Differentiating your products from the masses

In the sea of online shopping, be it on Amazon, eBay or parts retailer websites, automotive aftermarket parts companies need to find a way to have their products stand out.

A panel of industry experts gave some advice on how to do that.

“Just because I put a product that’s priced well on my website doesn’t mean it’s going to move, especially when it’s a marketplace,” observed Eric Lough, VP of customer experience at All Start Auto Parts, and moderator of the discussion, Scaling a Successful Omnichannel Strategy for the Automotive Aftermarket.

It starts with every touchpoint being a branded experience, said Will Stone, solution architect with Classy Llama, an e-commerce agency that works with the aftermarket.

It starts with messaging — anything that is driving traffic to your company or product has to have consistent messaging that fits in with the brand.

There should be user-generated content. Companies will want to showcase customers using their products. It can be them using a tool. “This helps share brand awareness and also have some sort of viral presence as well,” Stone said.

Post-sale is a key area many miss out on. Follow up with customers by email to make sure delivery went smoothly.

“How is the email speaking to your brand post-sale? Are you engaging with them in terms of what could you have done better? Asking for feedback: ‘Why did you buy from us versus your other options? That’s also something that I see I don’t see many retailers doing  — and they should.”

When they open the email, they should feel like they recognize your branding. There should also be awareness of the company’s social media handles in the communication. But just a simple note to follow you — explain how they can engage with the brand.

Don’t forget, reminded Johannes Crepon, CEO and co-founder of PDM Automotive, anyone can put your product on Amazon.

“And this is why we go ahead and say, ‘Well since you can’t prevent it, at least take control and take ownership,’” he said.

Amazon and other marketplaces allow you as the brand owner to control how your products are being presented.

“You can at least control how your products are being perceived even if you don’t sell it yourself,” Crepon added. “Again, it’s only about the discoverability of your product, and then also how it is being displayed.”

About half of all product searches start on Amazon, he pointed out.

“They should also get the right details and the reassurance that your brand is the brand that they want to buy, that it is a high quality product,” Crepon said.