Marketing for distribution today requires more nuance than ever before. It is no longer solely counter days, events (especially golf!), flyers, short-term promotions and logoed items. It's more about strategy, analysis, targeting customers, determining messaging, tailoring offers to selected audiences, promoting your value proposition and more. Further, giving a flyer to … [Read more...] about CRM … Today’s Marketing Backbone
Market Analysis
What HVACR end customer trends are crucial for 2025?
In 2015 when I was on the HD Supply Power Solutions team, I started some research with the goal of getting feedback to make better pricing decisions with direct surveys for our associates. We were roughly a $2 billion dollar business trying to improve our GM% and profits. Over the past ten years that survey has grown in size and scope to include end customers, distributor … [Read more...] about What HVACR end customer trends are crucial for 2025?
Auer Steel, investing for customer and the next generation’s success
As I was going through my story idea notebook on what to write for this week's column, I saw a LinkedIn notification on a posting from Jon Hirsch. I started following Jon's work as Director of Business Development for Auer Steel & Heating Supply Company (HVACR distributor with locations in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan and North Dakota) about a year ago. What jumped … [Read more...] about Auer Steel, investing for customer and the next generation’s success
Embrace Change to Adopt AI and Improve Profits
The concept of digital transformation, let alone AI, as a future driver for your organization is probably a folly unless … You have a leader, and leadership team, which believes in change. There are two key words in the above sentence … “leadership” and “change.” Leadership infers vision, an ability to perceive “need,” an entrepreneurial mentality that desires growth, … [Read more...] about Embrace Change to Adopt AI and Improve Profits
Is your proven experienced associate led pricing model approaching a cliff?
If your winning pricing model is still being led by just your experienced sales team, it is probably time to make changes for the future. I had the opportunity to sit in on the excellent HARDI Pricing certification session that kicked off recently with my friends and colleagues leading the session from ACTvantage: Senthil Gunasekaran and Pradip Krishnadevarajan. Senthil and … [Read more...] about Is your proven experienced associate led pricing model approaching a cliff?
Rebates + Actionable Intelligence (AI) = Increased HVAC Profits
I was with a manufacturer last week and we discussed distributor acquisitions and “the why?” One of the data points we discussed was the declining net profitability of the business as a percent of sales and the corresponding increase in the contribution that rebates make to distributor profitability, which is increasing. They further affirmed this with the comment “that … [Read more...] about Rebates + Actionable Intelligence (AI) = Increased HVAC Profits
What does the IMARK/AD Merger for electrical mean for the HVAC Channel?
AD & IMARK Electrical Make the Merger Official: how does the new AD IESD impact the channel and is there any impact to HVACR Distributors? The news release that made it official called this a merger of equals to create AD Independent Electrical Supply Division (IESD) that represents 700+ independent electrical distributors with annual sales of over $43 Billion. Immediately … [Read more...] about What does the IMARK/AD Merger for electrical mean for the HVAC Channel?
