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Will oil, copper and the US dollar impact your business?

David Gordon Posted On January 15, 2015

Over the past few weeks I’ve been meeting and talking with distributor clients and inevitably the conversation turns to macro-economic topics starting with oil. Now mind you, this isn’t meant as alarmist or negative as, depending upon the geographic area, […]

Branding / Channel Strategies / Contractors / Customer Segments / Growth Strategies / Marketing / More Insights / Sales Channel

Customers are People Too – Know Their Demographics

David Gordon Posted On January 11, 2015

I know, it should obvious. Are your customers people or are they businesses? What differentiates one company from another is a mix of services, product availability, prize, credit, ease of doing business and yes, possibly relationships. But relationships are personal. […]

Customer Segments / Distributors / eBusiness / eMarketing / Growth Strategies / Marketing / More Insights / Sales Channel / Technology

Beyond Your Business Reach?

David Gordon Posted On January 5, 2015

Good Business Year, But???? Beyond my reach you say? I’ve (We’ve) had a very good year. I’m not bragging mind you, but my company has had a good year except maybe with LED’s. What do you mean “Beyond Your Reach?” […]

Channel Strategies / Customer Segments / Distributors / eBusiness / eMarketing / Growth Strategies / Industry Consolidation / Industry News / Lighting / Lighting2 / Manufacturers / Marketing / More Insights / People in the News / Research Reports / Sales Channel / Supplier / Products

10 Issues that May Be Keeping You Up at Night

David Gordon Posted On December 18, 2014

This posting is adapted from a recent article in Channel Marketing Group‘s newsletter. The thoughts in italics are added commentary. “As we close out the year we thought we’d share observations from conversations we’ve had with manufacturers and distributors recently. […]

Channel Strategies / Contractors / Growth Strategies / Marketing / More Insights

Manufacturer and Distributor Promotional Ideas

David Gordon Posted On December 15, 2014

As the year begins to wind down, many in marketing departments are giving consideration to promotional / marketing ideas for 2015. To help provide some fodder for idea generation, we thought we’d share some promotions / marketing items that have […]

Channel Strategies / Customer Service / Logistics / Marketing / More Insights / Productivity / Profitability

CSI study can lead to process improvement (hub delivery)

David Gordon Posted On December 3, 2014

The other day I was writing a customer satisfaction report we had just conducted for a client. The report asks customers what is important to them and how the client performs on each of the attributes. It covers all aspects of […]

Industry News / More Insights / Research Reports

2015 Electrical Industry Projections

David Gordon Posted On December 1, 2014

Last week Electrical Wholesaling released it’s 2015 Market Planning Guide. This annual edition (November issue) is typically eagerly awaited for by many as it becomes a foundation for developing, or validating, 2015 objectives. Additionally, this issue contains important customer revenue […]

Associations / Distributors / eBusiness / Manufacturers / More Insights / People in the News / Productivity / Profitability / Technology

IDEA Appoints New Leadership … Strongest Yet?

David Gordon Posted On November 25, 2014

IDEA made a leadership move this week and potentially gave the electrical industry a reason to be thankful this Thanksgiving week. The organization, essentially a joint venture between NEMA and NAED, announced an executive leadership team that combines the experience […]

Channel Strategies / Customer Service / Distributors / eBusiness / eMarketing / Growth Strategies / More Insights / Technology

Border States and Reynolds – Customer Service, Omni-Channel or Reacting to Amazon Supply

David Gordon Posted On November 23, 2014

Earlier this month both Border States and Reynolds Electric launched new online sites with robust eCommerce systems. While neither is currently a national distributor, their size, financial resources, access to capital (financial and human) and, in the size of Border States […]