• Home /
  • / Create your own niche market using HGM Standalone Compushift Transmission Controllers!

Create your own niche market using HGM Standalone Compushift Transmission Controllers!

Create your own niche market using HGM Standalone Compushift Transmission Controllers!

40 years ago, a mechanic shop would have done everything from changing light bulbs to both engine and transmission rebuilds. But it wasn’t all that long before we started to see specialists pop up. First we saw panel shops followed closely by engine and transmission rebuilders. As time went on we started to see carbie shops, exhausts and auto electrical specialists etc. This was simply due to there being so many different makes and models that the general workshop could not to keep up with all the different developments, not to mention the demand on stocked parts and workshop manuals etc. At that time the performance industry was a mere fledgling that quickly became the strongest and healthiest within the automotive sector that was driven by pure passion. It was an exciting time and is still the single strongest industry within the western world. Now 40+ years on, almost every major component found within a vehicles has its own specialist field.

In the case of the automatic transmission industry, we have found that we have also had to diversify and specialize in our own fields over the past 20 years. We have shops specializing in European vehicles, we have 4 wheel drive specialists, CVT and DG specialists, heavy vehicle such as truck/bus specialists and even the performance specialists but what about the rest? Surely the rest can’t all be in competition with each other, otherwise it was going to be a long and drawn out race to the bottom of our professional field in which we only ever become an expert in discounting, budget cuts and staff turnover. I don’t wish this on anyone and I highly recommend each of you to create your own niche within the market place. Now I’m not an expert in your shop, but I do know that at a bare minimum if you can create a niche of your very own, that would go a long way towards complimenting your existing work load and this alone would put you in a far stronger position without having to discount or budget. But how do you find this niche market?

There are several companies that I have personally seen build themselves up to be very successful and Niche specialists, simply by creating new product lines using our HGM Compushift standalone transmission controllers. I know of several distinct ways of doing this. First would be to simply buy and sell transmission controllers both online or over the counter and although very successful in its own right is normally done as a side line and in conjunction with the following. Another and most common is to sell complete transmission package deals “Your Niche” along with all of the accessories required, including the transmission controller that allows you to create Your Own packages from an ever increasing range of transmissions. The days of hydraulic 3 speed transmissions are very quickly being taken over by overdrive transmissions whether they be 4, 5 or 6 speed. This is extremely common as it sells your own transmissions and boosts company sales greatly as you get to profit from each of the items in the kit. Lastly and most notably is the granddaddy of them all and that is transmission conversions. Whether we are talking manual to 4, 5 or 6 speed auto conversions, engine conversions that then require transmission controllers or even full kits to complete, new hot rod, street machine builds or government and military builds. In our case, we do all of them and it now represents more than half of our annual income with package sales “Niche Kits” sold using HGM Compushift Transmission Controllers to every state and even exported thoughtout the world. The best thing about this is when one area is a little quiet, you always have the other to hold steady sales.

What this allows you to do is focus your advertising in a niche market rather than a broad market, you can control and market yourself to a captive audience, rather than blindly marketing to the general public that may or may not even have a transmission problem. Then hope that when they do have a transmission problem that they remembered you and your shop. With a niche market you can concentrate your marketing for much longer, normally all year round and for cheaper. All while making yourself into a household name. Simply because you decided to do something different by using the stand alone transmission controller to give you the market that you were looking for. I kid you not, the success that I have personally seen from companies that use standalone controllers including my own to create their own markets simply and effectively has left me staggered! For any information or questions regarding this or any of HGM’s products please feel free to contact me directly. rodney@askorto.com and remember dream big and you will succeed :-)

Tags:
Back to blog