Wish You Were Here!

We are in Mobile for the 2019 NTPDA Annual Meeting and Trade Show and if you didn't make it...well, we wish you were here. We have so much coming up that we know will help move your business and our industry forward. And, yes, we'll have time to get together with friends and actually do business.

For those of us who are here, and on the ground, the next few days will fly by. Our Early Bird Gathering is Thursday evening and, if you've ever been with us, you know it will be great.

On Friday we'll launch into "Going Beyond the Brand" which has everything to do with employee and customer engagement. How can we get our employees to become more engaged in what our customers want and need. And, know what?  Most of that has to do with listening and being responsive. To get there Karen will talk about transparency and the customer experience. It's not always price but it is about winning.

Also on Friday we'll dive into your online presence with "Online Excellence - Redesigning Your Website From THe Ground Up".  What is it that consumers want to know and see when they first get to your site?  How can you use technology to create a winning relationship with your customer and how can your website engage? Nicholas will have answers to your questions.

And by the time we get to Thursday evening we'll be in our Trade Show area with dozens of opportunities to do business here in Mobile.

And, that's just Friday!!

We really do miss those of you who can't be here and we're going to do our best to get you to see the value, along with the fun, of being at our Annual Meeting and Trade Show.  Be watching out Facebook Page and our Twitter Stream @NTPDA all week long for updates, video clips and more.  You can also follow us by using the hashtag #NTPDA19!  Easy, no?

And, we haven't even talked about Saturday...yet.

 

 

Online Sales Smash Retail Sales

For years many of our National Tractor Parts Dealer Association members found value in adding e-commerce to their sales efforts. Sure, it was a difficult transition and it cost money to staff call centers and online chat professionals but it has paid off because online sales are crushing traditional retail efforts. How do we know?

Let's look at one example...Wal-Mart. 

Retail giant Wal-Mart reported solid fourth-quarter results last week with the U.S. business producing another quarter of comparable-sales growth. But the star of the show was e-commerce. Get this, U.S. online sales for Wal-Mart soared by 29% year-over-year, an acceleration driven by the company's investments in the acquisition of Jet.com. E-commerce is still small relative to Wal-Mart's brick-and-mortar operations, but that won't remain true for long.

According to the Department of Commerce in 2016 total e-commerce sales in the United States rose by 15.1%. And that is far faster than the overall 2.9% growth in total retail sales.

We understand that our members are not Wal-Mart however the trend is clear. Your customer is just as likely to come from five states away than five miles away and those numbers will continue to grow. Your challenge is finding a way to build your digital business while continuing to serve your local consumer. It can be done and many of our members have been very successful in their marketing efforts.

If you would like to share your thoughts...please do!

 

Something New from NTPDA!

It seems like it's always something, right?  Recently we've made some significant changes in our outreach program to existing and potential new members.  The changes in this blog is part of that effort.

For those of you who have websites or blogs it's going to be critical that you alter your online presence to become mobile friendly. Here are two solid reasons to make this happen as quickly as possible:

• Over half of all website searches are now done on mobile devices. If a person searches for your website and it is not responsive to whatever device they are using (phone/tablet/desktop) the ability for them to use your site deminishes;
• We believe that on April 21st Google will roll out a new "mobile web-crawler" which will identify if your site is or is not mobile friendly.  If the site is not mobile friendly we believe Google will flag it as such.  That means, even at the search, users will know if they should or (perhaps) should not continue.

Last year, we made changes to our website to make sure it was mobile friendly. This year we've altered our blog to make sure that it too matches the way in which users are switching how they access content.

Here is an article from our member and agency of record that details the Google changes in more detail.  If you have not made contact with your web developer we suspect you may want to do that very soon.

Thanks for reading and let's go sell something!

Meet the Team at Reliable Aftermarket Parts

Each week we feature one of our members in the National Tractor Parts Dealer Association.  This week we spotlight Reliable Aftermarket Parts.  Founded in 2009 by Tom “Junior” Salisbury, Reliable Aftermarket Parts, Inc. provides customers with construction and agricultural parts. The company’s mission is to provide customers with quality aftermarket parts that meet and exceed OEM specifications. Reliable Aftermarket Parts strives to offer customers competitive prices with the best availability and shipping worldwide on all of the top named brands as well as hard-to-find construction and agricultural equipment.

