MTX Debuts ‘Connected Commerce,’ Teams With InstallerNet

TWICE Staff On Jan 16 2013 - 12:17pm

LAS VEGAS — MTX Audio, part of Mitek’s electronics and communications group, unveiled during International CES a three-part strategy which includes its “Connected Commerce” dealer program, a unilateral pricing policy (UPP), and a five-year warranty.

Connected Commerce is an integration of in-store sales with online efforts in order to help increase a dealer’s reach, improve the customer experience, and lower costs, MTX said.

Under the new structure, an audio dealer will refer a customer from its website to MTX.com, or directly to its own custom dealer portal on MTX.com, in order to purchase from MTX’s entire product catalog. When a purchase is made, the dealer will receive a guaranteed margin in the form of a commission check. There are no inventory requirements and MTX handles the transaction, warranty and delivery, it said. All prices on MTX.com will be set at street price.

Benefits of the program include no buy-in expectation, no stocking requirements, no freight charges, no credit card processing fees, no processing of returns and warranties, and no losing customers to showrooming, MTX noted.

A display program, point-of-purchase materials, and participation in the MTX installation network will also be available to qualifying dealers.

The UPP, known as the Minimum Retail Price (MRP), will require all channel partners to maintain pricing that does not fall below the MRP, as identified on MTX.com, or they will lose the ability to resell MTX products.

The five-year warranty for all 12-volt products began Jan. 1. All MTX products will be warrantied for two years against manufacturer defects. For years three through five, consumers will receive a prorated credit towards the purchase of new MTX product.

MTX also announced an agreement with InstallerNet to use its service event platform to launch a private network of MTX preferred installers.

“It is important that we support our new dealer affiliates by driving installation business to their brick-and-mortar stores,” said Mike Roberts, senior VP and corporate sales and marketing director for Mitek. “MTX Audio will be making a significant investment in marketing the brand and its products in order to attract new customers that would not otherwise be exposed to the product through traditional retailer channels. The more we can connect these customers with trained installation professionals, the better the customer experience will be.”

InstallerNet’s platform will allow Mitek consumers to schedule appointments online or via a toll-free number. Detailed vehicle and product information will be provided to each network installer that accepts the work order, MTX said, and dealer affiliates will receive preferred status.