AI- From Tacos to Transformers

By -


Ever wonder what Tacos and Transformers have in common? Pizza and Pulling Lube?  What they COULD have in common is AI Marketing. A recent article in the Wall Street Journal discussed how YUM Brands, the owner of companies like Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, and KFC, uses AI-driven marketing campaigns to increase customer purchases and reduce customer churn. YUM uses AI to send targeted messages customized at an individual level, looking at factors like location, weather, time of day, day of the week, etc. They are also personalizing messages. AI utilizes pre-written messages and sends them based on the factors mentioned earlier. The goal is more personalized ads that are better-timed and speak to the customer rather than blasting them with generic, one-size-fits-all clutter.

And guess what? We can do this in our industry. 

Location: Let’s face it, Texas and Florida will need those industrial-size fans much sooner than Minnesota and Idaho. You could send messages to customers of your more southern branch locations that your industrial fans are in stock once their spring weather hits.

Weather: Hurricane season means money for folks in the power utility sector. Let AI help you help your customers restore power by sending messages letting them know your trailer full of necessities is on the way.

Time of Day: Maybe you are one of those distributors that opens early. Let those contractor customers know it!

Day of the Week:  Maybe you are also one of those distributors that offer a sales and service team on Saturdays—again, let those contractor customers know!

Situational: Send a reminder about tomorrow’s counter day. 

These are simple, obvious examples, but think of the possibilities to tailor marketing messages to customer segments, to specific markets and locations, and even to customers impacted by different building codes. You don’t want to look like an idiot and push a non-metallic raceway in a market that only allows metallic, for example. AI could help with all that and demonstrate to your customers a relevant and sincere understanding of their immediate needs. You could even customize by roles and personas, such as Purchasing Agent, Design Engineer, Maintenance Supervisor, and so on. We all know these different customer types have different needs.  Your marketing messages should reflect that.

Align your CRM system, too.  Ideally, you are tracking recency, frequency, and average order size. Use that data to personalize your marketing. Do you have a customer whose cadence of orders has fallen off? Send them a personalized message with a time-bound discount to entice them to send an order. Want an existing customer to increase their average order size? Consider offering free shipping if they increase their average order size by just $100.  The ability to send very specific, customized messages based on data could transform how well your marketing impacts your top line. 

YUM’s CTO stated that these types of personalized AI-driven marketing campaigns have resulted in double-digit increases in customer engagement, leading to increased purchases. This approach is being used in tandem with traditional marketing. Consider following the example of YUM, translating their triumph from pushing pizzas to pushing pedestals and sockets. Our industry keeps talking about AI. Let’s stop talking, learn from the successes of other industries, and start customizing our marketing. Need help getting started? We’re happy to collaborate and spark some creative ideas together! 


Desiree Grace is an advisor, consultant, and mentor with 30+ years as a senior leader in the electrical distribution and manufacturing sectors. Desiree leads and supports special projects for River Heights

Consulting. She builds brands, grows revenue and motivates teams, facilitates strategy and execution, and offers special expertise in helping international companies enter the North American market.  Experience with Fortune 100 companies, private start-ups, and mid-market businesses enables Desiree to help a variety of B2B organizations improve market share, revenue, and profits. She is a sought-after speaker for topics such as professional development, sales leadership, industry trends, and team leadership and motivation. You can connect with her at www.linkedin.com/in/desireecgrace.




...









Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Dance of Onboarding: Integrating New Hires into Your Corporate Culture

By -
Image
Have you ever tried to waltz or swing dance with someone who couldn't match your rhythm or didn't know the steps? It can become a clash of styles or cultures, or, worse—somebody gets their toes stepped on. A similar thing can happen when a new hire doesn't quite 'get' the culture. Much like dancing, though, skills can be learned. I recently facilitated a panel on Cultural Quotient (CQ) where we discussed best practices for increasing CQ. This involved intentional learning, self-awareness of physical cues such as body language and personal space, and the willingness to adapt to new cultures. I have some amusing stories about what not to do based on experiences with insensitive former colleagues. However, it's more productive to focus on how employers can improve the onboarding experience and subsequently enhance retention and employee engagement by welcoming people into their corporate culture. Maybe someday in person, over drinks, I'll share a funny story o...
Read more

50 Questions for Distributors

By -
Image
Last week I wrote an article titled “Six Questions that Demand an Answer.”  Sharing the article with a few trusted advisers, I received one consistent bit of feedback best summarized by this response. “Frank, I agree these are questions we must ask ourselves; they caused me to pause and ponder.  I used them as an exercise with my team to think about our overall strategy.  I believe taking the time to think about our business from an outside perspective to be justified and worthwhile.   Sometimes it’s hard to do this subjectively.  I would like to see more questions just like these.” The following is my first round of questions.  I have put them into categories to make them easier to digest.  Some will apply to your position, some will not.  I suggest spending a moment visiting these topics with members of your own team. A note:  The readers of this blog come from a variety of backgrounds, hold a diverse collection of positio...
Read more

Ship and Debit Programs

By -
Image
Special Pricing Agreement and Thoughts about Ship and Debit Programs Click here for a brief tutorial on Ship and Debit Programs. Special Pricing Agreements (SPA) have been around for a very long time. The concept is simple; a manufacturer uses their distribution channel as a vehicle to service a customer who requires very low pricing to match some commercial situation. The details of the commercial situation aren’t really all that pertinent. They can arise due to customer potential, competitive pricing pressure, or supply contracts driven with large mega-corporations. The point is normal distributor margins no longer support the selling price and the distributor plays a critical role in providing some service to the customer. In years gone by, distributors involved in these situations purchased products earmarked for the special priced customer at sub-distributor price levels. The freshly purchased (at lower than normal cost) products were either brought “into stock” to sell...
Read more