AutoFix TechnologyCast

Jeremy Glassco [00:00:00]:
It's time for the autofix Technology cast.

Chris Cotton [00:00:06]:
Here's your host, Chris Cotton. Hey everybody, Coach Chris Cotton here from autofix Autoshop coaching and of course the autofix technology cast. Today we have Jeremy from Appfield with us and this is one I've really, really been interested in. So some of the questions I have are why should I use an app? I know years ago people were using apps and they worked, they didn't work, whatever. But anyway, I'm gonna let Jeremy introduce himself and we're gonna take it from there.

Jeremy Glassco [00:00:41]:
Hi Chris, thanks a lot for having me on here. Yeah, people have, man, they've stumbled across apptooled in a lot of different ways. One of them is they might find, you might have heard this, Chris. Some people call me the original mobile app Ninja. It turns out there's, there's a couple side nicknames I have, but I'll stick with that one. Essentially, man, I just, I get the sense that industries have, have found a way in the hospitality realm to use apps and I call them Ninja tricks. That's what I call them, right. I've got a, I kind of like a playbook.

Jeremy Glassco [00:01:13]:
Chris 33 Ninja Tricks of the way hospitality businesses use apps and that's, that's just what we've been working on. So App Fuel has been a gift, a gift from God to be a part really just to own this company. 2008, when my daughter was born out of that, there was kind of a funny story with her stuffed animal that inspired some of the, some of the app fueled ideas. But I started in the industry back in 2004, launched out, okay. Kind of went after a, this fundraising idea called it Oil for kids out in King county, out in Seattle. If any of you remember me from back then. And it just, just what, what it takes to get today's modern consumer. And back then, right.

Jeremy Glassco [00:01:54]:
I was just coming out of a dot com, you know, kind of entering into that. You're pretty young guy at the time, you know, a lot of gray hair now. But coming into that zone in Seattle, probably the high tech city of the day, right? In that dot com era. And to go out and go whoa, there's, there's an opportunity here to get consumers to do things they don't normally do. So that's, that's a little bit of just where I'm at. I'm a little bit of a disruptor. That's why I kind of like the Ninja title. Just doing roundhouse kicks like Chuck Norris in the app space.

Chris Cotton [00:02:22]:
So funny thing, I grew up in the same town Chuck Norris was born in, in Ryan, Oklahoma.

Jeremy Glassco [00:02:29]:
You can claim more of it than me.

Chris Cotton [00:02:31]:
And, and as a mobile app ninja, that makes you the man, right? Like, like the M A N. So could be. Yeah. So, so what was like this has nothing to do with our podcast, but just interesting now. So what was Seattle like in those days?

Jeremy Glassco [00:02:48]:
Oh, well, I mean the Emerald City, the Jet City, it's had all the cool nicknames. It definitely wasn't the Seattle. I think that, you know, some of it, you know, with Chaz and some of the political things going on inside Seattle, but I mean, back then, and I think it still remains today, the tech talent in that city is outrageous. Just like amazing thinkers, amazing engineers. And what was going on though, for me, just specifically, why were we, why were we there? I got called out to work at a dot com. They were attempting to take chemical distribution into the dot com era. And what's fascinating, even back then in the dot com world, I got this job. And you know what I found myself doing, Chris? It was making outbound phone sales calls working for a dot com.

Jeremy Glassco [00:03:31]:
And I think that that, that just kind of sums up even where app Fueled is today. Here we are in 25. What have we been doing the last 12 months? Phone call technology. And so although you can, you know, fast forward two decades or go back to the most dot com city on the planet and what were we doing? We were making phone calls. And so I love that about. And I can get into that maybe later. It depends on how we get, get going in this, this time together, Chris. But apps are not alone.

Jeremy Glassco [00:04:01]:
You know, although yes, mobile, original mobile app ninja, we, this is why we're called App Fueled. In no sense would I go around and walk around and going, hey, you've got, you know, you are. If you get an app, guys, you have the silver bullet to success. I mean, absolutely not. In fact, I have hundreds of stories of apps not working, of apps failing, of apps not doing what the hopes and dreams were of the app. So apps are, you know, man, app app is what it is. It's a one of the communication mediums that today's consumers use to repeat buy. And I don't know if you notice I said that, Chris, like, in my opinion, apps are still not a new customer acquisition tool even today.

Chris Cotton [00:04:43]:
Right.

Jeremy Glassco [00:04:44]:
16 years after the iPhone launch, I still don't think most companies, and really any company use this app as a way to go get a new customer. You know, if I'm going to Go acquire a brand new guy in my town, get him to come to my shop. It's not going to be through an app store search.

Chris Cotton [00:04:59]:
Right. And so yeah, so here's the thing. I run like four different businesses virtually remotely, electronically. So I have apps on my phone. Everything else. Like why, what's the criteria for an app to be on my first page? Like, like if I pull up my, like if I. Because, because to me, if it's not on the first page, it's not usable. Right.

Chris Cotton [00:05:26]:
Like how do, how do I get a customer to have their app here? Like, like how does that happen? Or is that even a thought?

