Fixed Ops Magazine - 2023 Vol20 04 - 51

Unlike sales that are made over the counter, online sales
often lack personal interaction and require new ways
of communication. However, selling online dramatically
increases your market reach and exposes your parts
business to a broader consumer base.
BUILDING AN EFFECTIVE
SALES STRATEGY
To truly be successful online, you have to tailor your online
sales strategy to fit within your parts department's
capabilities, your customer's needs, and the established
expectations of existing online consumers. How does
this translate into the tactics you choose and implement
into your eCommerce business model?
* First, you should decide WHERE you want to sell
online. The best option is through a designated parts
web store or a storefront that is separate from your
dealership website. Having a designated online store
to sell through helps you establish your online presence
and gives you more control over the customer
experience.
* Second, you should consider third-party marketplaces
like Amazon and eBay.
* Finally, you should modernize your dealership website
by replacing your parts form with the capability
of shopping for parts online.
Diversifying your revenue streams online like this gives
you a few key benefits.
1. It allows you to reach a larger customer base. The
online market expands your reach to the millions
rather than just the hundreds or thousands within your
local area, giving you significant growth potential.
2. It gives you the opportunity to price your inventory
more competitively. When you can sell parts at
higher volumes across multiple selling channels, you
can make prices more attractive for customers. As
a more cost-effective option, you can secure their
business and increase your profitability.
IMPLEMENTING THE RIGHT TECHNOLOGY
To build an effective eCommerce strategy, you need to
have a robust online sales platform in which you can
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51
manage these multiple channels through a single dashboard.
This brings us to the next important component
of your parts eCommerce strategy: Implementing the
right technology.
The technology you choose will serve as the foundation
of your online parts business, so you want to be
sure to choose wisely. Consider choosing an eCommerce
platform that is user-friendly, secure, and capable
of easily uploading your catalog to your selling
channels. It should also offer secure, easy-to-use payment
gateways, robust reporting, and simple inventory
management.
Ideally, the platform you choose will allow you to track
consumer behavior so you can make informed decisions
about your business and easily communicate
with your customers.
Finally, if you are not working with a parts marketing
team, you will want to invest in marketing technology.
This includes SEO tools that will help boost your
web store's visibility online, email marketing software,
Fixed Ops Magazine - 2023 Vol20 04

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Fixed Ops Magazine - 2023 Vol20 04
