by tradesmeninsights | Feb 22, 2017 | Tips, Tradesmen Insights
By John Sonnhalter, Rainmaker Journeyman, Sonnhalter
I’ve talked a lot about customer service and how important it is to resolve issues. But we’ve also addressed the issue that customer service is everyone’s responsibility, from sales through tech support. Customer service is really all about your customers’ total experience.
This is true in our relationships with distributors as well as contractors. Manufacturers need to be careful, especially when business is on the uptick and attention to detail may come in second to short-term sales increase.
Don’t take your distributor and tradesman for granted. There’s always someone out there that can identify the contractor’s needs and deliver and it won’t necessarily be based on price or delivery but the total customer experience. (more…)
by tradesmeninsights | Mar 26, 2014 | Marketing Trends, Social Marketing, Traditional Marketing
Progressive contractors, I believe, are changing the way they are interacting with their manufacturers. When I ran across this research recently, it verified in my mind that it holds true.
HVACRBusiness recently released a new research study, “HVACR Contractors: Trends in the Adoption of Products/Systems & Management Approaches,” (download here), that highlights new trends on their involvement with manufacturers. I did a podcast interview with Terry Tanker, the publisher, to talk about the results of the research.
Here are some highlights.
They define a “High Yield” contractor as being more active in managing their business, have substantial revenues and are experiencing significant growth. In other words, The “A” players in the field.
- 93% get involved in the early stages of the selection process of new products.
- Contractors have even greater expectations for products/systems than 5 years ago.
- Contractors are expecting manufacturers to do more to help them compete and operate efficiently.
- The selling environment has become more business like and competitive.
The bottom line is that these “High Yield” contractors have made significant changes in their relationships with their manufacturers and expect more out of them. Among them the top three are:
- Making manufacturers more accountable for their products/systems.
- Offer more support.
- Make more objective decisions about products/systems/brands.
Bottom line – 70% are more likely to evaluate additional manufacturers and their products. You can’t depend on your sales rep going to see them personally to introduce a new product. By the time they get there, the contractor may be well down the selection process. Contractors, no matter what kind, are looking for good information, not a sales pitch, but information that can help them do their jobs. If you can do that, it will help keep you in the game.
by tradesmeninsights | Mar 19, 2014 | Marketing Tips, Marketing Tools, Marketing Trends
HVACRBusiness released a research study, “HVACR Contractors: Trends in the Adoption of Products/Systems & Management Approaches,” that highlights new trends on their involvement with manufacturers. I did a podcast interview with Terry Tanker, the publisher, to talk about the results of the research.
Listen to the podcast here.
You can sign up to get a copy of the study here.