Even though the company is very young they have overall 40 years combined experience and continue improving through efficiency. In the beginning, the company started in Tom’s home with only three employees. Shortly after that the business outgrew Tom’s basement and he then purchased the fire hall in Williamston, MI. Due to the high demand and growth of the business, in 2011 Tom moved the company to a larger office building with a warehouse. Shortly, less than a year, they added on to double the size by adding an additional warehouse. While also growing into multiple departments such as sales, accounting, e-commerce, and warehouse with multiple people in each department.

The company’s expedited growth is a direct result of modern technology. Customers can place orders online and is integrated into a system that keeps track of everything from accounting, inventory of parts and tracking information. When Tom started the business out of his house he would take orders and go to the post office to send out the packages personally. Now there are shipping suppliers such as Fed Ex, USPS, and UPS that go directly to the warehouse to pick up and drop off packages.

Reliable Aftermarket Parts is growing and improving the business daily.  They provide personalized customer service and strive to excel with their turn around speed so customers have less down time.

Their motto is, “Whether your construction or agricultural equipment is large or small we have parts to fit them all” 

Meet Northern Radiator

Northern Factory Sales, Inc. D/B/A Northern Radiator is another valued National Tractor Parts Dealer Association (NTPDA) member.  They began operations in 1971 and are a manufacturer and distributor of heat transfer products for the Ag, Construction and Skidsteer industries.  Northern offers an All Makes/All Models replacement program for cooling system parts like Radiators, Condensers, Evaporators and Oil Coolers. 

Their offices, manufacturing facility, and primary distribution facility are located in Willmar, Minnesota. Fast turn around on all your orders is provided by their primary facility with special orders shipped from any of their 16 regional distribution centers scattered throughout the U.S.

Northern Radiator has a user friendly website where, once logged in, customers can look up price and availability, search by OEM and cross reference, place orders and see order history. They also offer a 4% freight allowance of stock orders over $3,000.  With Northern Radiator you will be assured of superior products, more sophisticated engineering, quick order turn around and better order fill.  Quality is their way of life and a commitment made by every employee to provide the best.

 

Maxiforce for Diesel

The very soul of the National Tractor Parts Dealer Association (NTPDA) is our membership. We thought you might like to meet our friends from Maxiforce:

Quality aftermarket parts from a company with superior technical support at competitive prices; that’s what Maxiforce is all about. Founded in 1994 Maxiforce is brand devoted to manufacturing and distributing diesel engine parts for John Deere®, Cummins® B&C, Perkins®, Yanmar® and Caterpillar® (3013-3024/3054/3056) engines.

While Maxiforce has two physical locations (Doral, Florida and Santa Fe Springs, California) customers can order their aftermarket parts directly from the online purchase portal.  However, if you need some personal assistance you can always give them a phone call and be helped by a real human.  No automated voice prompts at Maxiforce. Here is that number: 800-414-2095

Over the past several years the company has added several new, customer demanded, items including a complete line of aftermarket Yanmar parts, a new line of parts for the Tier 3 John Deere PowerTech engines and a new line of parts for Caterpillar 3013 and 3024 model engines.

And,  when you call or order online, make sure to ask about the same day free shipping.

But, why not see for yourself!  Here's a great "explainer video" from Maxiforce:

 

Thank you Maxiforce for being a member of NTPDA!

Kaddatz Auction and Equipment

The National Tractor Parts Dealer Association (NTPDA) is proud to share information about our members and what they do to bring value to their customers.  

For over 60 years Kaddatz Auctioneering and Equipment Sales has been serving Texas and the nation with an eye for helping their customers get what they need.  "We do our very best to treat our customers like they are family members", says Alvin Kattatz second generation owner. "We farm and ranch too so we know what it's like to get the right parts at the best price and be truly appreciated."

What, other than great customer service, can you find at Kaddatz? They sell farm equipment, parts and do auctions and appraisals. The family runs a salvage yard for tractors, combines, hay equipment, discs, chisels, field cultivators, corn heads, headers, shredders...just about all types of farm equipment.

And the Kaddatz Family has changed with the times. Customers can buy products on-line (You can click right here to see!) and they have recently expanded their inventory with cattle panels and pens.

And, along with the exceptional customer service, you'll get free shipping of your order; free bale wrap and twine with a purchase of hay equipment. Heck, they'll even give you a free pocket knife when you make a purchase of $2,500 or more.

"We realize you've got choices in where you buy parts and farm equipment; our goal is to make sure you are 100% satisfied with your order and with us."