As is well known, the cost of acquiring a customer (CAC) in various advertising channels tends to increase rapidly. This fact made me think for the first time about how much money a single customer actually brings in (LTV). One day, when my online store's marketing budget had consistently exceeded the payroll for several months in a row, I gathered the available statistics and calculated LTV for the first time. It turned out that on average, one customer places 2.5 orders and spends around 10,000 rubles. At that time, the advertising cost per order had already reached a point where I began to question whether the advertising was economically viable. But finding out that each customer places not just 1, but 2.5 orders on average, calmed me down for a while, and I continued to actively invest in advertising.

One day, while reviewing my personal order history, I realized that an average of 2.5 orders per customer over a couple of years was actually a very poor figure. I had personally been placing orders in my store regularly, almost every month. And it wasn’t because something was constantly wrong with my car. My store had everything I needed, and I bought there regularly and exclusively—whether it was replacing wiper blades, buying a trunk mat, changing oil and filters, or replacing a bulb, ignition coil, brake pads, and battery, etc. Besides me, there were more than 10 other people—my personal friends and loyal customers—who behaved the same way. Everything they needed for their cars, they ordered exclusively from my store. We all had different cars, new and old, Japanese and German, personal and corporate, but we were the ideal customers—we bought everything for our cars in one place and did so regularly. Yes, there might be breaks in purchases for 1-2 months, but no more.

This led me to formulate a hypothesis that any car owner should buy something for their car at least once every 3 months. This means that if a customer hasn't bought anything for 3 months from my store, they are buying from another store.

Thus, my view of customers evolved from 'Okay, they bought once, and maybe they'll buy again once or twice' to 'This customer hasn't bought anything for three months, and that's a problem that needs to be addressed,' and I began to work on it.

We continue to share how the ReenCar AI bot helps sell auto parts.

Most online stores, not just those selling parts, focus on the sales process, trying to attract as many new customers as possible and sell them something. But once a sale is made, the customer is usually forgotten, and at best, businesses rely on 'word of mouth' and start attracting new customers again.

In our case, on one hand, we have a large online store where you can buy anything for a car—from actual parts to various accessories, oils, and fluids. In other words, everything needed for a car, its repair, and maintenance can be bought in this store. On the other hand, we have a customer—the car owner. And car owners constantly need to buy something for their car, at least antifreeze and filters with oil for maintenance.

We came up with the hypothesis that every car owner buys something for their vehicle at least once every 3-6 months. Therefore, if a customer of an online store, where you can buy everything for a car, hasn’t bought anything for more than 3 months—it’s a red flag. We’re almost sure that the customer is buying something, but not from us.

In search of an answer to the question 'How do we bring the customer back?' we created a Retention funnel. The goal of the funnel is to periodically remind the customer about the store and offer incentives to return and make a purchase. Sometimes just reminding them is enough. The funnel operates automatically within the CRM system and uses various reasons and tools to maintain contact with the customer. One of the key elements of the customer return system has become ReenCarBot.

ReenCarBot tracks customers whose last purchase was three months ago and initiates contact by sending them a message on WhatsApp or Telegram. The AI bot introduces itself as Vitaly, a store employee, thanks the customer for being a client, and asks if they currently have any need for parts.

There are four possible scenarios after this:

1. Some customers ignore the message, and we don't push them. We leave the customer alone, though they remain in the funnel and will be followed up with later.

Among those who respond, we observe three scenarios:

1. The customer replies, 'Yes, I need...'—this is exactly what the funnel is aiming for. In this case, the AI bot switches to the request-handling mode, which we’ve discussed before, and passes the hot lead to a manager.

2. The customer replies, 'I’m waiting for payday and will service my car in two weeks'—here, the bot records the next contact date and will automatically continue the conversation on the planned date.

3. 'Thanks, I don’t need anything.' Essentially, this is the same as silence, but in this case, the bot continues the conversation—it has two tricks up its sleeve. First, it informs the customer of the amount of bonus points they’ve accumulated. All customers automatically receive bonus points as part of the loyalty program. Second, the bot can offer the customer a discount on an order if they place it within 24 hours. Sometimes this works.

Bot statistics: After the first week of operation, we have the following results:

• 85% of customers don’t respond to the bot
• 10% say they don’t need anything
• 4% agreed to place an order later
• 1% are ready to order immediately.

Let’s do the math.

The average profit from one order for the store is 2500 rubles (revenue minus the cost of the parts).

If half of those who promised to order later keep their word, the store will get 3 orders from 100 dialogues. The profit from 100 dialogues will be 7500 rubles.

The cost of one dialogue is 3 rubles, so 100 dialogues cost 300 rubles. The cost of acquiring one order is 100 rubles, or 4% of the revenue.