Jeremy Glassco [00:05:36]:
So you're, you operate on getting your premise here, the context of the question. You're saying if it's not on the first page of the, of the phone, it's not a useful app or I.

Chris Cotton [00:05:46]:
Will, I'm not going to use it as often. Right. Like if it's not on the front of it. Like, like how as somebody that, as a shop owner that would purchase app fueled or as a person that would use app fueled, how, how important is it to be there? Or maybe it's not important. And, and if it is important, how do we, how do we make sure our app is on the front page? And, and I probably skipped a lot to get to there. And I know I hit you with that out of left field, but it's just something that came across.

Jeremy Glassco [00:06:15]:
I actually appreciate the question, to be honest. I've never quite attempted to answer that how targeted the question is. But, but I love where you're going. So man, let's back it up a bit. Can I back it up before I answer that question or attempt to.

Chris Cotton [00:06:29]:
Sure.

Jeremy Glassco [00:06:31]:
What is it that an app is actually doing different than the other mediums? So that's the question that I hang out in. So it's a little bit of a different question than is that medium going to be on my screens homepage. I'm messing around in the world of psychology. So that's what I believe this medium does a little different than if you think of traditional CRM tools. Phone calls, texting, postcards. Right. You know, go down the list of whatever are the great CRMs in our industry are doing.

Chris Cotton [00:07:05]:
Right.

Jeremy Glassco [00:07:05]:
You know, text reminder, maybe the guy making it well timed phone call. Right. For your next oil change. You know, who knows what that next CRM maneuver is? But in a sense that the app is doing something different psychologically than any of those mediums are doing. Those mediums, in my opinion are a reaction. It's Prompting a reaction. And so how I think an app is used in the psychological realm is we're winning whether it's on the first page or not. Right, Chris, because that's your question, but is it winning the battle of the mind? And so in an app world, what, like, think about what it takes.

Jeremy Glassco [00:07:46]:
Like, I know for me, I don't go, I like to say this, let me even say this. Apps don't download themselves. People do.

Chris Cotton [00:07:54]:
Right.

Jeremy Glassco [00:07:55]:
And I love to think about that. That's where I hang out. This is where my head is every day. Because I know for me, Chris, if I go to a retail outfit, I'm not downloading an app. I'm not signing up for a membership. This, this is just what I'm thinking. That's my de facto position. And I'm thinking most of you listening, that's your de facto position.

Jeremy Glassco [00:08:13]:
Right? You're going to, you're going to show up at the next retail hospitality event and, you know, there might be something that they're prompting you to do something because, well, they've got statistics, they've got some back, you know, background knowledge of if we can get them to enroll in the Target red card, we know they're going to spend XYZ more or come XYZ more times. So an app, in my opinion, all it is is it's a. That the top retail hospitality industries have learned to use to win the battle of the mind. Now, where it sits on the phone may not be what actually is at play. What is at play was, was the brand, was the retail outfit, was the hospitality organization able to convince you to take a little bit of time, a little bit of space, engage and create a profile. So in that order of events, you have established something different that an app does that other mediums do not do.

Chris Cotton [00:09:16]:
Okay. And so I guess maybe one of the things, and this might be one of the things that happened in the past that may or may not have made auto repair shop apps viable. To me, an app is something that I use like every day.

Jeremy Glassco [00:09:34]:
Okay.

Chris Cotton [00:09:35]:
And, and so, like, if you, if I just look at the top third of the app.

Jeremy Glassco [00:09:40]:
Yeah, yeah.

Chris Cotton [00:09:43]:
You know, for me, it's Starbucks. Like, I use Starbucks pretty much every day. I've got, I've got my calendar on there, I've got the clock on there with the alarm. I've got my, my wallet, my calculator, maps. But then, but then I've got, you know, like, Zoom, Google News, Gmail, those types of things on there. And then I've got, like, we're going to go to Vision tomorrow. So I had to check in on my United app, my Marriott Bonvoy. I got to make sure I get my points.

Chris Cotton [00:10:20]:
So I guess to say all that, my question is this, like, how often does a customer that has app fueled and whatever, how often do they interact with the app? Is it weekly? Is it like, what does that look like?

Jeremy Glassco [00:10:34]:
Absence? See, this is where. This is where we are at a total disadvantage. Right? And thankfully, I'm not going to let the disadvantage, like, ruin what. What we're. What we're doing with our clients. But the disadvantage you're talking about, Chris, is not. It's not even a disadvantage that starts with the app. It's a disadvantage that starts in our industry.

Jeremy Glassco [00:10:55]:
You just mentioned Starbucks. How many times do you buy coffee a year?

Chris Cotton [00:11:01]:
Oh, my gosh. Like here, I can probably figure it.

Jeremy Glassco [00:11:04]:
Out for you, even in a, you know, rhetorical sense, right? Yeah. Like, how many times do we buy.

Chris Cotton [00:11:13]:
Coffee a year, like, from Starbucks? Probably 156 times a year. And then every time I do that, my wife's with me, so it's two cups that we have together or two. Whatever. Or food or whatever. Yeah. I want to know how much I spend on Starbucks a year. Like, yes.

