We are at the Core of the Automotive Aftermarket

The Automotive Aftermarket is a dominant industry here in Canada. But we are all so disconnected.

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Parts Mfgs. Lost Touch with Customers

Mr. Manufacturer,

Who is your biggest customer?

Who do you depend on the most to choose your products?

If you're thinking of the local jobbers or Mr.John Q. Public, give your head a shake.

Read more …

Why ASBN Exists?

Welcome to the Automotive Service Business Network

Or, for better clarity,

Welcome to the Web Center of the Automotive Aftermarket, Service Sector, British Columbia

The automotive aftermarket isn’t just about parts.
It’s about people — professionals — keeping Canada on the road.

But you wouldn’t know that from how the industry is framed.

Search “automotive aftermarket” and you’ll find study after study focused entirely on product. Just parts. Not a word about the people who install them, service them, support them, or rely on them to make a living.

Apparently, those parts just sell and install themselves.
That’s not just wrong — it’s insulting.

We are the ones who generate the demand that drives this entire industry.
Manufacturers don’t mass-produce brake pads, diagnostic tools, or service equipment on a whim. They do it because we — the service professionals — make those parts relevant through the real-world work we do every day.

Despite that, we’ve been reduced to a marketing segment.
A label. Sometimes even a condescending one — like “DIFM” (Do It For Me), as if we’re a footnote to the DIY crowd.

That’s not who we are.

We are technicians, shop owners, service managers, jobbers, trainers, mobile reps, and more.
We are business owners, skilled tradespeople, and frontline problem solvers.
We are professionals — and we’ve been sidelined for too long.

The personal connections that once held our industry together have eroded.
Field reps have disappeared. Brand loyalty has faded. Many shop owners are isolated, navigating constant change without access to the people and resources they once relied on.

And yet… there’s a whole support network that still exists — businesses that were built to serve us:

• Tool and equipment suppliers

• Software vendors

• Technical trainers

• Warehouse distributors

• And yes, even manufacturers who still care

But the connections are scattered. The communication is broken.

That’s the reason ASBN exists.

Here's a different viewpoint that demonstrates our relevance within the Automotive Aftermarket.

Let's follow the money.

Most commercial businesses owe their income to other commercial companies within this network. So, it doesn't take much research to trace the tree to its original source. 

The general consumer is the original source of funding that ultimately supports this vast and complex network, and only one sector is fully responsible for bridging the gap between retail and commercial.

That is the Automotive Repair and Service industry.

It's time for a new marketing reset.

Since all roads of the aftermarket lead to the service sector, one would assume there would likely be a strong relationship among all participants. Well, there is none.

“Here’s the truth: the service sector is the center of the aftermarket economy.”

Read. We are at the Core of the Automotive Aftermarket for more information on this topic.

From the beginning, all participants worked hard to build their local and regional markets by developing close relationships with their commercial customers in the service sector. Through personal connections, the field representatives applied resource tools such as product training, customer support, warranty issues, inventory management, service tips, and resources, along with the occasional gossip. This, in turn, strengthened business and brand loyalty, resulting in substantial market share. 

This may have been an expensive, antiquated system, but it was all we had, and it worked, for the most part.

Then, through cost-cutting to stay in business and the promise of unlimited customers worldwide, most commercial product manufacturers and service providers decided to significantly reduce their field sales and service forces, replacing them with public websites. This was a significant shift in their marketing process that has proven to have had an adverse effect on their market shares and customer confidence. Then came the COVID-19 pandemic, which sealed the doors to this decision. This also sealed the fate of too many of our industry suppliers and local business service providers who do not have the resources to build an alternative marketing process. 

Read Where Have All Our Reps Gone? for more on this topic.

The lure of the World Wide Web information superhighway is unmistakable. Still, that platform has proven to be entirely governed by the general consumer worldwide, and that's not who we are.

What is ASBN?

ASBN — the Automotive Service Business Network — is a commercial platform built to reconnect the people who keep the industry moving.