Our team at ReenCar has launched the first AI auto parts seller in Russia (at least we think so) for the online store stodetaley.ru.

The initial task we set for our bot was to collect requests from customers of the auto parts online store. ReenCarBot is supposed to get the VIN of the car from the customer and clarify which specific parts need to be selected for the vehicle.

And we succeeded. What is worth noting:

- ReenCarBot instantly joins the conversation, works 24/7, and the customer doesn't realize they're interacting with a bot.
- The customer’s finalized request is logged into the CRM deal card.
- ReenCarBot always asks if the customer needs anything else, thereby increasing the store's sales. Often, customers forget some of their needs and only inquire about the most immediate ones.
- The workload for live managers has drastically reduced; all preliminary communication is handled by the bot. In many cases, the live employee’s involvement is limited to 1-2 text messages.
- Image recognition: ReenCarBot can also work with images. Customers frequently send photos of parts or documents containing vehicle details, and the AI successfully processes these images.

As a result of the first days of testing, the conversion rate from the initial stage of 'Submitted Request' to the stage of 'Received Offer' increased from 27% to 42%. Of course, these are just early figures based on a small volume of data. We are continuing to work and will share more statistics and case studies. Our next goal is to expand ReenCarBot's tasks—not only to collect requests but also to process them, match OEM numbers, estimate prises, create offers for customers, and finalize orders.

Our team has provided the first version of reencar application for testing.

On the video you can see how you can create a price list of spare parts for your car with VIN or Frame data.

The service is available for testing at the link:

https://app.reencar.com/add-car#step-1

You can test the work of ReenCar on three specified cars, or on three of your own after registration.

You can use ReenCar for an unlimited number of vehicles on a paid tariff

In 2012, I launched my online auto parts store. When the first requests from customers came in, it became clear that we did not have something to offer for all requests. We were selling only new car parts and we often received requests like: "I have a toyota .... 1990, I need a rear fender" Such a fender was either unavailable from our suppliers, or cost like an airplane wing and delivery time - a month.

Imagine the situation, you opened an auto parts store, rented an office, made a website, hired employees, ran advertising and here comes the moment of truth - a customer comes to you who needs parts and.... you don't have them!

Of course I started looking for suppliers of spare parts and faced an unexpected problem ...

Any supplier to place their goods on my (and on any) site needed to provide the seller with their price. In our case, the price list had to have five mandatory columns:

1. part number
2. brand
3. part name
4. price
5. quantity of parts in the supplier's warehouse

Wholesale suppliers of new parts did not experience any problems, the price lists were either sent to the mail or downloaded from a link and regularly updated in automatic mode. New parts sellers have a specific part at the input and output, what they bought, they sold.

H&I parts dealers usually only have a car as input, which had to be disassembled first, and then create a price list by manually writing down all the parts and their characteristics. It's very labor intensive work to transcribe hundreds of parts, find the correct OEM numbers, and keep prices and balances up to date. And this work is a prerequisite for placing their products on the sites of online stores and various sites like DROM or AVITO.
Very few auto dismantlers were able to do this kind of work. For 12 years we had hundreds of suppliers of new auto parts and only 3 suppliers of H&I parts, able to regularly provide accurate price lists with their assortment. All three companies were large and powerful enough vendors with large teams and in-house IT departments capable of solving this problem.
The idea of ReenCar is to give small car dismantlers a simple and convenient tool to create and maintain their own price lists, allowing them to easily and quickly list their goods on various sites and in their own accounting system.

#personalexperience #virtualdisassembly #partsales #sellingparts

When I opened an online store selling auto parts in 2012, I used a relatively new, for that time, business model, which can be described by the words "first sell, then buy". Today, no one is surprised by such a model, and at the same time, the word "marketplace" has not yet entered into widespread use.

In order to fill the store with goods, we agreed with suppliers who had real stocks of goods in their warehouses to regularly provide our store with their stocks and prices. All the supplier had to do to place his goods on our site was to give us a table with at least five columns:

1. Part Number
2. Brand
3. Name
4. Quantity
5. Price

Having connected several dozens of major suppliers in this way, we gave the site visitor the opportunity to find almost any auto part.

When the advertising campaign was launched and we began to receive requests from customers, it turned out that not all requests we could satisfy.

A significant part of customers required not new, but used parts. Of course, all other things being equal, a customer will prefer a new part over a used one, but there are situations when new parts obviously lose out to used ones.

A typical dialog between a store manager and a customer was like this:

- I need part X for a 1993 Nissan - asks the customer
- We have only new parts. You'd better look for used ones - says the manager, knowing in advance how the dialog will end.
- Tell me how much a new one costs - insists the client.
- 1000$, on order, delivery time 40 days from a warehouse in Japan - answers the manager.
- Thank you, no need, my car is not worth so much - the client finishes the dialog.

