Vertical integration: This New Way is Actually Old
Some companies have found a different way of maintaining control over the production and distribution of their products. As it turns out, this way is actually about 100 years old. Will automotive aftermarket companies follow suit?
Make Sure Every Aftermarket Automotive Part is Special
A part that might not be exciting to you could be the one puts someone back on the road. Or makes their commute more comfortable. Or allows them to take that trip this weekend they were originally going to cancel because their car was on the fritz.
New Type of ‘Guess the Car’ Contest Is Coming Soon to Counterman
The wildly popular "Guess the Car" contest, which appears in Counterman magazine and online here at Counterman.com, is going to have some competition. There’s going to be another "Guess the Car" contest coming soon. The prize money is the same: $50. But the contest clues will be a little different. We’ll keep you posted. (Just
There’s More to Delivery Than Handing Off Aftermarket Automotive Parts
During these tough economic times, it’s never been more important to set your business apart from the rest. The fact is, how your customers view your drivers is how they actually view your business. Those attributes about your drivers that you see every day and ignore may not be viewed the same way by your customers.
VIN: These Three Letters are the DNA of an Automobile
erproductive to rely on several sources of information just to find the correct part for an automobile. For example, during our research on creating a fully VIN-assisted catalog, we posed the question of how to find brake rotors for a particular 1999 Ford F-150 using current aftermarket cataloging. As anyone reading this knows, it’s not
Counterman.com and Counterman Magazine Are Now on Twitter!
It was bound to happen. Counterman.com and Counterman magazine are now on Twitter! If you don’t know what Twitter is, it’s OK. It’s basically like text messaging for the Internet. If the editorial staff of Counterman.com and Counterman magazine find something noteworthy, we send out what are called "tweets" that alert readers to what’s happening
What Business Are You In?
This column is about businesses whose owners believe they’re in a business other than the one they’re actually in. I’ll give you an example: Newspaper companies are in the information business, not the newspaper-printing business. But for the longest time, you couldn’t tell newspaper owners this wasn’t the case. They got behind the competition and
Are Your Returns Really That High?
We must always challenge assumptions, even if we sometimes don’t want to do it. Since coming to this industry, the magic number I’ve heard regarding the percentage of parts that come back as returns is 25. I’ve heard the figure repeated in conversations, speeches and repeated it myself, apparently without thinking much of it. But
Telling the Story of Quality Parts
When economic times are tough, people want the cheapest parts installed on their vehicles, right? You may be surprised to hear that in the many conversations I’ve had with both counter professionals and technicians over the past several months during this economic crisis, the overarching theme has been that motorists are requesting and inquiring about
Let’s Find a Cure for This Virus
Gerald Wheelus, manager of Edgewood Auto Parts in Edgewood, Texas, and a Counterman contributor recently told me, “I’ve been in this business since 1986 and our business always does better when the economy is bad. We always thrive when car dealerships can’t sell new cars.” You haven’t read that in the news have you? For
A New Look for Counterman.com
They say change is inevitable and with the New Year just around the corner, it’s only fitting that visitors to Counterman.com see a change we hope you not only like but will find functional. If you’d been to Counterman.com before, you know that while it was a solid, multi-faceted Web site, like anything, there was
Let’s All ‘Hit the Ground Running’
In late September, I saw the meaning of “hit the ground running” firsthand. Nestled in the beautiful hills of the Appalachian Mountains in New York State is Alfred State College’s Wellsville campus. I’d never been to Alfred State before I was invited to attend a ride and drive event there, sponsored by Tenneco. What I