CCC's Creators & Innovators blog series features members of our team discussing what excites them most about the work they're doing and how they're contributing to CCC's growth and success. This month, we're featuring a Q&A with CCC's Director of Product Management, Ripul Jain, on the future of repair shop growth.

How long have you been with CCC, and can you tell us about your career background?

I’ve been with CCC since February 2019. Previously, I worked in product management roles at Project 44 and EZLinks here in Chicago. I graduated with a Computer Engineering degree from University of Iowa and began my career in an engineering role for a few years at Motorola before transitioning into Product Management.

What excites you most about the work you're doing for CCC?

I love working on the Shop Engagement portfolio for our repair shop customers because it includes products that also serve insurance, OEM, and consumer groups, so I get to work on initiatives that span across multiple markets. The work my team is doing is all about how we can help shops get more business, regardless of the channel the consumer is coming from. Within the portfolio, our CCC Engage integration with Google for Appointments, the Repair Cost Predictor for CCC Engage Photo Estimates, as well as CCC Amplify website builder are some really exciting solutions my team has recently rolled out.

What do you think the future of business development and customer service looks like for repair shops?

I think that if shops want to grow their businesses and offer better customer service in the future, they will need to digitize the entire end-to-end experience for their customers. These are the same people who are connected 24/7 and expect everything to work like Amazon – from the minute they click on an ad to the minute they receive their item – and I believe repair facilities will need to evolve to meet this expectation.

In my opinion, this means:

• Having a digital presence so customers can find a repair facility
• Enhanced communication for customers to interact with a repair facility before a repair (and for shops to share timely status updates during a repair), and
• Managing their reputation via surveys and reviews post-repair.

What kind of advice would you give a repair shop that was interested in growing their business?

I would advise that having a website that’s basically just a digital business card isn’t enough these days. I think a shop website needs to be modern and well-designed, with functionality that allows the customer to interact with the shop using their preferred method. I also think it needs to be easy to find when the customer is searching for shops near them on Google and it needs to be fully featured with means consumers need to be able to book an appointment, submit a photo estimate, or chat with the repair facility. Customers need to be able to read business reviews to build trust. Helping shops build this kind of experience for their customers is the goal of CCC Amplify. We’re making it very easy for shops to create, publish, and maintain their websites. And we’re making sure that all their CCC Engage-related functionality – such as appointments, photo estimates, and consumer reviews – are automatically added. I believe having a full-featured website is essential these days for any shop looking to grow their business!

What's your favorite thing about working for CCC?

My favorite thing about CCC is the people I work with. Being in product management, you collaborate with so many different teams like development, support, training, sales, marketing, etc. Everyone you come across wants to help and make your product or initiative succeed. We have amazing talent across the board. Also being in Chicago, I love the location as well as the basketball court on the 18^th floor our office, I come in to shoot hoops on the weekend with my kids all the time!

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