Author: Mark Dancer, NAW Institute for Distribution Excellence Fellow
Making Sense of Digital Tools – Distributors in the Digital Era #2
Cutting Through the Fog by Recognizing That Success Begins at Home My ongoing conversations with distributors reveals, over and over again, that leaders are inundated with a flood of urgent pronouncements about the need to make investments and build digital capabilities. Experts and vendors proclaim that distributors must go online to keep up with rapidly [...]
Don’t Leave Your Digital Vision to Chance – Distributors in the Digital Era #1
Follow a Process – Don’t Leave Your Digital Vision to Chance It is important to follow a process. If you have one, use it. If not, use this one. Following a process will help ensure that your vision is not driven by a single point of view, that it works in the value chain and [...]
Read More9 Questions Wholesaler-Distributors Should Ask About Their Digital Journey
Digital tools are changing the way you and other wholesaler-distributors leverage information, run your operations, and create value. More than that, digital tools are changing the way your value chain works and how your competitors operate. Customers prefer to go online for all kinds of information because it is convenient. New online competitors are emerging [...]
Read More6 Strategies for Competing with Disruptors
Wholesaler-distributors are well aware that disruptors pose a strategic threat, and so are developing strategies to survive, compete, and prosper. Here are potential strategies for dealing with disruptors: It’s important to note that all of the strategies have a common thread: wholesaler-distributors must clearly define the solutions or services they offer customers delivered through a [...]
Read MoreWhat Are Digital Tools: A Guide for Wholesaler-Distributors
Wholesaler-distributors have a very strong awareness of digital tools, but, as of today, relatively low experience, on average. We found that we often needed to provide a simple working definition of the six digital tools that were the subject of our research, and we provide them here for clarity. E-commerce: buying and selling of products [...]
Read MoreTop 10 Guiding Principles for Designing Your CRM Selection Process
1. Pick a partner, not just a vendor. While it’s important to pick a CRM tool with appropriate features, it is also important to evaluate the CRM vendor’s business strategies and culture …. 2. Know your sales drivers. CRM delivers the best immediate value when it is aligned with the specific drivers that yield sales [...]
Read MoreWhy CRM Is Fast Becoming a Standard Business Practice and Essential Tool
In my research for my book, Getting the Most Out of CRM, I found that the majority (61%) of wholesaler-distributors surveyed already use CRM in implementations that range from basic to advanced. If you’re looking for perspectives to get to a “go” decision for adopting CRM or expanding its use at your company, here are [...]
Read MoreWhat Is Client Relationship Management or Customer Relationship Management (CRM)?
CRM can mean many things to wholesaler-distributors. It’s a software and sales automation tool, of course, but CRM can also be viewed as a strategy or process, depending on the business experience, technology affinity, and sales orientation of the wholesaler-distributors we encountered. Looking for more Benefits of Adopting a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Click here [...]
Read MoreTop 10 Benefits of Adopting a Customer Relationship Management System (CRM)
1. Manage customer contact information. Perhaps the most basic of benefits, CRM helps salespeople create and maintain a database of customer information from basic information about names and positions, to personal information about business goals, professional affiliations, and family members. 2. Manage sales pipeline or territory results. CRM has the potential to transform a salesperson [...]
Read More7 Strategic Findings Regarding the Adoption and Use of Digital Tools
We have identified seven strategic findings for wholesaler-distributors, especially for the leaders who will set visions, define goals, and drive execution: 1. Digital tools hold promise and peril for distributors. As intermediaries between customers and suppliers, distributors hold the knowledge, information, and data that drive the value chain. Digital tools can help harness those data [...]
Read More