Jeremy Glassco [00:11:32]:
So that. So I think your pointed question is actually when you say it's a disadvantage of an app, I'm going to double down on what you said. I think it's a disadvantage in our industry being a retail hospitality industry, a sector of that. So. So not only do we have the disadvantages in app, that's just the simp. That's just the sympt. The cause of that has nothing to do with apps. The cause of that is I might only go to my shop three times a year.

Chris Cotton [00:12:01]:
Right.

Jeremy Glassco [00:12:02]:
So having said that, then you can say all of the other marketing that we do as shops has the same disadvantage. Right. Every marketing that Starbucks does, you might respond that day and go into Starbucks. So I just don't think we can. Like, if that's true, Chris, I guess where I'm going, then. Then I don't understand how disadvantage rules out all of our other marketing choices. Every time we run a Google Ad, every time we send a postcard, every time we do a newspaper ad, just pick your marketing medium. We are at a disadvantage.

Jeremy Glassco [00:12:37]:
100% disagree.

Chris Cotton [00:12:39]:
Okay. I guess just for me is. I guess I kind of figure I feel like my phone's a billboard space and everybody's, like, competing for space on my billboard. Um, yeah. And. And so. So let's Talk about, like, the apps. Like, I.

Chris Cotton [00:13:00]:
How long have apps been in the auto repair industry? Like, do you know when it started?

Jeremy Glassco [00:13:04]:
Well. Oh, that's a good question. I guess you'd go back to. I mean, I guess you'd say 2008. Yelp was one of the original.

Chris Cotton [00:13:12]:
Okay.

Jeremy Glassco [00:13:13]:
Yelp was one of the original ones. And I know they made a huge push with auto shops to have their profile in a Yelp app. So I think they're one of the original 500 approved for the iPhone app store.

Chris Cotton [00:13:25]:
Okay. And so my thinking on this is, as shop owners, we're really, really great about signing up stuff and paying for stuff and then never pushing it out to the customer. And I feel like there might have been a push in the early on to get apps for shops for our customers, but then I don't feel like as owners, we did a very good job of making sure that we were using them, communicating to customers how they were supposed to be used. So. So I, I guess tell us a little bit about App Fueled and then tell us what the purpose of an app for a repair shop is.

Jeremy Glassco [00:14:04]:
Yeah, man, these are. Chris, thanks for keeping this going. Sometimes I can ramble. I like how pointed your questions are on that one. The one that I think, again, I'd have to get to the psychology. So what, what is App Fueled attempting to do? So we are. We are helping shops put their brand on their customer's phone. Now, it's debatable, right? Is it going to be first or second or third page? I mean, we can't even note, like, it's not even something we can know.

Jeremy Glassco [00:14:28]:
But. And then now the question is the why question, though. Why? And so what we do is, first of all, I'm going to talk about the what not to do first. This is a key point. Anyone who invests in an app, if you don't build a retail, what I call a retail premium price and a member path, don't build an app.

Chris Cotton [00:14:52]:
Okay, so explain that to me real quick. What does that mean?

Jeremy Glassco [00:14:55]:
I'll get to the tactics of it, but the strategy is, is that the app is your best tool today, given on how. How consumers interact in a repeat buy environment. Right? And you brought it up. If you're doing Starbucks more than five times, you're getting their app. If you're on a United plane more than five times, you're getting their app. So we're messing around with our disadvantage that we have. But I don't think it's unconquerable. We're Proving it's not.

Jeremy Glassco [00:15:20]:
Although we have a disadvantage of two to three times a year, we can still conquer that disadvantage. But at the end of the day, it's being presented to the customer. As you can check out today as a guest or you can check out today as a member. The app facilitates the pathway. Because if you think about it, you don't need an app for this. Like, I didn't choose an app, right? Chris, I'm not the one choosing what is the modern day tool that customers use in a repeat buy environment. I didn't choose apps. Consumers chose that or the profits and the visionaries of the world.

Jeremy Glassco [00:15:55]:
Steve Jobs chose that. Right? However we got here as consumers today, we choose app for repeat buy experiences. And that's if we like the brand, right? So you gotta check off a thousand things, right? Like if I go to Chick Fil A and I hated the service and I didn't think I was going back even if I was getting a free chicken sandwich and amazing, you know, whatever's coming up, awesome out of that menu, I'm not downloading the app. So, like the app again, it works. Like I'm saying, it's not Chuck Norris, it's not James Bond, it's more of Green Beret. It's a force multiplier tactic. It's that in your choices to go member versus non member, would the app be the tool for that?

Chris Cotton [00:16:34]:
Right. And so I think I understand this a little bit better now. I never heard of that. So in my mind I was like, every customer that walks in the door gets the app or we present it to everybody. But really what I, what really what I'm hearing from you is the app is a one off. You have to be part of the cool kids club to have the app be a member. Almost kind of like Patreon is for some places, would you say?

