The last few weeks I’ve been routinely reminded of a common tragedy of our time. I’m talking about when established businesses think they don’t need a web-selling strategy as a part of their overall business plan.
Specifically, the reminders are coming in the form of the big bright yellow “Going Out Of Business” banners that hang on the front of every Borders bookstore I drive past.
As a regular visitor to Ann Arbor, Mich., since the 1980s, I have long been a Borders aficionado. For the last three decades they have epitomized for me the small, specialty retailer turned big box juggernaut. Even as a mega retailer, they retained some of the soul they had as a small college town book shop catering to bibliophiles. And maybe that’s where the seeds of their undoing were sown.
With rampant growth through the late part of the last century and the first part of this one, Borders became the largest North American bookseller. They eclipsed the likes of venerable but now defunct chains like B. Dalton, Waldenbooks and Brentano’s.
Then Amazon came along.
But it is not simply the emergence of an “online” bookstore that was the undoing of Borders. I assume Borders, like most retailers, questioned the necessity of a Web presence and how it could be integrated into their overall selling strategy. Hold that thought and cross over into our space—the automotive aftermarket.
This same dilemma is especially prevalent in the aftermarket. Resellers of all sorts obsess about the viability of getting the right parts to customers without the intervention of a counterperson. Some use the excuse of the probability of high returns as a reason not to go there. Many also grouse about the cost of maintaining a website. What they should be studying is the cost of staying off the Web.
They need to understand that Web shoppers are not automatically Web buyers. Recent studies indicate that 93 percent of aftermarket purchases (parts and service) start with a Web search of some kind. Face it: The Web is a fabulous tool for gathering all kinds of information to make an informed buying decision. The majority of consumers use the Web to gather information, but still make their purchases at brick and mortar establishments.
Logic would suggest that all resellers would want to expose their business, their brands and their unique selling proposition to all shoppers who are potential buyers. Moreover, as more Web shoppers are becoming Web buyers every day, why are so many resellers refusing to develop online capability now?
Let’s revisit the Borders situation to see what we can learn. I said it wasn’t just the emergence of an “online” bookstore that was their undoing. It had more to do with their inaction to respond to downloadable books. Amazon launched the Kindle. Barnes and Noble reacted with the Nook. And what did Borders do? They reaffirmed their commitment to being a bookstore with comfy chairs and espresso; a place where shoppers could while away the hours, lost in pages covered with ink. The problem was that not enough buyers still wanted to shop that way. In the end, the buyers voted with their money, and Borders was forced to liquidate.
So what should aftermarket practitioners take away from the Borders case? It’s true that no one will be able to “download” a water pump any time soon. But the undeniable fact is that people are shopping for auto parts differently than they have in the past. Professional technicians and DIYers alike expect to find information about your brands, your know-how, your availability and your prices on the Web. Having such a Web presence can win you more business now and in the future.
Think about it, your Web presence reflects your mindset regarding technology and makes a powerful statement about your business sense in general. It sends a clear signal to your customers, channel partners, prospects and competitors. With a mediocre website or no Web presence at all, what message are you sending?
The last few weeks I’ve been routinely reminded of a common tragedy of our time. I’m talking about when established businesses think they don’t need a web-selling strategy as a part of their overall business plan.
Specifically, the reminders are coming in the form of the big bright yellow “Going Out Of Business” banners that hang on the front of every Borders bookstore I drive past.
As a regular visitor to Ann Arbor, Mich., since the 1980s, I have long been a Borders aficionado. For the last three decades they have epitomized for me the small, specialty retailer turned big box juggernaut. Even as a mega retailer, they retained some of the soul they had as a small college town book shop catering to bibliophiles. And maybe that’s where the seeds of their undoing were sown.
With rampant growth through the late part of the last century and the first part of this one, Borders became the largest North American bookseller. They eclipsed the likes of venerable but now defunct chains like B. Dalton, Waldenbooks and Brentano’s.
Then Amazon came along.
But it is not simply the emergence of an “online” bookstore that was the undoing of Borders. I assume Borders, like most retailers, questioned the necessity of a Web presence and how it could be integrated into their overall selling strategy. Hold that thought and cross over into our space—the automotive aftermarket.
This same dilemma is especially prevalent in the aftermarket. Resellers of all sorts obsess about the viability of getting the right parts to customers without the intervention of a counterperson. Some use the excuse of the probability of high returns as a reason not to go there. Many also grouse about the cost of maintaining a website. What they should be studying is the cost of staying off the Web.
They need to understand that Web shoppers are not automatically Web buyers. Recent studies indicate that 93 percent of aftermarket purchases (parts and service) start with a Web search of some kind. Face it: The Web is a fabulous tool for gathering all kinds of information to make an informed buying decision. The majority of consumers use the Web to gather information, but still make their purchases at brick and mortar establishments.
Logic would suggest that all resellers would want to expose their business, their brands and their unique selling proposition to all shoppers who are potential buyers. Moreover, as more Web shoppers are becoming Web buyers every day, why are so many resellers refusing to develop online capability now?
Let’s revisit the Borders situation to see what we can learn. I said it wasn’t just the emergence of an “online” bookstore that was their undoing. It had more to do with their inaction to respond to downloadable books. Amazon launched the Kindle. Barnes and Noble reacted with the Nook. And what did Borders do? They reaffirmed their commitment to being a bookstore with comfy chairs and espresso; a place where shoppers could while away the hours, lost in pages covered with ink. The problem was that not enough buyers still wanted to shop that way. In the end, the buyers voted with their money, and Borders was forced to liquidate.
So what should aftermarket practitioners take away from the Borders case? It’s true that no one will be able to “download” a water pump any time soon. But the undeniable fact is that people are shopping for auto parts differently than they have in the past. Professional technicians and DIYers alike expect to find information about your brands, your know-how, your availability and your prices on the Web. Having such a Web presence can win you more business now and in the future.
Think about it, your Web presence reflects your mindset regarding technology and makes a powerful statement about your business sense in general. It sends a clear signal to your customers, channel partners, prospects and competitors. With a mediocre website or no Web presence at all, what message are you sending?
