by tradespeopleinsights | Feb 22, 2017 | Tips, Tradespeople 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 Sonnhalter | Feb 21, 2017 | Tradespeople Insights, Uncategorized
By Chris Ilcin, Account Superintendent, Sonnhalter
For their January/February issue, Industrial Supply Magazine asked Spencer Maheu, Director at Osborn Industries what advice he had for industrial distributors in the New Year. His answer? Streamline your product selection to reward end users, your organization and your bottom line. Here’s the article:
Streamlining is the Word of 2017 (more…)
by Sonnhalter | Feb 15, 2017 | Events/Trade Shows, Tradespeople Insights
By Chris Ilcin, Account Superintendent, Sonnhalter
We’re in the thick of trade show season, and that brings up the age-old argument: Are they worth exhibiting at?
The ROI of a trade show can be the trickiest equation to manage. Very few feature direct sales, and how do you prove that a sale six months from now had anything to do with a 10′ by 20′ booth?
The short answer? You can’t. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t exhibit, just that you should make the most of your customer’s experience.
I just finished reading a great article from Greg Zehe, from GES. It’s his review of a couple of standout booths at this year’s CES and how they succeeded through “hands-on marketing.” And it reminded me of some of the other key strategies to ensure your booth is a standout: (more…)
by tradespeopleinsights | Feb 14, 2017 | Marketing Trends, Tradespeople Insights
By John Sonnhalter, Rainmaker Journeyman, Sonnhalter
Recently the sale of Craftsman Tools went through to a conglomerate, Stanley Black and Decker, for two billion dollars and I asked myself: Does the smaller manufacturer have a fighting chance against them? In the case of reaching the professional tradesman, indeed they do, and here’s why… (more…)
by Sonnhalter | Feb 8, 2017 | Events/Trade Shows, Tradespeople Insights
By Chris Ilcin, Account Superintendent, Sonnhalter
Another Super Bowl, er, I mean Big Game is in the books, and like last year, we want to take a look at the ads through the lens of B2T. Are there any lessons? Probably, let’s go to the tape!
You Can Protect Your Brand Too Much
The NFL is notorious for protecting the brand name “Super Bowl.” In fact, I should probably trademark that last sentence, add a disclaimer about how it’s the property of the NFL and let you know that any rebroadcast without the express written consent of the NFL will have lawyers flying at you like DB’s at the QB.
(more…)
by Sonnhalter | Feb 7, 2017 | Marketing Trends, Tradespeople Insights
By Scott Bessell, Idea Builder, Sonnhalter
There have been a couple of subtle changes (again) in the world of company/corporate identifiers—their logos.
Picture-Only
One of the attempts at winning us over is the elimination of the company name from the logo itself. So, companies like Nike—the swoosh, McDonalds—the golden arches, Starbucks—that mermaid, Shell petroleum—a shell and a growing number of others are simplifying their logos. Those corporations have of course earned through time and billions of advertising this recognition. Joe’s Plumbing, with that flushing toilet logo will probably never obtain that same synchronicity (that immediate connection between you and the icon) the others have earned. (more…)