Jeremy Glassco [00:17:01]:
Like, I don't think I explained it right then. It's, it's definitely, it's definitely not a one off. It's. You create a retail pricing strategy so that every single ticket, your customer has a loyalty ladder option they could take. See, okay, if every single ticket, if every single time you booked an appointment, if every single time you got printed material there was the member pathway versus the guest, then it's definitely not a one off. It's in the culture and the DNA of your shop. You're going to have a guest pathway and you're going to have a member pathway.

Chris Cotton [00:17:36]:
Okay, and so what are those, what do those pathways look like?

Jeremy Glassco [00:17:39]:
Well, for, for us at Least we're facilitating it. The app is step one, just download the app. Right, that's just download the app. Now why would I have done that? Because I would have been presented an opportunity to check out today as a guest or as a member. And so the way we, with the, again, the way we tackle this is apps cost money. They're not free.

Chris Cotton [00:17:59]:
Right.

Jeremy Glassco [00:17:59]:
And just like anything else you do, if you're going to add in extra value and you're going to provide something of convenience and make your business better in some way, it costs you money. So our recommendation is, is that rather than discounting members, raise your pricing board and create a retail price that's your guests pay. And what's staggering is I'm going on four years of case studies of this. Our clients still today get about half of their customers to choose a higher price.

Chris Cotton [00:18:28]:
Okay, isn't that awesome?

Jeremy Glassco [00:18:29]:
I mean, it's, it's, it's proving to us that price is not what we think it is. We, we, we, our clients even present it on every single ticket. Member price, retail price. And about half of the customers go, you know what Kind of like you and I are saying, our de facto position is we don't want to join your member program, we don't want to download your price. And so the way we coach our clients is that's a great maneuver right there. What a brilliant way to let your customer tell you, do they care about price or do they care about convenience?

Chris Cotton [00:19:04]:
Wow. So this is really interesting. I'm just, I'm still trying to wrap my head around this. So, so what is the advantage of being a member versus a guest?

Jeremy Glassco [00:19:13]:
Well, that, that is up to our clients. But, but it starts there that they have a retail price and a member price. So if I was quoted $330 today as a retail or Mr. Customer, here's this QR code. You could be in there as a member. It can unlock XYZ and that, that ticket is now $300. Now, did they just give away $30? No, absolutely not. They invested in a member program that has these perks.

Jeremy Glassco [00:19:37]:
They've calculated what that is and they have a higher retail price. So the 330 for the half of the people that are like you and me. Oh, de facto, that's not going to be on my homepage. I'm not going to use an app. I may not be coming back. Guess what, we just paid $30 more and we're totally fine with that. Consumers make this choice all day long.

Chris Cotton [00:19:55]:
Right. I guess one of the Things is I need to go to a webinar that you have and see like how this has played out. So anybody that's listening, if there's an app fueled webinar, go out, listen to it, watch it so that you can understand this and make it go a little bit better.

Jeremy Glassco [00:20:10]:
Yeah, but Chris, you get it, right? It's at the ticket level and it's at the price level, right?

Chris Cotton [00:20:14]:
Yeah.

Jeremy Glassco [00:20:15]:
This is why I say it doesn't have to be an app to like, you know, choose your best medium to do that in. You know, I'm not choosing an app. That's just what I think, consumers preferences. But the reality is you could have a beautiful member card with a VIP logo. You could do like everything I'm talking about here is not app specific.

Chris Cotton [00:20:36]:
Right. And I guess, and so a couple things, I guess what I thought an app was, was more of a like a customer retention tool. But this, I mean, it can be, but it's not really.

Jeremy Glassco [00:20:51]:
Oh, that's interesting. So what, why is that? Why do you think the way I've described that it would be not a retention tool?

Chris Cotton [00:20:59]:
Well, I think of a retention tool as something that sends follow up. And I'm sure you probably do all this, but I'm just trying to again, wrap my head around how you do it. It, you know, it sends follow up, it sends a request for a review, it sends like declined services and stuff like that out. So do you do that? And if so, how does that work in the framework of everything?

Jeremy Glassco [00:21:27]:
Yeah, great question. And so nine years ago, when we set out being, this is why we named ourselves App Fueled. We, we are a CRM. So I'm operating under a premise that's now nine years old and my mind's never been changed. I think five years from now, if you are a CRM, you will have a mobile app as part of your extension of what a CRM is.

Chris Cotton [00:21:50]:
Okay?

Jeremy Glassco [00:21:51]:
So although we're titled App Fueled, we are a CRM. Texting, texting, emailing, phone calling. And this is my vision going back nine years. Why be a CRM that ignores push notification and app alerts? Right. Why are we going to leave those out of the communication spectrum?

Chris Cotton [00:22:13]:
And I will tell you a weird thing about me. The one thing that I do know about apps is I'm the guy that can't stand to have an email that hasn't been looked at. Or if the notification comes up on mine, I tap it to get rid of it. So I see everything immediately just because I want to tap it and get rid of it. And then if it's important, then fine, I'll look at it. But if not, then it goes away. And then. So okay, just yours.

Jeremy Glassco [00:22:40]:
Just for the tech side of things, are you an Apple or Android?

Chris Cotton [00:22:42]:
Very new Apple user, very new.

