How badly is the dismal Seattle economy affecting the city’s auto parts business? “Short of putting naked dancers in the street, there’s not much you can do...,” says Tim Phillips, president and CEO of B&B Auto Parts, a seven-store chain just outside Seattle.
Well, I suppose that would depend on what they looked like.... But seriously, I disagree vehemently that you would ever need to use an extreme measure, let alone a new kind of parts business, so to speak. In fact, if you’re ready to do something extreme, you may not be able to pull yourself back to even, let alone get yourself back to the positive side.
Phillips apparently just made the statement above for impact because his marketing approach is about as steady as they come. He has experienced sales people so that he can offer impeccable service to his customers. He’s also astutely aware of how to control his costs. And perhaps most important of all, he has the right attitude. Take, for example, his plan to combat the rollout of five new AutoZone stores. “If we stick to our knitting and play our own game, we’ll be fine.” He adds, “Never play the other guy’s game –– you’ll lose.”
Seattle, of course, is not the only city or part of the country that has fallen on hard times. It just fell faster and farther than most due to the exodus of Boeing. When an area loses 30,000 jobs virtually overnight, just about every service business is bound to be affected — not just negatively. This point can be underscored by the fact that businesses of all kinds, including AutoZone, continue to build new stores even in depressed markets like Seattle. AutoZone’s executives know that when times get tough their competitors are more likely to turn conservative than become aggressive. Then the door swings wide open for any company willing to pull out all stops to get the business that exists.
Back to Phillips for a second. He knows that advertising works in combating competitors, but only buys radio on a per spot basis and runs some newspaper ads. “Better than nothing,” you say. Yes it is, but for advertising to be most effective it has to be sustained. You ask, “Who has the budget to match the big chains in advertising, especially when sales are dropping?”
Take a deep breath –– you don’t have to remortgage your house to buy air time. More important than advertising in a down market (or any kind of market) –– and at least equal to all of Phillips’ abovementioned efforts –– is to get dirty at the grassroots level; that means you have to pull out all stops to become an integral part of the community. If you’re not already supporting the local schools with donations of time and money, then you’re an outsider looking in. Likewise, if you don’t sponsor a Little League team or another sports team, you’re hurting your business. And when was the last time you hosted a car show or a National Car Care Month inspection lane?
This is not great thinking; it’s not even great “doing.” It just doing what needs to be done to try to stay even with the big chains. It is your grassroots relationships with all kinds of people in your community that provides you with the marketing strength to fight back the chains’ deep discounts and their heavy and relentless advertising.
Your commitment to community is not a one-time thing or a short-term campaign designed to stem the tide. It is an everyday thing that requires you to know and care about your community, businesses and individuals alike.
You can dig in at the grassroots level or you can go head-to-head with the chains. In the second thought, they more than likely will hand you your head. Just as well...if you try to fight the big guys on their terms, you’re not using it anyway.
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