Truck Parts and Service

July 2014

Truck Parts and Service | Heavy Duty Trucking, Aftermarket, Service Info

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2 W ith so many new avenues to acquire data in today's trucking industry, it is important aftermarket businesses don't forget their best data asset — customer information. All customer interactions offer after- market businesses an opportunity to ac- quire knowledge. From basic stock orders to rush deliveries, each transaction helps paint the picture of a customer's opera- tion and needs. But in order to fully take advantage of customer data you have to know what it means. According to Edward Kuo, director of sales, motor vehicles at Datalliance, there are four steps to making data useful. By completing each step, you can harvest data that gives you an accurate represen- tation of your customer base, and allows you to cater to their needs. Collection The fi rst step in making data useful is also the most obvious. You should be col- lecting as much data as possible in your business. I mean absolutely everything. If a customer comes in the last week of every month because he's out of wid- gets, write that down. If he never buys shock absorbers during your yearly sales blitz, write that down, too. Data is most valuable in large quanti- ties because it allows trends to appear. Tracking everything allows you to do that. And while some data will ultimately prove unusable, it's better to collect everything and later discover what is valuable than attempt to only record what you think you will need. That's how important trends go unnoticed. Cleaning Cleaning might be the most important step in making data usable. You don't want to analyze data that's incomplete. Cleaning allows you to turn your data into information that truly matters. For example imagine a customer calls you to see if you have the clutch he needs. You aren't sure, so you tell him you'll check and get back to him. You fi nd the clutch but before you can call him back, he's dialed you again. Should that be one customer request or two? He called twice, but both times for the same part. This is where cleaning comes in. If you want to know how often a customer requires a rush order on a part, that interaction should go down as one call. Analysis I think this is what most people think of when they hear the word data; a man in a dimly lit room staring at a spread- sheet and making furious calculations in a notebook. But for the most part, data analysis has evolved from the days of notepad cal- culations. There is now business software available in the aftermarket that can identify customer trends in cleaned data with a single keystroke. Finding who buys the most brake shoes during CVSA Roadcheck week doesn't require four hours and a box of No. 2 pencils anymore. It can be done in minutes. New technology also allows for extremely narrow or broad analysis, which means an aftermarket business can identify segmented and expansive customer trends. That's incredibly valu- able when reaching the fourth step. Presentation Correctly acquired, cleaned and analyzed data is invaluable because it allows you to market directly to a customer's needs. This can be done many ways, the most obvious of which is through sales pro- motions. Good data allows you a window into your customers' purchasing history. Which means, if most of your cus- tomers buy their yearly supply of Freon in July, why not offer a discount that month to spur additional sales? They know they need it, and if you mark it down they might purchase extra. Data presentation also can be direct. If data indicates a customer requires sus- pension repairs each April, tell them. And offer to stock what they need in March. That will help your customer and your bottom line. T R U C K P A R T S & S E R V I C E | J u l y 2 0 1 4 The four rules of data By Lucas Deal, Editor lucasdeal@randallreilly.com Editorial | Lucas Deal Good data allows you a window into your customers' purchasing history.

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