New Mid-Year Trend Tracker Format

The Castrol Trend Tracker is now widely accepted as a must have report as well as an essential reference tool. Established for five years and published twice each year in July and January, Trend Tracker has helped some of the UK’s leading parts and service professionals gain a deeper understanding of their business potential, and identify new marketing opportunities. It has guided the development of some of today’s most successful UK aftermarket offers.

During that five years, the author and editor of Autoparts-Online Brian Taylor, has accumulated a great deal of information Un-published information that is now substantial enough to provide a base for further useful and in depth analysis or data mining. So although the winter edition of Trend Tracker will continue to be published in the familiar format – but with a 12 month data change rather than six months - a new summer edition will now get further under the skin of the changing market place. It will act as a companion to the original format, but with a more useful and detailed analysis of the changes by vehicle marque and service sector. It provides deeper strategic guidance along with new information on the relationship between the sectors plus the links between car registration trends, parc age profiles, network capacity and where the parts and service potential lies. The ‘swings’ in customer base age profiles are also identified. The key movements and performance ‘improvers’ are listed in league tables and all the key trends shown graphically

The usual comprehensive review of distribution channels and the ‘newsbyte’ section are included in both the winter and summer editions. But to mark the change in format the new summer version of the report has a new name – The Castrol Trend Tracker of Automotive Parts, Service and Channel Dynamics. It now places the UK as the country with the most detailed and comprehensive analysis of the dynamics affecting automotive parts, service and accessory businesses - anywhere in the world. No other aftermarket is given such microscopic attention. That’s why overseas customers subscribe to the report and the author, Brian Taylor, is asked to speak at conferences outside the UK.

Both reports look at the mega issues affecting the UK aftermarket and comment on the big picture. So rather than ‘how to’ manuals, they are critical strategic documents for those in the industry charged with understanding the changing automotive parts and service market. They will help them develop more applicable and profitable products, and aftersales service offers that in turn will provide the specific solutions that branch operators are looking for. However, branch operators looking to influence strategic change and so enhance their careers will find the reports invaluable as a fund of new thinking to challenge existing perceptions.

The changing industry demands changing strategies. But those analysing the industry also need to constantly re-invent themselves. The Castrol Car Service & Customer Satisfaction Trend Tracker accepts this challenge so that it can continue to provide leading edge views for forward thinking companies. Hence, The Castrol Trend Tracker of Automotive Parts, Service and Channel Dynamics. Phone/fax 01869 240301 for more details. Email: btaylor@patrol.i-way.co.uk (8/99)