Truck Parts and Service | Heavy Duty Trucking, Aftermarket, Service Info
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/665998
18 where they needed to be." Hill says this is where merchandising is so important. Customers waiting for service at a parts counter are captive and engaged. They've made a commitment to not only enter a store, but they are willing to wait for service to get what they need. He says these are people who plan to buy something. Adds Schroeter, "Effective merchan- dising enables customers to make better and more educated decisions, which overall enhances the customer experience and will make it more likely for them to come back the next time they need something. It's a win-win situation." Distributors with enticing retail dis- plays capitalize on that opportunity. Khanduja says Automann provides free product displays to distributors who reach sales benchmarks, and each display is carefully built to maximize available space and merchandising opportunity. Hill says some of the easiest tricks for quickly transforming a retail space are removing counter stools — forcing customers to stand or move around — centralizing product by vendors and product categories, regularly rotating seasonal items and end caps to showcase new products and covering pallets and unattractive shelving to create a more visually appealing store. Hill says customers adapt quickly once they see the benefi ts of the changes. "It's kind of a cultural thing. Older customers are probably less receptive to it at fi rst because they've always done it one way. But even they come around pretty fast," Hearron says. Vince Mathews, president at Capitol Clutch & Brake, says regular product rotation has been the biggest driver of retail sales at his facility. Mathews says he's tasked one of his inside sales people with monitoring retail product movement and making changes when needed so customers are exposed to as many potential product lines as possible. "That's the main thing for us. When customers are here you want them to see everything you have so they can see what they can buy from us," he says. Schroeder says he's making that a priority in his new facility as well. Now that Truck Equipment has so much retail space available, he says he wants to maximize it. "When we fi rst moved [into the new building] it was kind of overwhelming how much we could do," he says. "But now that we know what it's like to have this much space, we've started to learn how to move things around and make everything visible." And Hill says visibility is extremely important. Large product displays, vendor logo signage and video boards are all extremely valuable tools on their own. But put too many in one place — or leave them unchanged — and customers will eventually tune them out. "Less is sometimes best," he says. "Keep it clean." The result of both these facility design and merchandising improvements is a distributor location prepared to serve customers in the new, ultra-competitive aftermarket landscape. "If you think about it, merchandis- ing works in any other industry. Why wouldn't it work in ours? We are dealing with people and while the product in question is different, buying habits and behaviors are not that different at all," Schroeter says. Mathews agrees. "We're in an industry that in many ways is behind the times. I don't think everyone realizes the payback [to retail and merchandising practices], and some don't think about it at all," he says. "There are some sales you make where you can't be sure if the customer bought a product because they were looking for it, or because they just saw it in the store. But there's no doubt that if you get the product out there where [customers] can see it, it increases your chances." T R U C K P A R T S & S E R V I C E | A p r i l 2 0 1 6 Cover Story In situations where space is tight, sales fl yers available at vendor displays or a parts counter also can help increase product awareness and visibility. Nick Seidel, vice president and sales manager at Action Truck Parts, requests fl yers from all of his suppliers, and says he distributes them to customers during sales calls in addition to placing them in his store. Josh Foster, director of sales at Trux Accessories, says the goal with any pamphlet is the same as a retail display — to showcase what a vendor produces and what a distributor has available. "We want our distributors to give our sheets to the end user, because ultimately that's who we're trying to reach," he says. Supplier fl yers allow distributors to send news about available product back to fl eet hubs and service centers. Portable signage