The Approach to Increase Sales of Used Auto Parts of Laksi Auto Parts Center

Abstract

The purpose of the study on the approach to increase sales of used auto parts of Laksi auto parts center were 1) To study the problems occurred in the operation of the used auto parts business of Laksi auto parts center  by analyzing strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and obstacles as well as analyzing the business environment,  2) To study the behavior of buying used auto parts, 3) To study marketing factors and services affecting buying decision of used auto parts and 4) To give a suggestion regarding the approach to increase sales for the used auto parts stores located in Laksi auto parts center. The research instrument used was an interview with auto parts store operators in Bangkok to know the opinions regarding the problems occurred in the operation of used auto parts business. However, most operators are not comfortable in providing their business information, therefore the data collection was conducted by only 10 samples. In addition, the researcher used a questionnaire with a group of car users driving over 5 years old car. Unfortunately, during the data collection period, there were not many people buying the used auto spare parts, therefore the data collection was conducted by only 100 samples in order to get opinions from buyer groups. The findings were as follows: Most operators mentioned the problem that the used auto parts business encountered was the fierce competitive rivalry. Since the technology had been used in the business to improve the profits, resulting in many operators who were not ready to use the technology and did not use the technology to gain a competitive advantage had continuously decreased sales. Regarding the behavior of buying used spare parts, most of the customers were male, aged between 31-40 years old. In addition, the usage life of the car was at 10 years or more. They bought the used auto parts for fixing the cars and because they are cheap, in good quality and suitable for the price. They bought spare parts from a nearby store offering cheap prices. The top 3 marketing factors and services affecting the purchase of used auto parts include Product factor, Price factor and Distribution channel factor, respectively. Furthermore, the respondents also commented that Laksi auto parts center had few parking spaces and rarely launched the sales promotion. According to the above study, the researcher chose to implement the Market Development Strategy by developing Social Media into a Distribution Channel to enable customers to access the stores conveniently, reduce problems or limitation of travelling to the store and the lack of parking space in Laksi auto parts center as well as advertise the products and create sales promotion to stimulate the customers demand for products regularly and continuously improve sales volume.