Customer Segments

Channel Strategies / Contractors / Customer Segments / Growth Strategies / Industry Consolidation / Marketing

The Fragmenting of the Industry

David Gordon Posted On March 19, 2010

People ask “what are we seeing in the market” to correlate it with what they are seeing and to integrate into their planning. And what we are seeing comes down to with challenges (we’re being nice) in the resi market […]

Channel Strategies / Customer Segments / Growth Strategies / Profitability

The Death of Small Branches?

David Gordon Posted On March 9, 2010

Over the past few weeks we’ve been hearing of a number of the national chains closing small branches. In some instances these branches were set up to service specific customers, in other instances they are small branches in small towns, […]

Channel Strategies / Customer Segments / Lighting / Lighting2

Moving from Lamps & Fixtures to Solutions

David Gordon Posted On January 20, 2010

Is GE taking a page from Philips? GE Lighting’s recent announcement that it will be combining its Lumination division with its commercial and industrial fixture group, GE Lighting Systems is reminiscient of when Philips acquired Genlyte-Thomas and then began integrating […]

Customer Segments / Growth Strategies / Industry News / Marketing / Supplier / Products

Manufacturers Invest with Integrators

David Gordon Posted On January 11, 2010

What do Arlington, Leviton, Thomas & Betts, Cerro Wire, Philips, Schneider Electric, Home Depot and Lutron have in common? (and three of them were sponsors of the Home Depot ad!) They all were either advertisers, sponsors of others’ ads or […]

Channel Strategies / Customer Segments / Growth Strategies / Lighting / Lighting2

Recouping Your Tax Dollars

David Gordon Posted On December 17, 2009

Lately a number of industry resources have been sharing their predictions for 2010. While no one has a crystal ball, we’re hearing an overall industry range of +/- 2%, but no one really represents the industry. From a distributor perspective, […]

Customer Segments / Marketing / Pricing / Profitability

Do You Suffer from PMS?

David Gordon Posted On July 17, 2009

No, we’re not being sexist! This was a term that a client used recently to describe today’s sales environment: PanicModeSelling Throughout their marketplace they are seeing distributors quoting projects at minimal margins and manufacturers providing pricing that is below what […]

Customer Segments / Growth Strategies

The Auto Impact

David Gordon Posted On June 12, 2009

The past couple of weeks have brought us a new automotive industry. Consider GM & Chrysler are / have been in bankruptcy Chrylser now reports to Italy (Fiat) Saturn is now a distribution company for auto manufacturers, having been purchased […]

Customer Segments / Growth Strategies / Lighting / Lighting2

Are You Receiving Your Utility Benefits?

David Gordon Posted On June 9, 2009

•Energy efficiency remains a market that represents opportunity for electrical distributors. The key is understanding how to pursue it and targeting efforts. •Over the past couple of months a number of new energy efficiency incentive programs have been developed by […]

Associations / Customer Segments / Industry Consolidation / Lighting / Lighting2 / Marketing / Profitability

NAED Electrical Leadership Summit (Annual) Observations

David Gordon Posted On May 26, 2009

The recent NAED Electrical Leadership Summit (aka NAED Annual or National) was one of the quietest conferences we’ve been to in a while. While attendance was 50-60% below recent annual meetings, and was more like a regional meeting (the number […]

Channel Strategies / Customer Segments / Growth Strategies / Marketing / Productivity

Inventory Reductions Create Opportunities

David Gordon Posted On April 30, 2009

A recent Washington Post article focused on the declining inventory levels throughout the economy. And while this can be good for each company as everyone wants to reduce inventories to ensure that they carry what they are selling, it can […]