Herth+Buss has been involved in various initiatives in the automotive industry for many years. For 25 years, for example, the company from beautiful Heusenstamm, South Hesse, has been supporting the marketing initiative Mr. ATZ. But what do industry initiatives achieve and how does Herth+Buss get involved?
One of the almost well-known industry initiatives supported by Herth+Buss is "Quality is Added Value" from AAMPACT e.V., an international representative of the leading automotive suppliers in the independent spare parts market. The initiative aims to raise awareness of the risks posed by selling and installing low-quality parts among passenger car and commercial vehicle workshops, as well as drivers.
For a quarter of a century, Herth+Buss has also been supporting the marketing initiative Mr. ATZ, which supports independent workshops with high-performance marketing services, among other things. The nationwide "Trusted workshop" campaign was also formed by the ATZ Cosmos. The seal honours workshops that offer particularly good work and customer-oriented service.
Why Herth+Buss supports industry initiatives
Florian Heberer, Head of Sales Germany, explains why Herth+Buss supports Mr. ATZ. "Mr. ATZ has set itself the goal of supporting independent workshops with everyday challenges. Current examples include online marketing, social media presence and search engine optimisation. These are real challenges for independent workshops, as they are far removed from the core business of a workshop, namely carrying out maintenance and repair work. The workshop is the user of our products, so it's in the interest of everyone involved in the sector to ensure that business in workshops is booming."
The transparent and open communication of Mr. ATZ is particularly important to the sales expert: "For example, the industry forum brings people into discussion once a year, especially workshops, in order to work together on the challenges of the future." The common concept is the starting point here. "An approach using an industry initiative always has the advantage that more forces are pooled to achieve the goals behind the initiative than a single company can offer," explains Florian Heberer. "There are also constant exchanges with other supporters during a collaboration, everyone benefits from the perspectives of the other parties and there's the opportunity to learn from each other."
We don't support every initiative
How exactly Herth+Buss gets involved in the various industry initiatives depends on the individual case. "Financial support is usually the basis," explains Florian Heberer. "We frequently also offer support with information and know-how. Support with manpower is also possible: For example, we can provide personnel to man the trade fair booths for the initiative. This improves the credibility and strengthens the cooperation within an initiative." The success of industry initiatives therefore generally depends directly on the commitment of the participating players.
But how does Herth+Buss decide which initiatives to support? Florian Heberer: "In practice, the decision is made on a case-by-case basis depending on whether participation makes sense for us. If we see a need for action in a specific area and believe that there is a good cost-benefit ratio, then it is very likely that we will support an initiative." As is the case with Mr. ATZ.