Summertime, summertime... time to turn up the heat on marketing action

BY RICH SCHMITT
Management specialist

I had the pleasure of attending the Southern Wholesalers Association (SWA) annual meeting in Hilton Head last month. As in past years, I continue to believe that SWA provides a valuable program for its members. The program included forums wherein wholesalers could discuss best practices and other challenges facing hard-good distributors. The groups were small enough that everyone had the opportunity to participate and contribute. I think all of the participants left with a few “nuggets” and even though the ocean was inviting, they were glad that they invested their time to attend.

Additionally, each year SWA tries to include a speaker from the industry to provide insights from a different point of view. This year, the speaker was David Kohler, President and Chief Operating Officer of Kohler Co. After providing some perspectives on the state of our industry and some insights about Kohler Co., David agreed to take questions from the group. Unlike many executives at David’s level, he placed no restrictions on the topics and fielded questions for a couple hours. The topics ranged from his position on the policies established by his father regarding how Kohler products are marketed (“The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. I am passionate about many things that my father is.”), to the impact of globalization on the industry and country (“Like it or not we need to participate and innovate.”), to the politics being played within our federal government (“Our country has significant problems that neither party seems willing to address and I am concerned.”) I think the group consensus was: Outstanding! Time well spent.

Kudos to Terry Shafer, SWA Executive Vice President, outgoing SWA President, Reggie Hickman (Brock McVey), incoming President, Randy Wool (Wool Wholesale Plumbing) and the SWA board for another great meeting.

So it’s mid-August and business is one of the following: 1) In the tank, 2) So-so, 3) Pretty good, or 4) Better than ever. I have a single prescription for all of these situations: Stay focused on selling! If things aren’t great, selling is probably your only salvation and if things are great, your situation could change in a heartbeat and selling is your best defense.

It’s time to pull out your selling bag of tricks and to start using them. Some thoughts:

1. Each sale is a very simple equation:

a. Ideally, at the instant that the customer determines that he needs something:
• One of your sales team is standing in front of him ready to write the order
• The customer is driving past one of your locations.
When this happens, your odds of making the sale are really good but your odds of this actually happening are very, very low.

b. Next best is, when your customer determines that he needs something:
• He thinks of you in a positive way
• He then calls you or drives to one of your locations

Even with great marketing, your odds are not great because so many stars must align to get these two things to occur. Plus you may have other wholesalers who are after the same business.

2. Being the best doesn’t insure that you get the call — Let’s assume that you really are the best wholesaler in your market. It is reasonable to assume that some contractors haven’t drunk your Kool-Aid. If every contractor had, you would have a market share of 100%. Some of the contractors may be too dumb to understand or some may remain unconvinced. Either way you have to do everything possible to get that first call.

3. The “First in mind” wholesaler who gets the call is often the most recent wholesaler who called that customer — Contractors, and all of us for that matter, have very short memories and attentions spans. So sometimes the company that they call is simply the last wholesaler to visit them, the last wholesaler to call them, the last wholesaler who sent them an e-mail blast, the last wholesaler to mail them a flier. So you have to continuously, constantly, just this side of nagging, work to be that last wholesaler who gets the opportunity. As I think about it, it may be better to go over the nagging line to insure that your customers know you want their business.

4. Your trucks are roving billboards — Your trucks can help you to stay first-in-mind with your trade customers. Just your company name on the truck helps but even better includes:

• What you sell
• Where your locations are
• Your website address
• Your phone number

To create the best impression, your trucks should always be clean and well maintained. Your customers will understand that they are not brand new but clean and maintained sends the best message.

5. Learn how each customer likes to hear from you —Try to communicate with your customers in a variety of ways but, when possible, focus your efforts using their preferred communication method. In the customers’ busy season, rifle-shot communication will still make an impression. Snail-mail, fax, e-mail, verbal, personal visits, carrier pigeon or sky-writer. When you know their preferences, you will face fewer barriers in communicating with them. When providing anything that a customer must read, remember to use our tried and true formula: Small words, big type, pictures and repetition.

