Jason Stahl and Nadine Battah count down the top 10 branded content articles of 2023.

Drum roll, please … here are the top 10 branded content articles of 2023!

1. Approach Retention with Intention. ProColor Collision talked about the “Great Resignation”, how it has impacted the collision repair industry, and ways to grow and retain your team: hiring well; onboarding and orientation; employee compensation; training and development; communication; performance feedback; and recognition and rewards.
2. Does Compressed Air Affect Color Match? Axalta discussed how the pressure needed to break up paint as well as the velocity (speed) of the air going through the spray gun and to the air cap has been overlooked, and that regulating the speed of the air delivery is critical, especially when using the higher solids basecoats of today like Cromax XP, Cromax Pro, Spies Hecker Hi-TEC and Standox Standoblue.
3. Synchrony Study Reveals Future Shoppers Seek New Experiences. Synchrony Financial discussed their research indicating that consumers are beginning to seek highly personalized shopping experiences that simplify choice and flexibility, and that retailers who focus on shopping as an experience rather than an isolated event will find success if they continue to innovate and differentiate themselves through unique promotions, physical connections and new technology.
4. Easy Fix for Better Color Match and a More Consistent Finish. SEM discussed its VCS Versatile Cup System, a new hybrid paint cup system that combines a hard cup with a vented, collapsible liner that eliminates paint flow restrictions associated with popular hard cup paint systems and traditional liner systems.
5. The Right ADAS Equipment and Service Info = Productivity and Profit. Snap-on told the story about a woebegone body shop that lost a ton of hours and a stash of cash on a simple procedure … all because of not having the right equipment: a ZEUS+ with ShopKey Pro that gives you everything you need to complete ADAS work successfully and profitably.
6. Take Care of Your Tools and They’ll Take Care of You! Equalizer Industries told the story of Zach, a young apprentice who didn’t quite understand the importance of taking care of his tools and was confronted with the hard lesson about neglecting to maintain his Ambush power tool, which resulted in it breaking and leaving him with a windshield halfway cut out of the car that he couldn’t finish.
7. ABRA’s Approach to High Performance Work and Workers. ABRA discussed how it is essential to have a dedicated team of workers to provide customer service that exceeds expectations and how retaining top talent isn’t always easy, but that ABRA’s commitment to growing and retaining a team of industry experts has been a major contributing factor to the longevity of the brand.
8. ADAS Calibrations: Understanding the When-Why-How. Snap-on discussed how more and more vehicles are featuring ADAS and how the John Bean Tru-Point One-Stop Calibration Solution is a very simple and intuitive tool to handle windshield calibrations, allowing the software to guide you through the process.
9. How to Recruit Employees and Attract More Customers to Your Shop. AutoShop Solutions talked about how it’s becoming harder and harder to attract qualified employees to body shops and said the solution to finding top talent and getting more customers in the shop is search engine optimization or SEO.
10. AirPro Diagnostics Offers the Most Cost-Effective, Tested and Proven Tools, Guaranteed to Reduce Cycle Time! AirPro Diagnostics discussed how calibrations can be performed in shops with space constraints with AirPro’s ADAS tools including the Auggie device, which meets NHTSA standards to ensure a complete and safe repair.