Customer Segments Archives

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 […]

Associations / Channel Strategies / Customer Segments / Growth Strategies / Marketing

The Times They Are A Changin’

David Gordon Posted On April 7, 2009

Much has occurred over the past couple of months and many manufacturers and distributors have cut to the bone in an effort to preserve profitability. These cuts have focused on people, programs (in the case of manufacturers) and products (in […]

Customer Segments / Growth Strategies / Marketing / Profitability / Research Reports

Distributors Rank 2009 Sales & Profit Drivers

David Gordon Posted On March 27, 2009

As seen in today’s Electrical Marketing, and with expanded information and insights … David Gordon, president, Channel Marketing Group, Raleigh, N.C., and Allen Ray, president, Allen Ray Associates, Kennedale, Texas, recently conducted their annual ElectroIndustry survey. Almost 400 distributors, manufacturers […]

Branding / Customer Segments / Growth Strategies / Industry Consolidation / Marketing

Southwire and Bussmann Commitment to Growth

David Gordon Posted On March 25, 2009

On November 9th we posted some thoughts entitled “Taking Advantage of a Downturn” where we quoted some research that proved that investing in sales and marketing during a downturn can enable a compaany to take share and grow their business. […]

Associations / Customer Segments / eBusiness / Growth Strategies / Productivity

NAED SouthCentral Observations

David Gordon Posted On March 1, 2009

In the words of Electrical Marketing, “Not surprisingly, attendance is (was) down at the conference.” Overall, there were an estimated / registered 420 manufacturer and distributor attendees. About 60 distributors were represented. Observations from attendees was that cost-cutting probably was […]

Associations / Customer Segments / Growth Strategies / Profitability

NEMA Listens and Reaches Out to Smaller Members

David Gordon Posted On February 24, 2009

On Monday we presented at NEMA’s Small Manufacturer Forum, which was NEMA’s inaugural endeavor in serving this audience’s interest in small manufacturer networking. The event, according to all, was a resounding success.The quality of the speakers and the information communicated […]

Customer Segments / Growth Strategies / Lighting / Lighting2 / Marketing

Stimulus to Add Green to Electrical Industry?

David Gordon Posted On February 18, 2009

With the stimulus package passed and signed into law, the question for electrical distributors and manufacturers is “how to get your piece of the pie?” Regardless of your political affiliation or beliefs regarding the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of […]

Advocacy / Associations / Customer Segments / Growth Strategies

Influencing Direction to Create Industry Opportunities

David Gordon Posted On January 30, 2009

To make an understatement, we’re in challenging and yet exciting times. While most everyone is faced with economic challenges, the historical opportunities that may be created by the economy (stimulus package) as well as a new administration, represents exciting opportunities […]

Customer Segments / Growth Strategies / Productivity / Profitability

10 Ideas for Planning for Profit in 2009

David Gordon Posted On January 21, 2009

The current economic environment is creating challenges for many distributors. The burst in commodity prices has significantly impacted distributor gross margins as they have rushed to move higher cost inventory. The financial effects of selling something for less than you […]