Do you run a car parts business and you want to boost sales or expand it? If YES, here are 10 smart tips on how to grow your auto parts business successfully.
Every automobile requires frequent parts change during its entire lifespan. This alone makes the automobile spare parts industry so profitable and sustainable. There are several ways you can start the business depending on your investment capacity.
You can grow a spare parts business by running short – term promotions to boost sales or investing in the services you offer. But note that offering customers better value, faster delivery, a larger range, better quality or specialist products that are difficult to obtain elsewhere can help you to build stronger, long – term customer relationships.
To properly grow your business, you need to understand prospects that need the type of products and quality of service you are offering and communicate the benefits clearly.
You will also need to procure the spare parts that you want to sell from your store. Indeed, identifying the parts you need and where to find them depends largely on your business plan. Talk to the companies and deal with the best quotes with MOQ (minimum order quantity). Also set up your store properly.
10 Tips to Grow your Auto Spare Parts Business Successfully
As car sales increase in the united states, demand for auto parts typically rises as well. But to grab your share of the market, you need to create innovative marketing techniques, take advantage of the clients you serve and participate in online and mobile marketing efforts. Below are few tips to grow your auto spare parts business.
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Excellent Inventory Control
Note that your store inventory does not have to be all – encompassing to be effective. In fact, it is unrealistic to stock large quantities of various parts.
To achieve better control over inventory, develop clear criteria that will help define and categorize spares. Properly storing and organizing spares in a designated, secure space is also beneficial for the control of inventory. A prompting for reorder will not take place if a part is taken without a record.
Likewise, if new stock is placed on the shelf without a record, it cannot be accounted for. A review and analysis of your storage and check – out system can reveal reasons for stock inaccuracies.
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Differentiate Yourself
You should differentiate your business by offering quality spare parts with long guarantees. Buttress the importance of quality parts, compared to low – cost alternatives that may fail early and cause safety problems. Obtain a franchise for supplying original spare parts or spares from a reputable brand to enhance your image.
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Offer a Price Match Guarantee
Have it in mind that consumers are more or less motivated by pricing. If you can offer a price match guarantee, you reduce the odds that a shopper will leave your site to hunt for a better price (the guarantee tends to make consumers believe that you have the best pricing).
Price match guarantees also help you “steal” business from competitors who offer better pricing, but who can’t match your company’s service.
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Constantly Look for Prospects
Take your time to analyze and seek prospects for your business. Target high – volume customers, these include service and repair companies, independent service technicians, and fleet operators. Consider setting up a wholesaling operation to supply retail outlets that sell spare parts.
Review opportunities to supply specialist parts for older products that are not generally available, such as spares for vintage cars.
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Be Flexible and Convenient
Always make it convenient for customers to order and buy from you. Set up a website with your products and a facility for ordering online.
Provide your large customers with customized web pages or printed catalogs that show the products they order frequently from you. Consider setting up a 24-hour telephone answering service for customers to place urgent orders outside your normal business hours. Offer customers a range of delivery options to improve convenience.
Provide service and repair customers with an express delivery or collection service for urgent repairs. Introduce a same day delivery service for customers who place orders before a certain time, say 3:00 p.m. Also provide a special collection point on your premises for customers who order online or by telephone.
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Cater to Large Customers
Provide large customers with a stock management service. Analyze their stock purchases and identify usage patterns. Offer a stock top – up service that ensures customers always have the right stock level for regularly used parts. Consider providing a scheduled delivery service for lower – volume parts. Include reports on stock usage as part of your management service.
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Ask for Reviews and Testimonials
Note that customer reviews and testimonials are immensely influential – numerous studies have shown that consumers place a lot of trust in them. Consumers often look for positive reviews before buying products from a company they haven’t done business with before.
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Establish Relationships
Although walk-in customers may keep your store employees busy, but you can grow sales significantly without adding to your foot traffic.
Consider establishing relationships with body shops and auto repair businesses. They need to get their parts from someone, so it might as well be you. Call on local shops and offer a discount for their orders. Join local trade associations and business groups to network with shop owners and ask for their business.
To build goodwill with local body shops, send them business and make sure they know when you send a customer by calling in the referral yourself.
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Sponsor a Build or Host a Car Show
Have it in mind that contributing parts and/or funds to a project is an easy way to gain exposure on social media. Sponsoring a build puts your business’s name in front of other enthusiasts online, at a car show, and in newspaper and blog write-ups. You might even use the finished car as a focal point at your SEMA booth.
Meanwhile, car shows are the place where car people gather. While this can be a big undertaking, the payoff is exposure. Car shows connect with local enthusiasts, and the ‘buzz’ they generate can create interest on social media as well as the local news channels. The fact that you have a car show can be used to build links to your website too.
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Always Keep in Touch with Customers
Note that one of the best sources of new business is your current customer base. Keep in contact with them by writing a monthly or quarterly newsletter and sending it through email and via the postal service. Publish a blog on your website, send links to your customers and post them on your social media sites.
In your publications, include driving tips, articles about new products that just arrived and auto maintenance suggestions. Your customers will appreciate the information and remember who sent it to them next time they need parts.
Conclusion
At the very beginning, you will require tremendous promotion and advertising to grow your Auto Spare Parts Business. However, the success of this type of niche business highly depends on B2B networking. You must contact other businesses in the industry.
As an example, automobile workshops buy spare parts in bulk frequently. You can offer a special discount to them. Consider selling online. In today’s digital era, you can’t ignore the internet audiences. You can sell the auto spare parts from online marketplaces or from your own online store.