Amazon’s “agentic commerce” agenda signals the next transformation in digital distribution.
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Part 2 of the Gen X + AI Series: How Industry Veterans Turn Insight into Action
Amazon calls it a significant expansion of “physical AI.”
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Distributors have access to a growing number of new technologies that enable them to work more efficiently and better understand their customers.
The frontier of AI is moving beyond systems that simply analyze and recommend.
Leadership means seeing what others don’t and acting before it becomes a headline or a hospital report.
Customers have indicated a preference to receive communications in both digital and print formats. It’s not a surprise that they still want to receive
Some of the best distribution companies have unified the diverse voices that make up a business into one message, both internally and externally. I
Data points in time indicate a real trend either up or down less than half of the time. By tracking trends, we can do
Ask the best private equity investors, or for that matter, any acquiring company such as chains, vertical convergers or platform investors – even independent
E-commerce revenue as a portion of total revenue has grown significantly in the past year through the growth of existing e-commerce sites, as well
You are familiar with the portfolio concept if you own any kind of equity, bond, real estate or other investment fund. If you’re familiar
Many independent distribution companies wonder why their gross margin, net profit and attendant multiples are inferior to their $2 billion-plus sales, national-market, publicly held
In this article, I will discuss a useful approach, the Private Equity Investor Framework, which will help you think like an investor to improve
The vast majority of distributors who are still in business today have good direct salespeople without whom they would not be in business. Yet
Although e-commerce initiatives are front and center for many distributors today, in-store revenue remains essential. Yet most distributors with walk-in trade place limited emphasis
Everybody knows that it is easier to sell to existing customers than it is to acquire new customers. A good segmentation of your markets
If created and managed well, outbound and inbound calling programs can be very effective. What’s more, implementation does not have to be expensive or
For many, inside sales involves ordering, technical support, returns handling and credit management. Rarely does it involve proactive, outbound sales. Simply put, those with
When we ask successful distribution company executives about the sweet spots in their market, they readily provide a confident answer. The problem with the
Up-selling and cross-selling are the two primary means of growing an account. Among these, cross-selling is paramount. Here’s why: many distributors have regular customers
One of the biggest challenges for any sales and marketing organization is when to reach out to a customer with an offer or promotion.
Good product data is crucial for any successful distributor catalog or e-commerce website. This includes accurate and complete specifications of products as well as
Catalogs and e-commerce are critical individual components in distributors’ marketing arsenals. Distributors that have taken advantage of clear synergies between the two are reaping
Distributor measurements of effectiveness primarily include return on marketing investment, customer retention and lifetime value, and secondarily include share of wallet and internal rate
There was heavier participation from industrial, electrical/electronics, building, safety, hardware, and HVACR. Other participating sectors include chemicals and plastics, building materials, pulp and paper,
The research performed included interviews with nearly 10 distributor senior executives and an online survey taken by 170 participants across a variety of distribution
There is a very wide variety of marketing practices within the distribution sector. In general, the MDM Market Leaders more broadly embrace marketing as
Historically, distributors were limited to in-store marketing vehicles such as print flyers, catalogs, some telemarketing and tradeshows. Marketing vehicles that have become prevalent in
It may be that many distributors are just guessing when it comes to positioning and messaging. Their beliefs about what attributes are important to