Can you honestly describe your parts department as competitive and aggressive?
Chances are, you could be a lot more efficient when it comes to selling parts and accessories online. Outdated parts forms and a weak web presence can hold you back, giving someone else an advantage. When another dealership makes a sale in your area, that’s one less sale for your parts business.
Get this—the more customers you’re engaging with, the fewer there are for your competition.
Strengthen your web presence
The strategy is simple. Be where your customers are, wherever they are. With over 16,700 franchised dealers in the United States alone, shoppers have endless options when it comes to buying parts. Are your weak social media presence and non-user-friendly website holding you back from securing your share of this multi-billion dollar industry?
Good news—you can fix that.
Through basic social media engagement and incentives, like discounts and free shipping promos, you can reach new customers and re-engage old customers at the same time. Social media has an influence on 74% of customers when it comes to buying something. By putting your dealership on social media, you’re getting your parts business in front of a much larger audience. If your closest competitor doesn’t, you just gave yourself an edge.
Your dealership website is the first impression a customer will have of your business.
Do a simple website audit to see if your web presence is working for or against you:
- Use high-quality product photos. Low-resolution or blurry photos of your inventory give off an unprofessional vibe and can make it harder for customers to trust your business.
- Are you using a parts form? Chances are, it’s overwhelming to your average parts shopper and you’re missing out on sales because of it. Read more about why your customers would rather go to the DMV than use your parts form ever again.
- Is your parts catalog online for customers to see? If you’re not selling your parts inventory online at all, you’re already behind: let us help with that.
- Keep your staff contact information up to date. If an employee leaves or gets promoted, be sure to make the necessary updates as soon as possible. If a customer is calling to speak with a fixed ops employee who hasn’t worked there in years, you could lose a loyal paying customer.
If it’s not working, get rid of it!
Often, the fatal mistake of a dealership’s website is the parts form. It costs you sales in ways you may have never considered. Picture this: your customer finds a competitor’s store that has an all-in-one plugin that gives full access to their entire parts catalog without having to fill out a confusing form. For the customer, it’s a no brainer— easy, accurate, and no waiting. Your parts form simply can’t stand up to that. The only way to compete with such an easy shopping experience is to ditch the old parts form for a user-friendly plugin.
What can I do that my competition won’t?
In the world of selling OEM parts, being adaptable is crucial. In 2018, eCommerce auto parts sales exceeded 10 billion dollars. If you’re open to making changes and tweaking your parts business on the fly, you’re sure to come out on top. The pie (with a golden brown sales crust and a delicious revenue filling) is bigger than ever and it keeps growing by the day.
Time to claim your own slice of the pie. Sign up for a quick demo with RevolutionParts and discover how the Storefront Plugin replaces your parts form and improves your customer experience. Your customers will never need to shop with a competitor ever again.
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