Remember,itistheconsumer；maintenanceissue,theywie；Safety,dependabilityandp；owner/consumerwhenitcome；consumervaluesandsupport；AASAhaslaunchedaninitiat；productsinthemarketplace；perfo
Remember,itistheconsumerswhopay,anddependingonwhetheritisarepairor
maintenanceissue,theywieldmorepowertodaythanever.
Safety,dependabilityandperformanceareofutmostimportancetothevehicle
owner/consumerwhenitcomestoautomotiveaftermarketpartsusedforvehiclemaintenanceandrepairs.Asparticipantsintheaftermarketdistributionchannel(includingmanufacturer,distributor,chainorindependentretailerandrepairprofessional)seektorespondtoandinfluenceconsumerchoice,buildtrustandmaintainmarketshareinvehiclerepairandreplacement,allplayersmustunderstandhowtheproductstheyoffermeetthesekey
consumervaluesandsupporttheirreputationinthemarket.
AASAhaslaunchedaninitiativecalled―KnowYourParts,‖designedtoencouragealldistributionchannelparticipantstofullyevaluatetheincreasingnumberofcompeting
productsinthemarketplaceacrossseveraldimensionsofdependability,qualityand
performance.Thiscampaignhighlightstheimportanceinunderstandingtheextenttowhichthereistransparencyinthemanufacturer’scommitmenttoprovidesupportintheformof
technicalspecifications,warranty,qualityassurance,trainingandotherservices.Itrecognizestheimportantrolethatrepairprofessionals,distributorsandretailersplayininfluencingcustomerandconsumerchoice,particularlywhentheconsumerismoredependentonthesupplychainforinformationtosupportchoicedecisionsamongcomplexproducts.
PROTECTINGANDGROWINGBRANDS
Bothmanufacturersandretailersareaskingforclarityinhowtounderstandandactuponprivatebrandmarketdynamics.Wesuggesttheybeginbyaskingthefollowingquestions:
1).Learnthemarket:Seerealityincustomerandconsumerperspectives
a).Whatlevelsofawareness,consideration,purchaseintent,usageandloyaltyexist
withinthecategoriesandbrandswhereIcompete?
b).Howisthemarketchanging,andhowwillfutureconsolidationcreateopportunities?c).Areweusingdigitalandsocialmediaresourcestogainspecificinsightinto
consumers?
d).Shouldweestablishstrategiclisteningpostsusingsocialmediaasanongoing
programratherthanaone-timeeffort?Wherealongthedistributionchannelshouldsuchmeasuresbeused?
2).Knowthyself:Lookatwhatvalueyourbrandsofferineachproductcategoryand
consumerandrepairprofessionalsegments
a).Howcanmymanagementteamsthinkdifferentlyratherthanpreservethestatusquo?b).Shouldorganizationalpracticesorstructurechangeinlightofprivatebrand
dynamics?
c).Whichbrandsrepresentleadingpracticesthatshouldbereplicated?
d).Whatmarketingandpromotionalleverscanbepulledtopreserveandgrowbrand
loyaltyandqualityperceptionsamongalldistributionchannelconsumers?
3).Evaluatenewcompetition
a).Wherearemymarketingactivitiesover-orunder-resourcedascomparedto
competitors?Doesthisnewrealityoffercost-reductionorrevenueopportunities?
b).Whatisthepotentialtomaximizerevenuesgiventhepriceelasticityofmyproductsascomparedtocompetitorandprivatebrandofferings?
c).Howarecompetitorscombatingprivatebrandthreats,andwhatlessonscanbe
learned?
4).Buildprivatebranddefenseandoffensestrategiesandcompetencies
a).HowcanIbuildaprivatebrandmonitoringcapability?
b).ShouldIdevelopaprivatebrandindexorsimilarmeasure?
Aftermarketcompaniesneedtodevelopholistic,reliableandmultidimensionalmeasurestobetterunderstand,evaluateandmonitorprivatebrandvaluegapsacrosstheentire
aftermarketdistributionchannel.Thesemeasuresmustgobeyondpricingandincludequality,innovationandotherdimensionssuchascustomerandconsumerperceptions.Obtaining
informationtodevelopsuchmeasureswilllikelymeanusingdifferentapproachestogatherconsumer-levelinsights.Thisanalysisfocusesonthreeareas:1)measuringandevaluatingthetruepenetrationofprivatebrandswithinvariousproductcategoriesexperiencingahighdegreeofcommoditization,2)identifyingtherootcausesofthistrendinquantitativeandqualitativetermsand3)buildingviableandpracticalresponsesatbrandandcategorylevels.