As distributors seek cost-effective ways to improve customer experience, improve productivity and have a cost-effective sales tool, while doing all of these digitally, HVACRTrends is pleased to welcome our newest partner, Prokeep. Prokeep offers a unique solution to distributors, which can also cost-effectively and easily be used by manufacturer representatives, which … [Read more...] about Prokeep Helps Capture the Text and Turn it Into Dollars
Customer Service
Convenience Will Deliver Sales and Loyalty
Buyer behavior is changing. Convenience is now a differentiator. Customers expect it. It\'s the new definition of service. It started in the consumer world and is quickly transitioning to B2B buyer expectations, and it will become distributor reality (and is defined as \"ease of doing business\" by distributors in considering manufacturers.) While customers expect competitive … [Read more...] about Convenience Will Deliver Sales and Loyalty
What do your customers value the most from you?
Lately I’ve been thinking about “value”. Not necessarily from a financial / pricing / cost viewpoint but from a “what does your customer value THE MOST from you?” You may ask why I’m thinking about this? It relates to customer satisfaction, customer experience, value proposition, customer retention, lead generation, account penetration and potentially profitability … [Read more...] about What do your customers value the most from you?
Salespeople: Consultants, Relationship Managers or Order Facilitators to Contractors?
The industry, as we know, is going through change. In many people’s opinion, the three biggest drivers of this change are: Increased competition, especially through alternative channels (non- full-line electrical distributors) Personnel, with much of it stemming from an aging workforce that has learned product, channel and customer idiosyncrasies “on the job” and … [Read more...] about Salespeople: Consultants, Relationship Managers or Order Facilitators to Contractors?
How Distributors are Adapting to Changing Buyer Demands
Customer expectations are changing how distributors are doing business. They expect more. Some of your competition offers more. And you need to offer more to retain customers and have a hope of capturing new ones. And the changes are much more than offering an online website. There are other technologies you currently own that need to be leveraged as well as data insights. … [Read more...] about How Distributors are Adapting to Changing Buyer Demands
Survey Says … Give Websites Good Product Data
Quality product data is the difference between an \"adequate\" website and one with \"quality\" data that is valued by customers. And \"valued\" is determined by increased traffic, increased sales, a better search experience and being easier to be found via better SEO. The concern, and challenge, according to distributors is that many, if not all, current sources commoditize … [Read more...] about Survey Says … Give Websites Good Product Data
Employee Engagement Requires Internal Marketing
Much has been discussed about employee retention as well as recruitment. While some elements of both are truly in the hands of the employee / candidate and companies cannot impact, there is a key element that companies do control. it is their culture. And a key ingredient to achieving the desired culture, and sometimes recapturing it, is employee engagement. Essentially, do … [Read more...] about Employee Engagement Requires Internal Marketing
Increasing Warehouse Accuracy in an Age of Employee Churn
In talking with senior management and HR managers of distributors, a continual challenge is personnel. While frequently these discussions relate to qualified (industry or skilled) personnel for sales, branch management and/or specialists, a frequent comment is the \"churn\" that they experience in their warehouse as well as with their drivers. Low unemployment and the reality … [Read more...] about Increasing Warehouse Accuracy in an Age of Employee Churn
GM Leader Drives Cultural Change, Innovation and Results
General Motors (GM) historically has been known as a \"staid\" company and the prototypical \"old boys\" company. And its had its share of \"challenges\" ranging from uninspiring design to consumers feeling there was \"built in obsolescence\"; from being extremely difficult to sell to due to its purchasing philosophy to the ultimate disaster ... being the face of the automotive … [Read more...] about GM Leader Drives Cultural Change, Innovation and Results
When Service and Profit Counts
Last month Dick Friedman shared some ideas on how to ensure sales operations and customer satisfaction. Distributors know that operations is the key to profitability. This can relate to managing what sales is allowed to order to ensure they don\'t inadvertently decrease organizational margin on selected margins to making sure that pickers pick what they are supposed to and … [Read more...] about When Service and Profit Counts