It seemed that things are going uphill, the site is launched, marketing works - come target customers. There are millions of spare parts on the site, but the right category is missing.

We were obliged to offer something to such clients. We worked in two directions. We started looking for a supplier of used parts to put them on the site and gave sales managers the task of searching for used parts on the Internet independently when we received such requests from customers.

Finding specific parts for specific requests proved to be extremely time consuming. The manager not only had to find the part, but also to agree on the terms of delivery and payment, as well as to clarify the condition of the part and coordinate everything with the customer. It turned out that the labor costs of selling a used part were many times higher than selling a new one. That's why we had to give up this practice. It was easier to sell 5 new parts than one used part.

It was necessary to organize the process so that new and used parts would be displayed as a result of one search query on the site. We needed a supplier of used parts who could also send a regular price list for uploading to the site with the same 5 columns (part number, brand, name, price, quantity) as new parts suppliers did.

It was not an easy task, we were able to find such a supplier and integrate his products into the site after several years. Most car dismantling shops did not bring the matter to a price list with part numbers. "We have a car make/model, if you have the same, let's see what we can find for you" is roughly how they do business.

This approach severely limits business opportunities if you can't make a proper list of your product with all the features, especially the part number.

That's why we, when developing ReenCar, first of all emphasized on the module of virtual car dismantling. Our goal is to give car dismantlers a convenient tool to create a quality price list.

#personalexperience #virtualdisassembly #partsales #sellingparts

Understanding OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) part numbers is crucial when purchasing auto parts. These unique alphanumeric codes serve as universal identifiers for specific components, ensuring compatibility and maintaining your vehicle's integrity. In this article, we explore why OEM part numbers are important and how they simplify your search for the right auto parts.

Why are OEM Part Numbers Important?

1. Accuracy and Compatibility: OEM part numbers guarantee accurate compatibility with your vehicle. Each part number is designed for a specific make, model, and year, minimizing the risk of incorrect installations or compatibility issues.

2. Reliability and Quality: OEM part numbers signify high-quality components. Manufacturers adhere to stringent standards, continuously improving designs based on real-world testing and customer feedback.

3. Streamlined Replacement Process: Accessing the correct OEM part number simplifies the replacement process, saving time and eliminating guesswork. It ensures you order the exact match for your vehicle.

4. Warranty and Insurance Considerations: Many warranties and insurance policies require the use of OEM parts for repairs. Using OEM parts with their corresponding part numbers ensures compliance and protects your investment.

Decoding OEM Part Numbers: OEM part numbers consist of letters, numbers, dashes, or underscores, providing valuable information about the manufacturer, vehicle model, and specific component. Keep in mind that part numbers may change over time, so consult the latest manufacturer's catalog or authorized dealer for up-to-date information.

OEM part numbers are essential in the auto parts industry. They guarantee compatibility, reliability, and simplify the search for the right components. By embracing OEM part numbers, you can confidently find high-quality parts that meet your vehicle's needs, whether you're a DIY enthusiast or a professional mechanic.

Let's stop the flow of thought of artificial intelligence and add from myself. The fact that every part on a car has its own OEM number makes life much easier for manufacturers and sellers of cars and car parts. Searching for a car part by OEM number is the most correct way to ensure that the part is applicable to the car.

Let's consider a specific situation. For example, you want to buy a bumper for your own car. It may seem to you that in order to select a bumper, the salesperson needs to know the brand, model and year of the car to find a bumper that will fit. But the same car model may have several bumper options depending on the car's equipment. The presence or absence of options such as headlight washers, fog lights, parktronics affects the configuration of the bumper. Thus, there are several variants of bumpers for different options of the car and each bumper has its own unique OEM number. If you go to an authorised dealer to buy one, the only difficulty that will arise is the amount of money the dealer will ask for a new bumper, its painting and installation. It is a good idea to look for a bumper at a car dealership. Used parts are cheaper than new ones and there is a chance to find a bumper of the right colour and save on painting. But, unlike an official dealer, car scrap yards did not buy the bumper, they do not have a consignment note that shows the OEM number of the bumper. There is only information about the car from which the bumper was removed. Lack of information about OEM numbers of parts of the car that came into the dismantling greatly complicates the subsequent sale of car parts removed from the car.

The ReenCar virtual car dismantling system solves one of the main difficulties of spare parts sellers - assigning the correct OEM number. In order for the system to assign correct OEM numbers to more than a hundred car parts, you only need to provide the correct vehicle data. In most cases, the VIN number of the car is enough for ReenCar to create a price list that will contain car parts with OEM numbers.