How to ensure excellent customer experiences in the automotive aftermarket

The typical customer journey has developed a remarkable dynamic in recent years and has also become increasingly diversified in the automotive aftermarket. In addition to conventional touchpoints such as the website, catalog and workshop, online stores and marketplaces are increasingly becoming the focus of product communication. This applies to the B2C and D2C sectors, but a whole range of new sales channels for manufacturer products has also been established in B2B sectors such as the independent aftermarket. For instance, this includes the eBay trading platform, where vehicle and accessory parts from the OEM and spare parts segment are sold under the MyGarage division. However, garages are also increasingly expanding their digital sales channels, which in turn creates new sales opportunities for manufacturers.

Today’s consumers expect an excellent customer experience across all channels they encounter as part of their buying journey. Regardless of the industry, the quality and appeal of the product content and the way it is addressed will determine the success of the experience, ultimately leading to a purchase decision and long-term brand loyalty. In the automotive aftermarket, the relevance of the offer also plays a decisive role. To stick to the eBay example: Users can register their vehicles on MyGarage so that they are only shown suitable listings thanks to intelligent filter functions. In addition, eBay provides a network of workshops for fitting car tires that are purchased via the platform.

Product communication in the automotive aftermarket has always been considered demanding and complex. With the development of online channels, this complexity has now increased even further. Today, manufacturing companies are faced with the challenge of having to consistently serve a wide variety of online and offline channels and also supply third-party providers such as eBay with high-quality product content. At the same time, global competition is forcing them to become more efficient in their marketing and sales processes. The solution here is Data analytics. Product and customer data play a key role here, as well as location and competitor data. This allows the market landscape to be segmented and the individual markets to be processed with precisely tailored product messages. Using data such as VIO (Vehicles In Operation) from TecAlliance, manufacturing companies can access global vehicle market data and, in turn, find out, how many vehicles are registered in a regional market – or gain insights through TecDoc what the competition is offering. This means that strategically important decisions can be made about the product range on offer and local demand can be better met.

Data is the key to gaining valuable insights for marketing, sales and product development – it is also the road to success in the automotive aftermarket. However, data-driven market penetration always requires the right technological equipment. A product content management solution that supports common data standards and branched distribution landscapes in the automotive aftermarket forms the ideal foundation for successful product communication and efficient business process development.

Would you like to ensure that your product content reaches your various data recipients in a reliable and quality-assured format? Download our e-paper « Customer Experience in the Automotive Aftermarket » here, providing you with in-depth insights into the data and communication landscape of the automotive aftermarket and valuable tips and advice for selecting a product content management solution.