In the last three articles, we talked about the post-Pandemic  “new normal” and how life will change for distributors, customers, and suppliers.  In each post, we explored how we might position ourselves for greater success by anticipating these changes.  In the next few articles, we will spend some time thinking further about customer shifts.   Research, unrelated to distribution, has shown keen interest in several initiatives being studied by our customers.  In most instances, the interest was there ahead of the COVID shutdown, but economic storms tend to accelerate trends and push new ideas to the forefront of business executives’ minds.  Very few of these changes are as pronounced as the growing interest in robotics.  If you believe the researchers (and I do) the growth in all things robotic will come like a gigantic 64-foot wave sweeping into Honolua Bay in Hawaii.  As an industry, we are faced with a couple of choices.  We can hum ...

Today, more than ever, the need for an unvarnished look at customer opinions is of unparalleled importance. Sounds like hype? It’s not.  Here are a dozen reasons why: 1. We are in the midst of a massive generational shift. Millennials come to the workplace with a much different mindset than your customers of old. What’s more, they are finding their way into leadership positions and their buying power is steadily increasing. They are impatient for change. They question the way things are done. As digital natives, Millennials are more than ready to toss your sales team aside and move onward to another supplier. 2. The choices of communications with customers have gone from phone and fax to a thousand options. Chats on social media, instant messaging on your website, text messages, and new options in development are quicker and easier for your customers. Each customer contact will do business with the organization that matches their preferred method of contact. Do...

I have long suggested distributor salespeople read the publications covering their customers’ industries. Back in the  old days, I signed up for subscriptions to magazines covering everything from food processing to the mining and quarry publications. About one a week, I would devote a leisurely evening to skimming through the articles. Why? It, simple, because I wanted to know what might be on my customer’s mind. To an extent, I still look into topics I believe impact the operations of distributors’ customers. As I perused Plant Engineering Magazine, a publication serving customers of many knowledge-based distributors, I came across an article I believe needs to be examined. This article is titled “ 2018 Maintenance Survey: Playing Offense and Defense ” and offers some thought provoking stuff. Allow me to share. Two ways of of viewing Maintenance The author believes the whole topic of maintenance could be broken into a couple of components. First, as a defensive ...