5 strategic factors to optimize your business in the current context
Trends
In a recent article, Tips4y shared some solutions that help aftermarket professionals to minimize inflation costs and thus optimize business margins according to this new reality that perhaps many have never lived or experienced.
However, in addition to inflation, there are constant and recurring challenges in any activity that always cause "headaches" for those who need to drive their business in a competitive and modernizing environment, such as the case of the independent aftermarket sector.
We highlight 5 strategic factors for aftermarket companies to optimise their business in the current context:
1. Deal with the competition
Do not place your focus on the competition solely on price, risking devaluing other attributes that allow you to differentiate your service from competitors.
Companies that provide undifferentiated services end up being perceived as mere "commodities" (entities that supply water, gas, electricity, or even internet access in a completely generic way).
Transform your service into a value-added offer with the DataDrive platform and be competitive on what will shape the future of the aftermarket: innovation, digitalisation and user experience!
2. Manage the pricing policy
Reinforcing the previous point, don't use ‘price for price’ as the only sales tool that shows what you have to offer customers - don't position your service on ‘price’ alone, but on a global solution of integrated advantages, always associated with concrete benefits that make customers prefer your company precisely because of the convenience of this solution.
DataDrive allows you to be 100% transparent in the prices you estimate and in line with a dealer's original service sheet, properly detailed and making this process really fast. It's a solution that over time cultivates trust in the relationship through the quality of the service and not just based on the cost.
3. Minimize the cost of returning parts
The return of parts is a ‘chronic’ challenge in this market, but it is always possible to reverse this reality and Tips4y's experience includes success stories that have reduced this cost by around 30% through the TecDoc Catalogue.
Although returns are a legal part of trade, they should always be discouraged if they are caused by negligence or misuse of the means of identification through restrictive policies on the acceptance of returns.
Invest in educating your customers by communicating and making these rules consistent, facilitating, above all, the correct identification of parts through accurate services such a Plate number Search for accurate vehicle identification.
4. Operate efficiently
Production teams are a permanent burden on the business margin, but it is possible to adjust this cost so that it can be managed as an investment through excellent resource planning.
DataDrive‘s Planning menu allows you to effectively manage workshop capacity by directing it towards the most productive activities in the maintenance and repair areas, as you can check non occupied time over occupied hours, as well as the value of estimates already approved and in progress, making decisions in real time based on the performance indicators.
5. Service qualification
Technical qualifications are another major challenge in the after-sales sector and a constant ‘enemy’ of a good level of service.
Alongside the effort to promote specialised training for your teams, other day-to-day practices should be encouraged, namely eliminating human error in processes that can and should be supported by digital processes or through specialised support services – Technical Support Line.
Through the new TecRMI Online Portal and just by entering the vehicle's plate number or KMs, it is possible to access the appropriate Maintenance Plan for the vehicle with maximum reliability.
In general, always use technology to dematerialise paper and, above all, for tasks where human capacity can't ‘compete’ with the high efficiency of the tools themselves, which are properly designed and targeted at qualifying services.
All these “pains” have a solution: Contact us about your business!
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