Why a Blog for Classic Car Parts Marketers?
A little introduction is in order.
I am a direct marketer — and have been one since December, 1977. I started with a food gifts catalog, moved to a large general-merchandise direct mail company, then to Crutchfield (a consumer electronics catalog and internet retailer), and for the past ten years, an automobile parts and accessories catalog and internet marketer.
More recently, I founded The Mark Lee Group, which offers marketing consulting services to catalog and internet retailers.
My MBA concentrated in Finance (Northwestern University), but I quickly moved into the catalog world and fell in love with marketing.
Where Are the Auto Parts Companies?
As a catalog (and later internet) marketing practitioner these 29 years, I have read direct marketing books and trade journals, attended seminars and conferences and worked with a dozen or so specialized consultants — all the while scarcely encountering a soul from the world of auto parts marketing. This amazes me! When I purchase something for myself from a catalog or website, it’s most often parts or accessories for a project vehicle (a car or motorcycle). There are hundreds of wonderful firms out there. But, how and where do these companies learn what the rest of the direct marketing world is doing?
Then it occurred to me: most auto parts retailers don’t really consider themselves marketers. They tend to be product-oriented, reading and visiting trade shows that relate to the products – and vehicles — they cover. In doing so, they develop a deep understanding of the needs of the customers they serve. If you’re a parts marketer, your business was likely an outgrowth of a personal hobby. While this is a great background, there are direct marketing techniques (often from other product categories) that can help your firm grow and earn more profits.
The purpose of this blog, therefore, is to tie my two favorite worlds together … to distill and deliver the latest and most useful art and science of direct marketing into the hands of my friends in the world of classic car and motorcycle parts retail.
technorati tags: Mark Lee , classic motorcycle parts , catalog marketing, classic car parts, The Mark Lee Group