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What is the Role of CRM in the Auto Parts Business?

Written by Shruti Jani | April 24, 2020

This article aims to investigate the importance of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) in the auto parts industry. So let us take more in-depth dive into CRM and what it entails precisely for auto parts.

What is CRM?

 

Customer relationship management (CRM) is a technology for managing all your company’s relationships and interactions with customers and potential customers. The goal is simple: Improve business relationships. A CRM system helps companies stay connected to customers, streamline processes, and improve profitability.

 

BENEFITS OF CRM SOFTWARE

The automobile and auto parts industry are spaces where there is a need to build trust within customers because of the high financial investment and safety concerns. An efficient CRM can help with this.

 

Let us explore a few points in detail, as to why CRM is crucial to the automobile and auto parts industry, especially when it comes to retaining and increasing consumer base:

 

1. Stay Ahead of the Competition


 

The auto parts industry operates in both the B2B and B2C sector. And if there is high competition, customers can quickly get swept away by other businesses. Competition means that not only the quality and cost of your product matters but also your relationship with the customer. 

 

Your approach towards your customer will decide their inclination towards your business. Especially in an industry like auto parts where the customer can quickly move on to another vendor through a quick Google search

 

To stay ahead of the other vendors, a CRM system will keep in touch with your customer and ensure that they are getting everything they expect from your business. It makes sure that they do not even think of migrating elsewhere. An efficient CRM system will provide them with the best service before they even ask for it. 

 

Related Post- 5 steps to build an excellent website for your auto parts business

 

2. Increase Your Customer Flock

 

 

Automobile and auto parts industries are low churn industries, i.e. a customer is not likely to buy one product multiple times in a short period. Each purchase is a long term investment. Which means that one increases their profit margins by selling their product to a large volume of customers, instead of selling their products again and again to a small group.

 

One of the best ways to increase the pool of potential customers is through CRM. It ensures that existing customers are engaging with your brand and that new customers are continuously getting introduced to your products. It increases brand retention, so that when they do need a product they think of your company.

 

More so, if you have a good relationship with your existing customers, they will provide the best form of marketing possible- word of mouth. This will, in the long term, lead to a more extensive customer base.

 

3. Breed Loyal Customers

 


Once you get a potential customer into your flock, you shouldn’t let go of them easily. After all, making them a customer has been a hard task.

 

They say, a person who purchases once from you is a customer, but a person who purchases twice is a loyalist. Especially in businesses like auto parts that have a relatively high financial investment. 

 

What a CRM system does is, it keeps interacting with customers even if they are not actively looking to purchase. This increases customer loyalty, so over the years whenever they do need a product, they know that there is a trustworthy brand in the business. 

 

And in an industry like auto parts where the safety of gear, the longevity of the machine, build quality etc. are very important, trust is an extremely beneficial currency to have.

 

IMPORTANT FUNCTIONS OF CRM SOFTWARE

 

Here are a few brief functions a CRM can achieve in the auto parts industry, which will make running your business extremely smooth:

 

1. Get Complete Customer Information

A CRM creates a customer database where vital information like their purchases, preferences of vehicle models, etc. are stored. This can help you forecast what they will need in the future, and what their current concerns could be. 

 

2. Personalize the Customer’s Experience

A CRM can help with thinking in an inbound way. It means that you are giving your customers what they want, and not what you want to sell. It shows to them that their opinion matters and that they are not just faceless cash cows for you. This not only builds a customer relationship but also gives valuable information about customer preferences, which will help you in product development.

 

3. Automate Tasks

The main aim of CRM software is not to replace the human brains running the business, but to make their job easier. Automating manual tasks in a complex industry like this is a necessity. E.g. it can be follow-up emails to customers, feedback forms, reminders for servicing etc. 

 

4. Forecast Customer Needs

What forecasting can do is show what a customer might expect from your business in the future depending on the products you are selling. It can show that you may not currently have a service that they might need, or that you’re running short on a specific raw material etc. It is solving future problems now; when the time is there.

 

And that is it…

 

These are the few benefits and functions of CRM software that exhibit how important it is to run the auto parts industry. 

 

Customer relationship management is essential to every firm as they seek to make a profit through long-term relationships with customers. Customers have incredible information available to them through the internet, Google reviews, social media etc. which is why building relationships requires more effort.

 

The implementation of such unique software is likely to redefine the company's customer service, improve marketing, sales, and increase revenue.

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