PALO ALTO — Frost & Sullivan’s recent analysis, North American Brake System Parts Aftermarket — Friction Parts, selected Satisfied Brake Products as the recipient of the 2005 Growth Strategy Leadership Award for successfully increasing sales and expanding its customer base in the highly competitive North American friction materials aftermarket.
Each year, this award is presented to a company that has exhibited an exceptional growth strategy within their industry. Satisfied has demonstrated an ability to grow in a saturated and mature market through a combination of strategies — a unique youth-oriented sales plan, adopting the latest technology to ensure quality and promote lean manufacturing, and exploring new venues for brake pads and shoes by serving niche markets.
Satisfied has posted double-digit annual increases in sales by focusing on the key decision-makers in its industry — vehicle owners and installers. An important part of the company’s appeal is the way it markets its products.
“For instance, the ‘Think Smart” campaign, which features a young man whose head is emblazoned with the company’s Smart Braking system logo, is typical of Satisfied’s hard-charging, think-outside-the-box attitude,” says Frost & Sullivan research analyst Stephen Spivey. “This is a marked contrast from the buttoned-up corporate approach to friction parts of its larger competitors.”
Based on its latest sales figures, the above strategy has drawn the attention of customers and cultivated brand loyalty for Satisfied’s Pro Classic, Pro Performance and Pro Ceramic brake pads as well as its Pro Tech brake shoes.
The company has also taken advantage of recent trends in the friction materials aftermarket by serving niche user segments ignored by other manufacturers. For example, Satisfied’s Gran Sport line is designed to meet the specific needs of racing enthusiasts and hobbyists who “trick out” their cars and trucks. The company’s tuner pads are easily available in performance racing shops across North America, giving the company a chance to cultivate brand loyalty.
“Traditional distributors have yet to embrace these products, but this is an important part of Satisfied’s successful growth strategy since this segment of the aftermarket is growing faster than the North American friction materials aftermarket as a whole,” notes Spivey.
Satisfied’s Pro SUV and Pro FLT brake pads are targeted to another growing user group — owners and operators of high-maintenance vehicle fleets, including police squad cars, taxicabs, and ambulances. These customers have heavier braking needs than the average motorist. Supplying products that meet such high standards does not just increase sales; it also generates confidence among vehicle owners and installers for Satisfied’s brake pads and shoes.
On the technology front, the company maintains a digital quality-control database on certain programs that follows every set of friction pads it produces from the original work order through the life of the warranty. This “Genetix” record of each product allows a visual inspection of all Satisfied brake pads and shoes before they are distributed, and aids in the company’s ongoing lean manufacturing initiatives. Quality control is an important element of any growth strategy since brakes are a vehicle’s most important safety feature and installers insist on quality products to keep their customers happy.
Product experience and competitive pricing has already earned the products of Satisfied a prominent place in major installer chains and the most popular automotive retail stores. However, the company’s strategy of distinguishing its product from other brake pads, finding new markets for them, and ensuring their quality through the efficient use of technology explain the company’s most recent growth.
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