interior heat loss in winter, protect interiors against fading and shield vehicle occupants from the ultraviolet radiation that can cause skin cancer.
If you are looking for ways to add dollars to your bottom line, consider these reasons to sell and install applied window film:
- Depending on the type of film, revenues from installing film on one car range from $75 to $665. Usually, film installation takes no longer than two hours, so your bays won’t be tied up for extended periods.
- Solar heat and fading and cancer-causing UV can be a serious problem for vehicles and their occupants, especially in Sun Belt climates such as Florida, Texas, Arizona and Southern California. Even in cold-climate cities such as Seattle, Chicago and Boston, many vehicles experience over-heating and fading problems, even in winter.
- With increasing concern about energy conservation and the high cost of gasoline, vehicle window film is the most cost effective way to reduce heat entering a vehicle, reducing the use of air conditioning and improving fuel efficiency. According to tests performed by the U.S. Department of Energy, depending on the type of film installed, fuel economy can increase by 3 percent.
- If you regularly service fleet vehicles, know that fleet managers often seek ways to maximize fuel efficiency and increase driver productivity. Reducing heat entering their vehicles can be a real asset for their businesses.
- Of the 15 million new cars sold annually in the United States, only about one-third have benefited from applied film. Clearly, this is a market that has potential.
Unfortunately, for many of the existing 5,000 dealer/installers in the United States who sell window film for homes and buildings, vehicle film sales have not been a lucrative proposition. The reasons vary, but chief among them is a limited knowledge of the auto aftermarket business and insufficient marketing skills to pursue prospective auto film customers.
What does it take to get in the applied window film sales and installation business? Becoming an installer of applied vehicle film requires about $3,000 to $5,000 up front in equipment. Creating and maintaining a dirt-free area in your shop for film installation, similar to the area used for vehicle painting, is necessary. Comprehensive and easy-to-follow instruction manuals and videos are provided by film manufacturers. Some even provide promotional materials and cooperative advertising programs.
Body shops interested only in selling, but not installing applied vehicle film, should be able to find several existing local vehicle film installers happy to do the actual installation. This leaves the selling and most of the profits to you.