6. Speaking of repetition, remember and practice the 8x rule of communication: The average person needs to hear something 8 times before it sinks in. That means a customer doesn’t know you have that new product and associate you with that product until you have told him 8 times, preferably 8 different ways, that you have it.

7. Have a little fun or more to the point some “little fun” — If all your “fun” activities are huge, expensive, time-consuming productions aimed at the owners and heavy-hitters, you’re missing many opportunities. While owners are critical, they may represent a small percentage of the group who make the buying decisions for their company. ?Try doing small things to brighten up a technician’s day or to make them feel special. The idea is to encourage them to visit your store on a regular basis.

• Do cool stuff — Get a freezer full of Fudgesicles, buy a 5-gallon bucket of ice cream or have the local ice cream truck stop by on a hot afternoon

• The dog days of summer — Have a simple hot-dog on a bun and some condiments and maybe some chips…without the full spread of side dishes. One of our local car dealerships has a very simple, hot dog and can of soda promo that attracts a lot of people. Consider whether a steak dinner every 3 months creates more ongoing good will than a hot dog every week.

• Create a simple frequent buyer program — Give away a pizza or happy-meal coupon after 5 or 10 invoices.

• Driver donuts — No, I’m not talking about circular skid marks in front of the customer’s shop. Try a driver promotion where your truck drivers present donuts, some other treat or just your latest monthly flier to the office while they make deliveries. (Obviously, you cannot have him giving away stuff that has rotted or gone stale in this truck’s cab while he makes his rounds.) Drivers often see the customer in his shop more than anyone else in your company and while he is there, he could ask if there is anything else that they need. He can then get a salesperson to initiate a call or can take the order on the spot. (If you’re thinking that your drivers aren’t sharp enough to do more, consider hiring better drivers. The side benefit of smarter drivers is that they are promotable if they ever want to grow within your company.)

8. Surprise them with fun — Have fun on a random basis to train customers to visit your store every day hoping that today will be the “fun day” for this week. Wholesalers who have regular events like “hot dog Thursdays” may find, over time, that they attract a mixed crowd of professional contractors, semi-pro contractors(who are not there to buy, only to eat) and vagrants who are there to eat and to solicit donations or jobs from contractors. Your good customers may avoid those Thursdays altogether since the parking lot is so clogged with non-customers.

9. Say thanks to your customers – Very few wholesalers say thanks to their customers…ever. Years ago every cash register at every K-Mart store had a sticker that said, “TYFSAK.” It reminded every checker to complete each sale with, “Thank you for shopping at K-Mart.” It was kind of a joke and sometimes offered up with little, if any, sincerity but it was always much better than the way most retail transactions ended at other stores, “Here’s your change, who’s next.”

10. Keep your outside team outside. There is a phrase: the lazy days of summer. It’s hot and not much fun making the rounds but you cannot let them relax. Sitting in the cool office so they can “babysit an important order,” may not be the best use of an outside guy’s time. “The customers are too busy to talk to me”, is an excuse I hear all the time. Customers are certainly too busy to shoot the bull but will often value a well-planned, efficient sales call that provides valuable information or helps the customer solve problems. Your marketing team will need to be especially thoughtful as the provide the materials for these condensed sales calls.

I know you and your team are probably very busy but pick a couple ideas or create a couple ideas of your own to amp-up your selling by a notch or two in August while your competition is sitting on the porch napping.

Rich Schmitt is president of Schmitt Consulting Group Inc., a management consulting firm focused on improving the profitability of distribution and manufacturing clients. Rich is also the co-owner of Schmitt ProfitTools Inc. (SPI), a business producing print, CD-ROM, web and palm-based catalogs as well as pricing management and analysis software for wholesalers. Go to www.go-spi.com for more information.