When you’ve been in this business long enough, you start to reflect on the history of  accessorizing vehicles. We went from adding such items as pinstripes and graphics, to wooden dash kits, leather upholstery, gold kits, sunroofs, and CD players. In the late eighties and early nineties, cars gave way to the new truck and SUV market. With the advent of this market, many new and exciting accessories came pouring in. We had a whole new range of accessories to offer. For the past 18 to 20 years, we have been fortunate enough to be able to offer both individual and packages of items that allowed us, our dealers, and our customers to benefit.

We now find ourselves in a completely different market, a market moving away from our known comfort zones.

» We now need to be able to offer packages that have a high-conceived value. Selling an individual item or even a group of items that do not offer a high-conceived value will no longer be accepted by dealers or customers. It is now more important than ever to be able to put together a package of items that gives a vehicle more value, and a different appearance than an ordinary stock unit.
 

But in this marketplace, adding just appearance to a vehicle may not be enough. We must now provide items that customers find “necessary.” Adding items such as Blue Tooth or navigation to a vehicle are some examples of current technology that should be included in today’s accessory packages. Adding just a body-side molding to a package is not going to generate enough emotional force needed from the customer to be willing to spend additional money.

We now must think in a much larger area – creating an aura around the vehicle that will generate a response from the customer, making them desire the accessory package that enhances their vehicle, to be willing to spend extra money to purchase it. We need to offer our dealers and our customers a vehicle that is not obtainable through normal channels. By doing this, we are able to create something that everyone wants. And everyone wants a vehicle unique to themselves. This is no different than how someone dresses themselves by adding a different tie or jewelry. Much like when someone buys a new house, a lot of the purchase is based on an emotional reaction to what they see. We need to learn how to create that same emotion and reaction when we create these packages for their vehicles.

The best way to decide on what packages to offer is to talk to the people that are selling vehicles. When I go into a dealership I to try to speak to the salespeople, these are people in the trenches that are getting input directly from the customers. They know best what customers are looking for and what they’re not looking for.

It’s important to be aware that our packages only include top brand names, as protection to both you, the buyer, and us, the seller. One example would be that we use the Parrot brand of Bluetooth because we feel it is the best in the marketplace. Another example would be that we use the C&C Car Worx brand of products because they offer a unique, limited, available, specialty line of products custom manufactured for Subaru vehicles. These are products that are not sold in a general parts store or through any other outlet except directly from C&C Car Worx. By including unique items such as these, we ensure that our packages are worth more to the customer, both in terms of the pleasure of enhanced ownership as well as the long-term resale value of the vehicle.