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Customer Acquisition 1-2 Punch

The first step in growing your customer base and revenue is adding eCommerce to your parts department. Shopping online has never been more popular with consumers, and at this point, is expected of every retailer. Your parts department is indeed a retailer, so it’s time to start thinking like one. Did you know that 85% of consumers are using the internet to research auto replacement parts? (Auto Care Association)

Meeting customers where they are, with what they need, positions you to meet demand far beyond your local market. That specialty part that’s been collecting dust for the past six months might be exactly what a customer across the country has been looking for. They just needed to find you.

Christopher Forrester is the parts manager at Alden Mazda in Fairhaven, Mass., with only two people in his department, and saw online part sales contribute to $150,000 in additional revenue per month. He shared, “We’re in a tough market with lots of competition, and as a smaller store with limited space and staff, we couldn’t always keep up with the bigger guys in town. But now, thanks to our online presence, we can offer our products to a wider audience.”

Next, hiding in plain sight: the service lane. They’re the parts department’s biggest customer, but does it also feel like sometimes they’re at odds with each other? Flipping the script and training your teams to cross-sell each other will increase sales opportunities for all of fixed ops. If the service department isn’t able to close a repair sale, they can always refer the customer to the parts department to purchase the necessary parts. Sharing information on the online parts store makes it easy for the customer to get the repair done, no matter how they go about it, keeping them happy while you still make a sale. Training the parts department to promote the service lane is doubling down, giving both departments a sale. This mutually beneficial relationship is a win-win and, better yet, focuses on customer experience, ensuring they are presented with all of the options available to them when needing auto repairs.