When selling aftermarket car parts, you undoubtedly want to sell as many of them as possible at the highest price point you can. Of course, since there are many other products out there, and a variety of different places where your parts will be sold, that is not always as easy as you would like. If you are targeting the higher end market with your parts, you will want to make sure that consumers always associate your brand with exceptional quality.
One way to do this is to price your products at a higher level. If your parts are sold at Walmart, Amazon, or service centers, you will lose some control over the price at which they are sold. You can, however, establish a minimum advertised price (MAP) to ensure no ads are run that list your parts at a price lower than you determine. This can provide you with a number of important benefits.
Protect Your Brand’s Reputation
The biggest reason that brands use a minimum advertised price is to help protect their reputation. When products are advertised at discount prices, consumers will assume that the quality is not up to the levels that they desire. While there is certainly a massive market for discount auto parts, that is not what you want to be associated with unless you are doing it intentionally.
Establishing a MAP will ensure that no matter where or how your parts are being advertised, the price point will reflect the message that you are looking to portray. Even if the vendor eventually sells the product for less than the MAP, your brand’s reputation will remain intact, which is essential for your long-term marketing strategy.
Encourage Consumers to Add Your Product to Their Cart
When you set the MAP for your product, companies that are selling it cannot advertise the parts for lower than the amount you choose. This means they cannot list the product on Amazon or other similar sites at a low price. If they want to sell your parts at a discount that is below the MAP, they will need to keep the price point hidden and display a message that says something to the effect of, “price will be revealed in cart.”
This will encourage many people to add your parts to their online shopping cart so that they can see how much they will have to pay. Once a product is in the cart, consumers are much more likely to make the purchase than they would be if they were simply browsing aftermarket auto parts on the web. When the MAP is set properly, this strategy can help you to keep your reputation strong while also boosting overall sales.
Able to Enforce Your Pricing Strategy
While setting a MAP does not prevent third parties from actually selling your product at a reduced rate, it does allow you to have some options for enforcing your pricing strategy. If you find that a company is advertising your products below the MAP, you will be able to take action to prevent them from promoting your products going forward. If you have found that this is taking place, contact Aftermarket Law to discuss your options. We are passionate about protecting those who invest and manufacturer aftermarket auto parts and will fight for your rights. If you made it, we protect it!
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