When you got it, flaunt it

When it comes to marketing your value-add, show it off in as many places as possible.

by Paul Markgraff

Fictitious distributor Primo Industrial Supply suffers from a lack of marketing exposure. Sales manager Kevin Fitzpatrick knows Primo has the right value-added solutions and programs for many industrial customers. The problem is, no customers seem to know about Primo's practices. When Kevin mentions them to customers, he is met with blank stares.

In our last issue of V-Mail, we posed the following questions: How can Fitzpatrick get his message out? Should he invest in printed marketing materials? Is it enough to post the solutions on the company's Web site? Do his salespeople need to be better trained to talk about the programs?

Answers came from an unlikely source. Matt King serves as national accounts representative with Peregrine Outfitters Inc., a wholesale distributor supplying outdoor retailers worldwide with more than 6,000 outdoor accessories, equipment and books. Though Peregrine is not an industrial distributor, King’s comments on Fitzpatrick’s problem can serve industrial distributors well, showing this type of problem is common to many distributors.

“As a distributor, product alone isn't always what separates a supplier from the competition. Available services including the level and quality of service is often the deciding factor that customers use when making a vendor choice,” says King. “These services should always be a component of marketing and selling to customers, particularly as a reminder to existing customers of what you provide for them.”

Printing your services within a catalog or newsletter is an easy channel to increase exposure and keep your value-added practices consistently in front of and available to customers, says King. Catalogs and newsletters already function as a marketing tool, so why not use those to also promote and highlight what makes Primo stand out as a vendor.

“There's no reason why this can't be reinforced on the Primo Web site as well,” he says. “For Web users, pop-ups can be a nuisance, but sidebars – constant or timed and changing – attract attention, and can help reinforce and promote services as well as products. Plus, they rarely affect the primary work screen, allowing customers to still focus on their work without any interference.”

What would you do? Fictitious distributor Primo Industrial Supply sales manager Kevin Fitzpatrick is fed up. He ordered each salesperson to turn in one documented customer cost-saving per quarter. The program has been a miserable failure. If you were in Fitzpatrick's shoes, what would you do? Click here to weigh in on this difficult issue.

The sales staff should also be articulate in discussing and selling Primo's programs, says King. Speaking to the customer's needs regarding efficiencies and profitability through value-added services can help build long-term partnerships toward accomplishing each company's goals.

“Furthermore, there's no reason to limit this communication to just one contact,” says King. “Reminders and conversations with the various contacts within a single dealer can build a network of supporters with personnel that can help keep the conversation alive internally.”

As service-related discussions develop and departments interact, having several voices from different areas familiar with Primo and what Primo has to offer can be a strong advantage, and help Primo position itself as a leading vendor when it comes to value-added services.

This article was prepared exclusively for ValueAddedPartners.org. Copyright 2006.

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