• About MDM
  • Cart
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookies Statement
  • News
    • Premium Articles
    • Latest
    • Technology & Digital
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Talent Development
  • Resources
    • Store
      • Market/Economic Data
      • Management
      • Economic Benchmarks for Wholesale Distribution
      • Sales & Marketing
      • Special Reports
      • What Customers Want
    • Conferences
    • Webcasts
    • Podcasts
    • Directories
      • Associations
      • Buying and Marketing Groups
      • Investment Bank Guide for Distributors
    • Free Reports
    • Partners
  • Research
    • 2019 Market Leaders lists
    • MDM Analytics
    • Economic Benchmarks
    • Industry Competitive Landscape
    • White Papers
  • Subscribe
    • MDM Daily Update
    • MDM Premium
    • Podcasts
  • Premium
    • Download The Issue
    • Subscription Renewal
  • Sign In
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Home » Commentary: Be the Right Answer for Your Customers

Commentary: Be the Right Answer for Your Customers

April 10, 2009
Thomas P. Gale
No Comments
There's an old joke about a headache going away because you stopped hitting your head with a hammer. That's one way to view the few pieces of good economic news trickling out over the past four weeks. Most analysts are getting excited because certain economic indicators are not falling as fast as they were.
 
Whether we have hit bottom is still wild speculation. The important thing is that these signs of hope are necessary precursors to a recovery. We have to wait to see if they are real. It's encouraging that the first wave of good and less-bad news at the end of March has been more or less sustained into mid-April. Even the steel industry and the deep pit it has been in has started to look better. And this week's market and positive earnings reports from banks, of all places, continue to at least offer a glimpse of a rebound. That's how recoveries are born.
 
One economist sound bite has resonated for me in particular: If you think you know this economy, then you don't know this economy. It is refreshing to hear an economist admit defeat. But it is also another way of saying what is on all our minds - the current conditions are unprecedented, and let's hope the "new economy" has the same capacity to rebound as quickly as it tanked. This leads to a much more practical exercise, one you have some control over. Now is the time to figure out how to make all this instability work in your favor.
 
From our conversations, distributors are experiencing an unprecedented level of uncertainty from one month to the next. Historic sales patterns aren't reliable; sales performance is all over the map. Long-held customer accounts are revisiting supply relationships (not good for incumbent), but new opportunities are emerging for the same reason (good for the outsider).
 
This round of vendor musical chairs - when customers are open to new sourcing options - is part of the cycle. How (and if) you are adequately prepared to react is a topic for sales planning and customer retention strategy. It means that customers are through panic mode and into finding answers - innovative or not - on how to cut more cost or be more productive and efficient. If you aren't helping to frame what that looks like, your competitors are. Now is the time to be proactive in preserving your best customer relationships, and aggressively pursuing new and old opportunities.
 
Many companies don't go knocking on the doors that haven't been open in a while. Review the "inactive" customer file, prioritize it, and find the best way to get inside again, whether by personal contact or otherwise.
 
 
 
Distribution Sales & Marketing
  • Related Articles

    Price is an Issue, But Not the Issue

    Now Not the Time to Shy Away from Price Increases

    MDM Interview: Challenges, Opportunity in E-Commerce

  • Related Products

    Sell More to Customers by Asking the Right Questions

    Commentary: Approach Your Customer Relationships Strategically for a Higher ROI

    Article Access - Commentary: Be Patient, Persistent on Your E-Commerce Journey

Thomas Gale

Commentary: Cash is King. Control Expense. Focus.

More from this author

Recent Articles by Thomas Gale

Commentary: Table Stakes Today: Customer-Focused Value Definition

A Distributor’s Innovation Playbook for 2020

Don’t Let Turbulence Go to Waste in 2020

Post a comment to this article

Report Abusive Comment

Popular Stories

  • Distributors are About to Get Commoditized

  • Distributors Struggle with Online Pricing

  • Finding Your ‘Why It Matters’

  • Convenience Will Deliver Sales and Loyalty

  • What are College Seniors Looking for as They Enter the Distribution Field?

Subscribe to MDM Update Newsletter

Your best source for news and trends in the wholesale distribution industry

Join Today
  • ABOUT MDM
    • About
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Authors
  • HELP
    • My Account
    • Login Help/ Password Reset
    • Research
    • Privacy & Data Act

CONTACT
6309 Monarch Park Place, Suite 203
Niwot, CO 80503, USA
Phone (303) 443-5060 
Toll free (888) 742-5060

 

Copyright ©2019. All Rights Reserved

  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms and Conditions