It’s planning season and we’re engaging long-term distributor clients; new and prospective ones and a recurring theme is occurring … they are commenting on the lack of co-op marketing funds. Unfortunately, this isn’t a surprise as it has been a […]
I was speaking with a manufacturer who was contemplating converting his direct sales force to a rep network. He was having difficulty replacing salespeople leaving his company either for retirement or other reasons (some of which were revealed in our […]
Copper, as every electrical distributor knows, is either a key component of sales (especially construction-oriented distributors) or a key component of many products. From a pricing viewpoint, if can be volatile. At times, as in the past few years, it […]
During a recent conversation with Frank Hurtte of River Heights Consulting we talked about the acquisition of Risoul by RS Components, who is the parent of Allied Electronics and Automation. Frank specializes in the industrial automation space. As consultants like […]
The industrial segment of the electrical distribution market is undergoing change due to a number of market dynamics including reshoring / near shoring, the impact of climate technologies / EV, manufacturer employment challenges, the need for improved productivity / capacity coupled […]
One of the historical “deliverables” of marketing is promotions. For many distributors, marketing was confined to three areas – events, premiums (those logoed “throwaways” / wearables) and promotions. Typically, all were funded, or at least co-funded, with manufacturer dollars. While […]
For years we’ve talked that eCommerce is more than trying to get people to buy via a website, especially when over 40% of total electrical purchases are via contractors with about 30-40% of this business being projects. And the industrial […]
Convergence Partners, a leading manufacturer rep agency in the Midwest, has expanded its coverage area, and lines, via a strategic partnership with Integrated Sales and Lighting Solutions of Iowa. The net effect is expanded coverage into Iowa and more lines […]
One of the challenges we hear from distributors is the need for sales and marketing tools from companies that understand distribution … and especially the electrical distribution channel … and that are affordable regardless of the size of the distributor. […]
Over the past few years distributors have financially benefited from a confluence of macro-industry events to achieve high net profit. An element of this is their rebate dollars. And recently a few people have commented, and I paraphrase, “distributors have […]
David Gordon
Channel Marketing Group
919-488-8635
