Are You Truly "Close" to Your Customers? - Modern Distribution Management

Log In

Are You Truly “Close” to Your Customers?

What we view as being "close to the customer" today isn't what will be required five years from now.
jenel-white
Author
Date

Distributors often say that one of their strengths is that they're close to their customers, that they understand what their customers need and how to help their customers do business better and more effectively. But, according to Dirk Beveridge, "to some degree we're fooling ourselves."

Beveridge, author of Innovate!: How Successful Distributors Lead Change in Disruptive Times, recently spoke with me for the latest MDM Executive Briefing, available now.

"Close to the customer" yesterday meant visiting the customer once a week, for example, and checking to see if they had any questions or needed a new catalog, Beveridge says. And for a long time that was enough.

"It built a great business, it built a great lifestyle," he says. But it's not enough for the future.

To succeed in the future, your business plan has to include a way to lead your customer to a "better future for which they are prepared," Beveridge says, "and willing and capable to reward you."

This means taking steps to truly understand your customers' needs – even if they are unarticulated. It requires being present at their place of business from open to close to see what happens at every stage to recognize those unarticulated needs.

"And the only way we're going to be able to do that is if we get out there, proactively, strategically, with purpose and intent, to truly listen, observe and feel what those customers' true and changing needs are," Beveridge says.

Listen to the entire interview with Beveridge here.

Share this article

About the Author
Recommended Reading
Leave a Reply

Leave a Comment

Sign Up for the MDM Update Newsletter

The MDM update newsletter is your best source for news and trends in the wholesale distribution industry.

Get the MDM Update Newsletter

Wholesale distribution news and trends delivered right to your inbox.

Sign-up for our free newsletter and get:

  • Up-to-date news in a quick-to-read format
  • Free access to webcasts, podcasts and live events
  • Exclusive whitepapers, research and reports
  • And more!

2

articles left

Want more Premium content from MDM?

Subscribe today and get:

  • New issues twice each month
  • Unlimited access to mdm.com, including 10+ years of archived data
  • Current trends analysis, market data and economic updates
  • Discounts on select store products and events

Subscribe to continue reading

MDM Premium Subscribers get:

  • Unlimited access to MDM.com
  • 1 year digital subscription, with new issues twice a month
  • Trends analysis, market data and quarterly economic updates
  • Deals on select store products and events

1

article
left

You have one free article remaining

Subscribe to MDM Premium to get unlimited access. Your subscription includes:

  • Two new issues a month
  • Access to 10+ years of archived data on mdm.com
  • Quarterly economic updates, trends analysis and market data
  • Store and event discounts

To continue reading, you must be an MDM Premium subscriber.

Join other distribution executives who use MDM Premium to optimize their business. Our insights and analysis help you enter the right new markets, turbocharge your sales and marketing efforts, identify business partners that help you scale, and stay ahead of your competitors.

Register for full access

By providing your email, you agree to receive announcements from us and our partners for our newsletter, events, surveys, and partner resources per MDM Terms & Conditions. You can withdraw consent at any time.

Learn More about Custom Reports

Request a Market Prospector Demo

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.