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Overall claims vs. a year ago are down slightly at -.25%. However, compared to the last reporting month, overall volume is up 4.15%. The Midwest was especially strong, up 20.24% over the previous month, potentially due to weather related claims. Compared to a year ago, the West coast (+ 8.20%) and the South (+4.58%) are performing well. Various areas not affected by weather, however, continue to struggle with low accident frequency.

To view the latest Collision Watch numbers Click Here

CSi Complete Offers Help! I Crashed My Car!

CSi Complete will offer shops an exciting new way to provide value and stay in contact with their customers with the Help! I Crashed My Car! mobile phone application, developed by Summit Software Solutions (www.summitsoftwaresolutions.com)

The application, or “app” as they are popularly known, connects the body shop directly to  consumers via smart phone. Currently, there are about 38 million smart phones in operation in the United States, a number that is exploding daily. The app is free for consumers to download.

From a repair facility perspective, the app gives the shop several powerful advantages. Some of those include:

·         Mobile and web-based customer service, sales, marketing, advertising and communication systems

·         The ability to offer customers free customer safety and emergency service information

·         The ability to gain access to millions of potential customers via their smart phones

·         Promotion of customer referrals and reviews on phones and the Internet

·         The opportunity to gain prominent positions on a GPS driven database of all repair facilities in the country

There is a reasonable fee that shops pay for optimization in the Help! I Crashed My Car! platform. However, the functionality easily pays for itself by driving one job of average severity per year to the shop.

Please contact Erin Speicher at 800-343-0641 x 131 or Cathy Reed at 800-343-0641 x 134 for more information.  If you prefer email please use sales@csicomplete.com

CIC Votes to Move to SEMA Week

CIC participants voted January 14 to move the final meeting of 2010 from “NACE Week” to “SEMA Week,” a decision that will have ripple effects for other industry meetings, participants and exhibitors. SCRS recently announced they will also move their meetings to “SEMA Week”.

For several years, the NACE and SEMA shows have been held during the same week in Las Vegas. Shortly after the conclusion of NACE 2009, however, NACE announced a move away from the traditional late October/ early November timeframe, to mid- October (October 10-13).

NACE continues to positions itself as the worlds’ collision repair event, while SEMA has a larger aftermarket and performance component. There has always been some overlap between the two shows. There have been some indications that the co-existence during the same week have been thorny. SEMA may have gotten more NACE visitors at its show than vise-versa.

Some companies, out of necessity, exhibit at both. That won’t change, because it happened when the shows were held concurrently. Other companies and participants, however, will have a choice to make: attend one or the other, or both. There are also countless meetings and gatherings that surround the events and some participants may not have the wherewithal or budget to attend both. Certainly, meetings like CIC and SCRS will only be held at one of the events.

It’s going to be interesting this year. Before you book your reservations, make sure you know where your meetings, parties, and exhibitors you want to visit are going to be located!

For additional information on a CSI program for your company, contact David Merrell at dmerrell@csicomplete 800.343.0641 x227

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