We’re not here to sell you anything.
We’re here to restore the missing links — between service professionals, suppliers, trainers, and supportive industries that share a stake in our future.

We’re building:

• A space to share knowledge, insights, and practical solutions within the ranks of our people on the front line

• A way to highlight brands that still stand by the people in the field

• A network where supportive industries and frontline service providers can collaborate directly — no middlemen, no fluff

And when it comes to marketing? Let’s be real:

We don’t need gimmicks or lifestyle ads. We need relevant information — from people who know what they’re talking about.

There is already a hungry, focused audience for tools, services, and products that don’t apply to the general public — they apply to us.

We don’t need to be convinced to care.

We just need a place where the right people can find each other again.

That place is ASBN

Your Move

If you work in or around the service side of the industry —

If you supply, train, support, or turn wrenches —

You belong here.

So here’s the ask:

• Join the network. (It's free)

• Use the resources and tools provided

• Share and contribute your links, videos, tips, and articles to the libraries

• Share your insights

• Ask you questions 

• Join the conversations

ASBN isn’t finished. It’s just getting started. And it needs people who care enough to shape its future.

Marketing and Advertising on ASBN

We've changed the marketing landscape.

We know that, unlike consumer marketing, commercial marketing centers around building relationships with your customers. When you are successful, volume sales will follow, and individual item sales to retail customers are left to the retailers. 

This basic principle is what built the Automotive Aftermarket. It was a lot of work by dedicated sales forces, but it was what we had.

That is, until the internet came along.

The lure of this new medium and the promises of endless customers and cost savings from highly trained internet marketing specialists were hard to overcome.

And so, we evolved. But was it the right move?

If your focus is on the general consumer, I agree it was a good move.

But, if you are focused on commercial customers and do not have direct contact with them, it doesn't deliver. 

Why? It's simple. Your focus is, or at least was, on building commercial accounts and volume sales, and the open internet is primarily tailored to the general population, which is not your audience.

What is even more frustrating is that internet marketing specialists do not understand the definite distinction between commercial and consumer marketing. They were never trained to know. To them, it's all internet marketing.

Of course, with sufficient time and funding, any software can be created or manipulated to deliver specifically to your needs, but that pushes the realm of affordability. 

Another main issue, of many, is that you have no control over who will view your advertisements. Your message is what's important. Will it be generic, aimed at the general public, or specific for the professionals of our industry? 

Here's one more of many issues that really bother me and need fixing.

What about all the small—to medium-sized community-based commercial businesses that do not have substantial marketing budgets or even websites, for that matter? Marketing and advertising costs have ballooned beyond their reach. Read this article.  

For all commercial enterprises in the automotive aftermarket industry, the evidence has shown us that internet marketing, in its present form, does not work for us. 

Can we fix it? Absolutely. 

Here, at ASBN, we have created a more effective and straightforward approach.

This network focuses on attracting all stakeholders of only one industry, the Automotive Aftermarket, not the general consumer.

It is also designed as an intranet, open only to registered members, which allows us to focus from within this industry.

These two items alone are enough to change the marketing landscape to a direct, commercial approach and separate ourselves from the public internet realm.

But that's just the beginning.

It is geographically market-specific, which means that all members, suppliers, and users alike who have a stake in this particular market region of British Columbia would benefit the most. We have also divided this BC market area into ten geographic regions to achieve better demographics, function, and management.

This new platform will also allow you to;

• Apply your focus to industry sub-segments like shop management, service technicians, or tooling.
• Focus your business advertising on a particular market region or selected regions of BC.
• Have direct connections to your existing commercial customers who need your personal support.
• Have the ability to distribute training and product resources 
• Adjust your advertising messages to resource content vs. consumer brand-building

Isn't commercial marketing all about starting and building relationships?

This isn't rocket science. It's just plain logic and common sense from our viewpoint, not from the so-called marketing gurus.

We know what we need.

Let's do some more.

Moving on to Site Advertising