Auto Parts Marketing Strategy Overview

The simplest way to develop a parts and accessories marketing strategy is to identify all the ways that auto parts (and accessories) are sold, and then work backwards. That’s exactly what we’re going to do in this post.

There are basically four sales channels for all parts and accessories:

1. Offline in parts stores, off-road shops, speed shops, etc.
2. Offline in repair shops and service businesses
3. Online in marketplaces like Amazon and eBay
4. Online on websites like RockAuto, SummitRacing, etc.

Each of these four sales channels has different requirements, and a good strategy acknowledges the differences between each channel.

Invest in Data

Parts can’t be sold anywhere without data. In fact, the auto parts and accessories business is primarily a data business. The industry generally differentiates between two types of data:

1. Catalog data – Product description, photos, specs, etc. (aka “PIES data”)
2. Fitment data – What vehicles a part will fit (aka “ACES data”)

Both types of data are required for success, so every strategy should focus on creating and/or obtaining this data. Also, better quality data typically leads to more sales and higher margins, so it’s wise to invest here.

Importantly, data isn’t just accurate fitment and specs. It’s photos and videos that help end users decide, detailed specifications that can be used in product filters, detailed descriptions that outline a product’s uniqueness, installation instructions, warranty policies, point of sale materials, and so on.

Speak To The DIY Community

DIY consumers account for a substantial amount of parts and accessories sales. Many brands focus on selling direct to consumer for this reason. However, DIY consumers aren’t just a revenue stream – they are critically important to all part and accessory brands because of their influence.

• DIY’ers constantly discuss the pros and cons of various products on social media, “bench racing” one product against another
• DIY’ers usually have strong opinions about individual part and accessory brands, which they don’t hesitate to share online
• DIY’ers have generated (and continue to generate) millions of hours of how to, review, and comparison videos for YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok

When it comes to parts and accessories, DIY’ers won’t stop talking. As a result, most consumers of parts and accessories are influenced by DIY’ers. If a product or brand has a positive perception in the DIY “community”, that will drive sales on all channels. Therefore, every parts and accessories strategy should embrace consumer focused marketing.

NOTE: Many parts and accessories companies are only focused on business to business (B2B) sales, aka wholesale. Very often, these B2B companies will ignore DIY consumers in their marketing strategy. This is a mistake, as it ignores the most influential group in the industry.

Understand Perceptions of Quality

Nearly every company understands the importance of quality, and most track metrics like return rate, scrap rate, customer complaint rate, etc.. However, most of the people who buy parts and accessories do not know or value these metrics.

Instead, buyers rely on perception to indicate quality. Perceptions are influenced by all kinds of things, many of which aren’t really quality indicators:

• Warranty length (lifetime is best) and warranty labor reimbursement (jobbers/installers often see labor reimbursement as a quality indicator)
• Product packaging quality and heft – “cereal box” cardboard hurts quality perceptions, heavy duty printed packaging boosts it
• Where a product is manufactured (USA is generally perceived to be best, but Germany or Japan are highly regarded as well)
• Whether or not there are plastic components
• Whether or not a product is “OEM” or “OE”
• Whether a product is “universal” (negative) or “direct-fit” (positive)

A good marketing strategy identifies and acknowledges how the target customer perceives quality. And because of differences in quality perceptions from one buyer to the next, market research is essential.

No One Sells A Commodity

Too often, part and accessory buyers (and end users) perceive products as commodities.

Replacement parts, for example, are often perceived by consumers as “about the same.” This is consumer ignorance of course, as there can be massive differences in quality from one part to another. But the question isn’t why consumers are ignorant – the question is why aren’t manufacturers doing a better job of explaining how their products are unique?

To differentiate your products from the competition, you need to develop your marketing in several areas:

• Demonstrate the product’s ruggedness and/or performance in special circumstances – Consumers often assume that if a product works well in a racing or commercial environment, it will also work on their vehicle.
• Highlight OEM fit, finish, and quality standards – Most consumers perceive OEM parts and accessories to be the best available.
• Explain how the product’s superior quality benefits the consumer – Consumers will choose your product if they believe it will reduce the risk of damage to other components, or reduce the inconvenience of an unexpected failure, or reduce future maintenance, etc.
• Emphasize how the product’s excellent durability will save the consumer money – Longer lasting products cost more up-front, but save time and money in the future. Does the customer want to buy nice, or buy twice?

Finally, explain why the product is better – talk about the design and development behind the product, showcase the manufacturing, and support all the statements about your product with evidence (even if the evidence is anecdotal).

What About Brand? What About Endorsements? What About Something Else?

When we talk to new or prospective clients about part and accessory marketing strategy, we’re often asked about specific activities. e.g. “Should we brand this way or that way?” “Should we sponsor this event or race team?” “Should we pay a well-known influencer to promote a product in a video?” Should we “get on Tik Tok?” and so on.

In our view, ALL of these specific marketing and advertising ideas should be evaluated using the following four questions:

1. Will it improve product data?
2. Will it improve product or brand reputation with DIY’ers?
3. Will it improve perceptions of brand or product quality?
4. Will it positively differentiate our brand or product from the competition?

Evaluation isn’t a simple “yes” or “no” – it’s a conversation about metrics for each question. This is the nuts and bolts of marketing, and something that we work at when consulting.

Summing Up

Every part and accessory marketing strategy should start with data and DIY’ers. Both are necessary for success. It should then focus on perceptions of quality and developing differentiators. While there’s a lot of work that goes into developing a good strategy, the final document shouldn’t be too complex (usually just a couple of pages).

As always, the devil is in the details. Figuring out how your target customers perceive quality, for example, is a substantial market research project. Identifying key differentiators requires a lot of specialized industry knowledge. Understanding and evaluating how DIY’ers perceive certain products or messaging requires experience.

If you want to work with an agency that understands these things, contact us.