Jeremy Glassco [00:22:45]:
So did you know inside those push alerts on the developer backend, we have four categories for every template we have.

Chris Cotton [00:22:52]:
No, I didn't.

Jeremy Glassco [00:22:53]:
So you have time sensitive, you have critical, you have passive, and you have silent. Okay, so I'm with you on that. And I think something of our 80 to 90 workflows in our CRM on the back end, each one on the push notification side can be determined on where it sits. For example, appointment reminder, I would say that's time sensitive. That should not be a passive notification. Right now maybe your Valentine's Day special that you blast out, we recommend that one should be passive. That's not the kind of thing where if I go to your shop twice a year, do I really want to get your Valentine's Day push notification right up there with the text from my mom? I think not. So I'm with you on that.

Jeremy Glassco [00:23:39]:
We think this is some of the beauty of a CRM that's extended to the push notification realm because unlike texts that have no criteria, if it's a text, it's a text, it's a text. But if it's a push notification, it's time sensitive, it's critical, and it's passive.

Chris Cotton [00:23:56]:
Right. So, wow. So if we think about. Well, I'm gonna, I'm gonna throw some dirt at Tech Metric here just because I can. Because we talked about this earlier, techmetric. Why in the hell can't you make all your integrations alphabetical? I'm just saying, like, it'd be much easier, easier to figure out the one I want if I could. So we'll get into some more, some more stuff later, but I want to ask this question. I use TechMetric and TechMetric is probably the, the number one growing shop management system out there by leaps and bounds.

Chris Cotton [00:24:32]:
So how does, how does App fueled. This might be a three part question, but so how does App fueled work within TechMetric? And then if we're using Appfield as our only CRM, how does that work if somebody doesn't download the app?

Jeremy Glassco [00:24:50]:
Okay, so, okay, let's see if I can hit this. Okay, first question is how does it work with techmetric? Correct? Is that right? That's. It's essentially it's lifetime. So we use the callback URL, right? The webhook Concept. So repair orders, contact information, appointments, vehicles, that's a lifetime update on our side because we've got a portal for the advisors. So if a visit is in progress, they can see the same thing. Over on our side, if an appointment's already booked, they can see that. So in addition, we're not just sharing it to advisors because we build the apps, we have to have that same information be 100% accurate and updated because it's hitting the app to the consumer.

Jeremy Glassco [00:25:33]:
Now maybe onto one of Your retention questions, I.e. service history appearing in the app. So your past tickets, your past declined items, your upcoming appointments, we have to have that data like that because we don't know if the consumer is viewing the app right now. So that's how it's working. You know, because we have a booking tool, we have a widget for websites because we have Google Book Reserve now. I mean we're working with TechMetric like, like a CRM should, right?

Chris Cotton [00:26:06]:
Okay, so you have like the online booking, you have the CRM. So here was, here's my next level of that question. If, if I'm using appfield as my only CRM or would you recommend me to use you as my only CRM.

Jeremy Glassco [00:26:22]:
3 weeks ago for 8 years and 11 months, my answer was never fully yes to that. Okay, all right, now, but now, so that's just me being like, if you guys get to know me, I try to be the most, I don't know how to say this non misleading person that I can be. And, and I have never attempted to tell people that we're really a CRM, that you could turn off your other CRM even though, even though in my mind's eye that's the purpose, we are what we are. We are a CRM. Because I just know everybody has certain things they wanted from their CRM. One of those was a two way booking. And the second one, thanks to Google's amazing path forward with their Google Book Reserve now that also became it. So until we just got approved three weeks ago as a certified Google Book Reserve now button that we can offer to our clients, I hadn't fully told people.

Jeremy Glassco [00:27:16]:
I said, well you could, choice is yours. You can turn off your CRM if you want. But today, as of what, three to four weeks, we do say yes, you could turn off your other CRM if you wanted to. But again, that's not picking on the other CRMs. We may not have some of the things you like about that CRM. So even then that's me not trying to mislead people. But for eight out of 10 people I talk to for the things they like from a CRM, someone could turn off their other CRM and they could use App Fueled. And to answer your question very specifically, even if they never knew about the app or touched the app, we operate as a CRM email.

Jeremy Glassco [00:27:53]:
Okay.

Chris Cotton [00:27:54]:
That was, that was going to be. That was my second part of that question was if, no, if, if people don't out. If people don't. Ah. If people don't download the app, how does your. How, how does App Fueled work? And it sounds like people can download the app or not download the app. There's different parts and pieces to that.

Jeremy Glassco [00:28:15]:
Yes. Yeah, yeah. What we've discovered, and we were that way all along, is like, oh man. Like that. That appointment reminder should go by text whether they. The app or not. I mean, absolutely.

Chris Cotton [00:28:26]:
Okay.

Jeremy Glassco [00:28:27]:
It'd be the same way. Right. And this is where I think appfield does stand alone on this concept in that I would say the same thing for email and text like that. To me, that's like asking that question, can you send a text without sending the email? That's how inter. Combined. I view these mediums.

