That’s the question many senior executives ask themselves regularly about eCommerce. They’ve invested much into their website. They’ve invested into product data. They’ve invested into people. They ask, does anyone care? Are we getting an ROI?
I know I’m being, perhaps, a little facetious as intuitively many believe / understand that these investments are now expectations, however, it begs the question, “are we asking our customers what is important to them?”
What will we learn?
We know that many are not buying from distributor websites.
How do we know this? We’ve talked to distributors, reviewed industry performance stats, seen client sales reports. The percentage of distributor sales generated from distributor websites is extremely low (and yes, I know there are many good, and valid, reasons for this.) The ones who have “high” percentages are using it as an alternative order entry system for selected clients … or use marketing lingo and talk “eCommerce” meaning all commerce electronically (including EDI).
But we also know that there are natural inhibitors to eCommerce adoption … and frequently they have 2 legs … and are employed by HVAC distributors!
Instead of surmising, how about asking?
In 2018 I had this crazy idea to ask contractors and industrial buyers about their eCommerce interests. Yes, we surveyed distributor customers! Some of the responses were direct outreach by Channel Marketing Group. Some with the help of trade publications. And some with the help of distributors.
We’re getting ready to update this research which will enable us to compare results and see what your customers want and if they desire more digitally.
And we’re offering distributors the opportunity to participate in this research and receive a free research report.
All you need to do is:
- Send our survey link to your customers / prospects
- Ask them to respond.
- If we get a minimum of 50 responses (and we’ll send you a link specific to your customer), we’ll develop a report specific to your customers.
- And we’ll send you a copy of the comprehensive report.
- No cost to you … and your customers get a chance to participate in our drawing … funded by Channel Marketing Group.
- And if you want reasonable geographic exclusivity, I’m willing to do that if you send it to a large enough audience.
If you are interested, reach out to me. If you need to see the survey in advance, I can send you a .pdf of the questions (it’s all about trust!)
Customer input. A novel idea. Together we can learn what customers want … and it won’t cost you (how often do you get that offer from a consultant!)
Don’t want to participate but want to see the results? Reserve your copy of the report at eCommerce4Distributors. The report is sponsored by BigCommerce.
Leave a Reply