Facebook is replete with calls to "Move your business online!". Ok, what's next? Transition to online — This is money. For some, the last. And not the fact that the costs will be followed by salvation. The article will be useful to those who plan to move the auto parts business online and not screw it up.
Allzap® is a turnkey solution for selling auto parts. The online store has a stylish design and wide functionality. The basic version includes all the tools you need to successfully trade auto parts!
What's going on in the auto parts market
Recent days have become not just stressful, but a real collapse for offline business. Don't comfort yourself. Further it will be worse. The next 3-6 months will show whose place is in business and whose in the ass at home on the couch. But there is good news: auto parts — this is a product that is bought during a crisis, pandemic, war and other cataclysms. The fear of being left without a car at the most inopportune moment makes car owners not only listen more carefully to “where it knocks”, but also change consumables in time, sort out the chassis and even buy a new car. Based on data information and analytical group Auto-Consulting, during the first week of quarantine – from 16 to 22 March – new car sales rose by an average of 74% compared to the previous week.
In general, not a single buckwheat: cars and auto parts — the product that was bought, bought and will be bought. But not everyone, given today's circumstances.
From offline to online: transition difficulties
Growth in online sales — the trend of recent years, which the coronovirus quarantine not only strengthened, but also accelerated. On average, Ukrainian e-commerce is growing by 5% annually, experts predict a threefold growth this year. The massive closure of markets and offline points provoked a sharp transition of customers to online. Customers, of course, were followed by sellers.
There are not so many options for going online at an auto parts seller:
- If there is a website — advertising is adjusted or optimized, budgets are redistributed;
- If there is no — the possibilities of portals, bulletin boards, price aggregators are used.
Difficulties faced by site owners:
- Low effectiveness of advertising campaigns. In a short time, it is impossible to adequately set up advertising for a site with a multi-million assortment and a complex structure;
- The high cost of setting up contextual advertising. Automation helps solve the efficiency problem, but it requires the appropriate qualifications of a PPC specialist and the participation of programmers. Companies that know how to set up quickly and correctly can be counted on the fingers of one hand;
Trying to save money, you set up advertising yourself, look for inexpensive freelancers, turn to the son of your mother's friend and other obscurantists. The result is predictable — money wasted.
Difficulties faced by sellers on boards and portals:
- Dumping. Favorite entertainment for those who want to be as high as possible on the listing of Hotline, Avto.pro, AvtoRIA and other aggregators. It is possible and possible to sell, but it is unlikely to earn;
- Positioning on portals costs money. If you pay for clicks, you will have to increase the budget, because there are about three billion people who want to click on the Internet;
- It will be difficult to sell on portals without a reliable reputation.
When uploading to portals, remember that any third-party platform should be used as an auxiliary sales channel, but not the main one, and certainly not the only one. Even if before that everything was fine for you for years, practice shows that everything can change in one day and not for the better.
How to go online the right way
We analyzed dozens of Google Analytics accounts of our clients. Online stores actively working on the online direction show an increase in traffic and sales.
By adding statistics allzap.ua, we have developed a list of recommendations that will help your business not only safely shift priorities towards online and survive in the era of the corona crisis , but also to earn.
Reduce costs
Economy — it's not about laying off all employees and processing orders alone. Do not cut hastily, remember that the most valuable resource of your business — people.
Savings when switching to online — it's not about investing $3,000 in website development, but rather using a more budget rental solution without sacrificing quality and functionality. This is not to drain the advertising budgett down the toilet, paying for ineffective advertising, and go straight to people who know how to customize. This is not to feed portals by paying for a growing number of clicks, but to pay per order using the CPA model.
Clean up your analytics
The &ldash; earned» fundamentally wrong. Remember the Pareto principle, which in general terms sounds like “20% of efforts give 80% of the result, and the remaining 80% of efforts — only 20% of the result. It is important to find the very 20% that will allow you to grow and exclude those 80% that can sink. Analyze channels, sources, campaigns. Do not expect a miracle and do not give a chance without objective reasons. Ruthlessly disable what does not work.
The basic capabilities of Google Analytics combined with call tracking will be enough for you. When setting goals, avoid pseudo-conversions like "pageview" or "registration on the site." Your conversions — call, order, application for selection. Anything else doesn't reflect the success of your campaigns in terms of revenue.
Focus on your region
The probability that a person will buy a spare part in his city is much higher. Firstly, you do not need to wait for delivery for several days, and secondly, you can pick it up yourself. In addition, the presence of a pickup point in your region increases the buyer's confidence in the seller.
If possible, arrange free and safe delivery in your city. This can be your key advantage. Regional campaigns that include free shipping are 2% higher on average. In order not to work in the red, limit the offer to the minimum order amount, for example, 500-700 UAH.
Cooperate with UkrPoshta. There is a post office even in the most remote Ukrainian village, where no transport company or courier service delivers. Take care of your clients. Parts are the same for everyone, but the attitude towards people is different. The crisis will end — the loyalty of regular customers will remain.
Regularly update prices and availability
Inconsistency between the real price and the cost on the site — the most common reason for canceling an order. In the face of currency fluctuations, it is very important to keep prices and availability up to date. Feel free to update price lists and terms of purchase. Play it safe by indicating on the site that you are trying to keep prices up to date, but to be completely sure, you need to check the data with the manager.
Don't spend last
If the financial reserve is limited, don't experiment. You won't get a second try. Well, if you're lucky, but if not, what's next? Work with well-known channels or take a wait-and-see attitude and just watch the market. Save the energy and resources for a breakthrough that can be done immediately after the end of the quarantine. Make the most of your waiting time with [Allzap for your friends] solution. This is a completely free online auto parts store. You will be able to test the functionality, download prices, customize the design, share the link with friends and regular customers so that they can buy from you today without visiting the market or store. Once you're ready for a big start, we'll transfer all your data to any other plan for free.
If you are not a national chain, not a large store with a supply of liquidity, then in order to survive you will have to work hard and hard. Remember — it is not the strongest who survive, but the most flexible and adapted.
