In the first article in this series, I talked about product development and why I believe aftermarket companies should spend more time solving customer problems and less time building a slightly better version of someone else's product. But developing the right product is only the beginning. The second thing I would focus on is pricing. And I don't mean taking your cost, multiplying it by a factor, comparing it to three competitors, and calling it good. Pricing is one of the

I've spent most of my career in the automotive aftermarket, and if I were handed the keys to an aftermarket company tomorrow, I wouldn't start by changing the sales team, cutting expenses, hiring a new marketing agency, or immediately launching ten new products. I would start with one question: What problems in our industry are customers still dealing with that nobody has solved correctly? Because somewhere along the way, I think too much product development became product co

Selling a product as a loss leader is one of the oldest and most misunderstood strategies in business. At its core, it challenges the instinct to maximize margin on every individual item and instead focuses on maximizing profitability across the entire customer transaction. When executed correctly, it transforms a single product sale into a platform for higher-margin opportunities. In today's competitive markets, where differentiation is increasingly difficult, this strategy