Ride Control Training And Awareness

The ride control category has proven time and time again to respond well to effective communication strategies. The stumbling block for sales in this category has traditionally been lack of awareness by the consumer. For the jobber, an effective way to address this has been to integrate manufacturer-supplied instruction for inside and outside sales staff with a program of communication and awareness training for service provider customers.

Inventory

Keep your inventory in line with the service requirements of your market, but recognize too that in provinces like B. C., Ontario, and Quebec, some 55% of new car sales are imports. It is important to have inventory to support your marketplace. To be in the ride control business, it has been estimated that you need an investment of about $3,000.

It is simply not enough, therefore, to look at your history of sales, or even lost sales alone. Jobbers need to find out what work their customers are seeing–including those jobs they are not even calling you to supply parts for–and add that to the inventory decision process.

The recent emergence of strut assemblies–like Gabriel’s ReadyMount and the Monroe QuickStrut–must be considered as an option to offer. The number of SKUs in this category has been growing, so it is important to ensure that on-hand inventory and what you can pull from your WD reflects the fast movers from your local market, and that your cataloguing is up to date.

Sales Training

Ensure that you know what print, online, and in-class training options are available for you and your customers, then take advantage of those opportunities. Nothing will help the category more than helping your customers understand how to communicate the importance of ride control to the consumer.

Service Provider Activity

Promote inspection and test drives. A vehicle with as little as 50,000 km may be a candidate for ride control service, yet a significant number of vehicles end up in the vehicle recycler’s yard with their original equipment ride control parts still in place.

Suppliers have found that in-shop and special event training–both of which have the benefit of hands-on experience–have provided benefits to the service provider in terms of added jobs, and also to the consumer through increased safety and reduced wear on other components.

While not in widespread use in Canada, ride control test equipment has proven to be an effective tool for identifying failing ride control.

Light Truck Opportunities

Light trucks and SUVs provide more potential options for the astute counterperson, as the owner is more likely to be looking at upgrades than the passenger car driver. This has become even more pronounced as light trucks have evolved to become more car-like in their ride and suspension configuration, causing more consumers to look at upgrades for their specific needs.

From off-road adjustable options to shock and spring combinations that can provide increased control and more confidence when carrying heavy loads or pulling a trailer, the light truck market is regularly identified as an area of strong growth.

Talk About Safety

There have been a number of research projects identifying the impact of degraded ride control on handling and stopping. While most consumers consider the function of ride control is to keep their vehicle smooth-riding, its real function is to keep the tires in contact with the road. When ride control begins to fail, tires begin to lose traction under turning and braking, possibly compromising safety. Testing has shown an increase in stopping distance of more than three metres from 100 km/h.