Chris Cotton [00:28:47]:
Right. Interesting. Okay. So I did notice when I looked on techmetric, when I finally scrolled down all the way down through the page and found it, that there's a. There's an app fueled version 0 or 1.0 and a version 2.0. What's the difference? Can you. Are you. Is one eventually going to go away.

Jeremy Glassco [00:29:08]:
Or can you pick one versus the other super quickly? There's an amazing guy out there, if any of you know him, Anders, he built the original Full Throttle, a spectacular tool. I think it's been used by the thousands around the industry. They were purchased by Motor.

Chris Cotton [00:29:22]:
Okay.

Jeremy Glassco [00:29:23]:
That was our original integration we had with a lot of shop management systems. So. So Motor. Motor bought that. Basically, Anders dream child is the way I understand it. And Motor still exists today. This, of course, we all know Motor for Motor, but that product today is called Campaign Connect. And a lot of the technology companies had been using that software to get the data once a day.

Jeremy Glassco [00:29:47]:
And so that was our 1.0. That was our entry into the space for most. And for half of the shop management systems out there, we still. That's still the one that we would use because we have not built a direct two way API yet like we've done with Techmetric and Protractor, yada yada. So that 1.0, in fact, we don't want anyone to flip that on. There's no reason to use 1.0 in. In TechMetric right now.

Chris Cotton [00:30:14]:
Well, and I was going to look, I don't think you can if I.

Jeremy Glassco [00:30:20]:
And even if you did flip it on, it doesn't matter on the back end for us, as long as we get the green light and it's authorized, we're going to be using 2.0.

Chris Cotton [00:30:28]:
2.0. Okay. Yeah, I. Yeah, it looks like you can hit the Manage button on both of them or whatever and get it. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Interesting. Okay.

Jeremy Glassco [00:30:38]:
Well, yeah, but back to. If I could, Chris, I could just answer it. And I like to just provide the best evidence that I can of this. I love to let people make choices. And I know, back to that CRM question. We know that a program like Steer or even Auto Ops, you know, now combined, or, you know, take the My Shop Manager or the Kakuis, we have a lot of clients that even now that I feel like we've kind of rounded out what it means to be a CRM, they still use our app in our loyalty side of things and they flip off our CRM functionality. So we have apps that have a autops scheduler in the app. And so we try to be as what works for you as an owner.

Jeremy Glassco [00:31:19]:
What are you finding in the Auto Ops program we don't have or in the Steer. And then if you prefer appfuel B, technically your app builder platform that you use that runs your rewards, rebates, membership, birthday club, those two can come together. So I didn't want to say it as strongly as maybe it came across that like we're trying to tell everyone, you know, ditch your CRM and go with that fuel. As a CRM, I just don't view it that way. I just know everyone's got their unique needs and what matters to their shop.

Chris Cotton [00:31:48]:
Right. And I think, I mean, there's just one of the issues I have with the industry is as a shop owner, there's so much overlap in what some people do versus the other. And it would be. It would be great to find platform or platforms where I didn't have to have three or four subscriptions to do one thing. When, you know, like this first one I only use 50% of what they do, but then the next one I only use 30% of what they do because the rest overlaps with two others to get those pieces. Yeah.

Jeremy Glassco [00:32:20]:
Yeah.

Chris Cotton [00:32:21]:
So. So one of the questions I have is if. If I'm a customer or shop owner and I have a somebody download the app, is it do I find that on the in Apple as app fueled app. Or is it like Firestone of Durango app or what does that look like?

Jeremy Glassco [00:32:44]:
Yeah, we do the best we can at being invisible so we try to make it look like it's the shop. And in fact, in Apple's case, our clients have to get their own Apple developer account.

Chris Cotton [00:32:56]:
Oh, okay. And then go in and do that.

Jeremy Glassco [00:32:59]:
So the apps have our clients names, their icons, their logos, their screenshots and we're behind the scenes.

Chris Cotton [00:33:06]:
Well, because a lot of the ones I've seen is okay, we have an app but it's, it's the app company's name and you have to go in there and click on that and then go into that and then it's all, it's just confusing to the customer like why am I doing this or that when, when.

Jeremy Glassco [00:33:23]:
So it's interesting and in fact we even. I'm with you on that, Chris. In fact, I thought one of the biggest. We just solved it a couple months ago. One of the biggest pain points we were finding was let's say we send a text right to a CRM customer and it's got the, what we call the app URL right in the text. So we've even been bringing in deep links into the app to avoid even some of that confusion of where the customer is going to. So for example, we just launched this. It's revolutionary in what it's doing.

Jeremy Glassco [00:33:50]:
It's Amazon visit tracker and if a text goes out, the customer clicks on it. If they don't have the app, guess what, it opens in the browser. If they have the app, it opens in the custom app. So we're using the technology to determine where the customer is. Just the deep link in the app. So it's a beautiful. Because you mentioned, well, if the app maybe isn't on the first screen, am I even going to remember that I had it? So what we were trying to accommodate was well, in those cases where the reminder's going, the deferred service email and you click on that or just picture those other mediums that you're responding to. When you respond to those, where is it going to take you? And so we believe that's the moment to put back in front of them their membership choice.

