Truck Parts and Service | Heavy Duty Trucking, Aftermarket, Service Info
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/85632
Service Bay By Lucas Deal, Associate Editor lucasdeal@randallreilly.com provide service, it may be time to look into adding it. And for those of you who do off er service, is it as profi table as you would like it to be? ne area where industry professionals be- lieve there is room for growth for aſt er- market businesses is in service. For those parts distributors who don't If it isn't, one way to improve your bottom line and increase your service business is to improve your service marketing eff orts. You can't improve your service business unless people know about it. Th e fi rst step toward im- proving your service market- ing is understanding what services you can sell to your customers. All customers have specifi c needs, but uncovering what repairs they need from you — and what repairs you can provide them — allows you to focus your promotional eff orts and marketing campaigns on services your customers will use. Simple preventive mainte- 12 Service Marketing O Improving Your Understand what customers need, and what value you can provide them, before creating a marketing campaign nance work is one area of ser- vice you should be marketing. As the cost of running in-house service facilities rises, fl eets are outsourcing more and more maintenance. Letting your fl eet customers know you are an option for that basic work is a must. "You have to look to grow that aspect of your business any way you can," says Mark Willis, business development manager at HDA Truck Pride. But you can't just market your service on the surface. Willis says you also have to keep an eye out for customer trends. For example, if your busi- ness discovers a signifi cant portion of its parts sales are for driveline components TRUCK PARTS & SERVICE | September 2012 and repairs, it's safe to say a marketing campaign notifying your customers that you can provide driveline repairs is something they' d like to know. Even if a customer doesn't immediately bring you driveline work, just knowing you can fi x one may help you get his repair business in the future. Marketing isn't just about making a sale today, says David Washbish, president of Louisville and Lexington Auto Spring. "If you plan on staying in business [for a while], you better plan on marketing," he says. Th e next step to improv- ing your service marketing is deciding what message you want to send your custom-