Jeremy Glassco [00:34:34]:
They made the service history visibility, the already logged in because we got touch id, face id, that convenience to go right from a text to you're already in your logged in profile on that custom app. So that's why we wanted it to look like the shop because we didn't want that weird moment where, wait, where am I? What's this app field? I don't know. I never dreamed of that being what this was about was confusion.

Chris Cotton [00:35:00]:
Right? So looking forward and not giving any company secrets away or if you can be vague, then that's fine. Where do you see App fueled in 18 months from now?

Jeremy Glassco [00:35:14]:
Well, hopefully it's a continuation of this story of we're the Green Beret, we're the force multiplier. And so like I'm going next week to talk to a group of precision tune owners. They asked me to come speak about the wow factor and it's right up there with what's going on. And I believe where we're all headed, our mediums have to work together. They can't be one offs and not connected. If you believe in a loyalty ladder, if you believe that a customer that's done say these and I'll give you six of them created a profile, uploaded a selfie, managed their vehicle, set the recall alerts on, turned on a push notification, joined a birthday club and opted into a membership. If we have the statistics that that customer spends $400 more a year than customers that don't, that's the pathway that if you believe in it then, then all of your wow factor moments entering into the lobby should have a beautiful pop up with a QR code on the counter should have the idea of are you a member? Check out today as a member and you get this on your postcards that go out with specials app only Savings $5 more Use this promo code. So I believe it's a force multiplier in that unlike just a one off download this app and you know, forget about it.

Jeremy Glassco [00:36:28]:
Oh no way. It's every single touch point. If you believe that customers going on this path will spend more at your shop and come back more often, then you will use every interaction point you can to get them to climb the loyalty ladder. So that's where I believe we're going to be is that that's going to come to its fruition. Whether it's a text, a postcard, because we're building it into that. Whether it's a oil change sticker, whether it's the the rack card put in the car when it drives away asking for a review. Every moment is going to be that that moment of you could have been a member or oh we're so glad you are a member. So I just think it's going to be a continuation of wow.

Jeremy Glassco [00:37:07]:
Why have we left this medium out of our industry? Why, why are we letting our disadvantages just hold it, hold us back? And I think the wave is just building and coming on that one.

Chris Cotton [00:37:18]:
Well, and I see a huge advantage of having that. And like how, like I'm trying to think of like how would I use it in my shop? You know, one thing we could do is we do tires. So we could send out like, okay, if you're a member, you get this discount on your tires or your tire swap or whatever. We also use Bridgestone, we're an affiliated dealer, so we use the, the CFNA card for like financing and all that stuff. So it's interesting. I also have a shop that I work with, one of the ones that I coach. They're talking about a, they've had a club for years. People opt in, they pay extra for it and they get this whole list of perks because they're members, but they don't have any way to like share that, put it out.

Chris Cotton [00:38:13]:
They don't have a way to make it exclusive or anything like that. And I see that, you know, app and app field would, would be a way to make that exclusive if they wanted to or build that into it. So very interesting.

Jeremy Glassco [00:38:29]:
Thanks, thanks for saying that, Chris. That's why I'm a huge believer in this. It's not that we've invented a way to do that, right? Like that shop is already running like, sounds like a fine tuned club experience. We just, we're just operating under the premise that in today's world, for that repeat experience, whatever it is, consumers are choosing apps for it now that, that, that's kind of the, the battle that we're in. In a sense. It's like, can we, can we prove it in our industry? And, and just to give you a little bit of statistics, guys, if you're listening, it's totally possible. Like I said, we're hovering around the 48 to 49% in our top clients. So if they've got 300 tickets a month, that's the level of engagement they're getting, right? So it's, it's absolutely like I, I, I think in the old days when apps first came out, because there wasn't, nobody knew the tactics and the apps weren't being used to win this psychological war.

Jeremy Glassco [00:39:18]:
Nobody was downloading the apps and we all gave up on them. But, but I think we can put that to rest. I mean we're going on, like I said, nine years since we truly became the app builder. Now our clients that are absorbing this strategy, when you can get 50% of your tickets are what I call member engaged. Oh, we are, we're. So that's what excites me.

Chris Cotton [00:39:40]:
Well, and I think what happened is originally people were like, oh, everybody should have an app. Let's go sell all these apps. And then there was no, there was no follow up.

Jeremy Glassco [00:39:49]:
Yeah. And it was like, yeah, yeah, go ahead. Sorry, I mean, to cut you off.

Chris Cotton [00:39:53]:
No, there's a, there's a saying I've heard in the industry and I won't name the company that's associated with, but the saying was this shit's for selling, not using. And so that kind of, kind of reminds me of what, of what that was back in the beginning is like, okay, well we're gonna sell it, but nobody will ever use it, so it's not that big of a deal. Yeah, so very interesting. So I also. We'll just kind of wrap this up. I want to be mindful of your time and everything a little bit, but I noticed you mentioned the Green Berets quite a bit. And I notice next to the picture of your mom and dad, I can barely see the patch, but I can't, I can't make it out. So you got to show that.

Jeremy Glassco [00:40:33]:
And this is not mine. Absolutely not. This is my older brother's gift to me. He was a Green Beret 20 years sniper in Afghanistan. So this thing sits here just as. And yes, he comes to mind often. But what he told me about force multiplier, I'll never forget that. What that meant that you could have one special forces and you.

Jeremy Glassco [00:40:54]:
And if you're in another country, you have an army of 200 if you let them get to work. So. Right.

Chris Cotton [00:41:01]:
Awesome. And then is. Is he still with us, still living?

Jeremy Glassco [00:41:03]:
Oh, he's. Yes, he. Absolutely.

Chris Cotton [00:41:05]:
Okay.

Jeremy Glassco [00:41:06]:
Yeah. And everything he does, he's tackled. You know what I mean? You have people in your life that you just go, if I could be like that. So.

Chris Cotton [00:41:13]:
Right, well, awesome. So shout out to. Shout out to big brother. Yeah, there you go. So good. So any. What final thoughts do you have and if somebody wants to. To see a demo of app fueled or whatever, how do they, how do they do that?

Jeremy Glassco [00:41:32]:
Well, thankfully this is a. I call it a startup. That's 16 year old startup. So if you book a demo, it's with me guys. And I'd love, I love to get. If you can tell, if you guys can tell, I'm a little bit passionate about the topic. So you just go to appfuel.com forward/jeremy, pick a time, let's talk Usually most people. Chris, this is what I find amazing.

Jeremy Glassco [00:41:52]:
There's so many people that already have a vision for an app. It's just a matter of implementation. And so I hate to break everybody's hearts. Typically, what happens as it goes, Someone will get into a call and then. But, Jeremy, can I do this and can do that? And it's like, do this. It's like, here, here's my promise to you. Try the strategies out. See if that customer that does these six or seven things, are they twice as likely to come back and do they spend more money? And then.

Jeremy Glassco [00:42:19]:
And that's kind of where we're at right now. And I love to see the vision and we try to come alongside that. And one of the ways and kind of go. I think if I'm answering your question right, where we're headed now is back to phones. It's amazing how phones, in combination with these other great CRM tools of texting and email and push notifications and you pair that up with perfectly timed phone calls. Oh, that's kind of where appfield's at right now, too, is arming the advisor with the exact moment of when to call that company customer and to have the collective of who. That of. Of how that customer engaged with your shop.

Jeremy Glassco [00:42:55]:
So, yeah, forward slash. Jeremy, book a time with me. And I love to see where people at. Like, what are they trying to do? What. What are they trying to do with an app?

Chris Cotton [00:43:04]:
I. I think it's interesting that you said using the phone, because I just did. I think it's the episode that just came out or the episode before last where we've relied on technology a lot. But so. But people are just bombarded with technology all the time. So I think there's a good place and time for the phone and then a good time and place for the other stuff. But you got to figure out when to use it and. And how to use it for sure.

Jeremy Glassco [00:43:29]:
Yes.

Chris Cotton [00:43:30]:
So this has been a great interview. We're like almost 45 minutes.

Jeremy Glassco [00:43:35]:
See, I rambled.

Chris Cotton [00:43:38]:
Well, the problem is, is I'm a rambler, too. So how we're not three hours into this already, I don't know. I mean, I think we've done pretty good. We might even bust this one into two episodes. But thanks for taking time out of your busy day. I know you've got a lot of stuff going on. Sounds like you're going to make a presentation. And this time of year is, of course, all the trade shows and everything else like this will come out after Vision.

Chris Cotton [00:44:03]:
But tomorrow I'll be on a plane headed to Kansas City to teach a class and whatever there. So if you're listening, more power.

Jeremy Glassco [00:44:11]:
Yeah, Chris, and thank you. I'll just tell you, it's just an honor to be on, to be invited to be on here, because I know for us, we go nowhere. App Fuel goes nowhere without great business coaching, so.

Chris Cotton [00:44:22]:
Well, thank you for that. We didn't even talk about that, Harley, but that's. I really appreciate it. So, yeah, everybody, if you're interested, give Jeremy a call. He already gave you the information for that. And have a great day. Jeremy, thanks for being on, and we'll see you around the way somewhere.

Jeremy Glassco [00:44:39]:
All right, thanks again, Chris, and all your listeners.

Chris Cotton [00:44:45]:
That wraps up this episode of the autofix Technology Cast. Thanks for tuning in and being part of the conversation about the tools and technology driving the auto repair industry forward. A special thank you to our sponsor, Cinch, for making this podcast possible. Remember, Cinch isn't just a tool. It's a game changer for your shop's customer retention and outreach. I use it in my shop and I know it can help yours, too. Don't forget to check out Cinch IO Autofix to claim your free onboarding, a $3,000 value. And as always, rise and grind, folks.

Chris Cotton [00:45:13]:
I want you to keep pushing forward, stay on the cutting edge and keep your mindset positive. Together, we'll keep driving success in the auto repair industry. Until next time, take care and keep thriving.