Many years ago, P&G brought consumers into the conversation through the use of coupons. Then Intel, a high-tech engineering company, pushed this idea further and created a consumer image. Intel didn’t sell directly to consumers, but it created consumer loyalty and demand for its products. From far down the traditional supply chain, Intel reached around to the other end – the consumer.
Social media networks are now redefining the manufacturer-distributor-retailer-consumer chain from a series of sequential links to a circle of collaboration. Distributors are still critical; they still provide primary sales and support to consumers. Manufacturers, however, can use social networks to provide a great deal more assistance to distributors while creating stronger recognition and greater customer loyalty for their brands.
The top 5 opportunities are business-based, not channel- or tool-based. New apps and new channels can slide into execution plans to help meet business goals. And that is critical, because you don’t need a Facebook strategy; you need a business strategy. So how can social networks help manufacturers who rely on distributors?
v Locate parts and products – When customers contact a distributor for a part, they often need it now (or an hour ago). Few distributors, however, keep a full-line of parts in stock, and manufacturers might be OOS as well, particularly for older models. Of the several ways that manufacturers can address this issue, two stand out for me.
o Manufacturer-hosted forums for distributors provide a central location and parts exchange opportunity. Especially when distributors are geographically dispersed, they welcome the opportunity to reach out on a one-to-many rather than one-to-one basis. It’s more efficient; it creates new distributor-to-distributor relationships and greater engagement, and it solves problems.
o Pro-active notifications help avoid crisis situations. Wholesale Pallet Rack Products acquired some Prest Lock 1 frames and beams after Excel Storage Products went out of business. Joshua Smith, director of sales and operations at Wholesale Pallet’s sister company AK Material Handling Systems, tweeted to WPRP’s dealers that they had the Prest Rack beams. As Smith tells it, “it turns out one of our dealers had a customer that had recently damaged its uprights with a forklift. We were able to provide the dealer with the product in less than 48 hours.” Happy dealer. Happy customer. Sale made. (For more, see www.themhedajournal.org)
v Provide point-of-purchase customer assistance – Social media is mobile, which means that consumers can – and do – access information at the time of purchase. Flurry Analytics recently reported that people spend more time on mobile applications than on the web each day, 81 minutes vs. 74 minutes. According to LightSpeed Research (http://bit.ly/bizreport) almost 2/3 of consumers put heavy emphasis on product reviews, and over 2/3 say that 2 negative reviews would deter them from purchasing. Jordan Winery is taking advantage of these trends. The winery has built custom videos for digital wine menus, most prevalent at high-end restaurants. In about 2-minutes, Jordan’s winemaker describes his wine’s profile just when a customer is preparing to choose a bottle to order. Chicago Cut Steakhouse uses iPad menus loaded with a Jordan video, and Jordan reports that “within 45 days, our sales at the restaurant increased 17 percent.”
Dry Creek Vineyard is putting QR codes on its wine bottles, enabling customers in the wine aisle of a grocery to scan the code and be brought to a Dry Creek Vineyard webpage. (For more on wine industry social innovations, http://bit.ly/pressdemocrat)
Just-in-time information can be used in many situations – from car dealerships to electronics purchases. The information gives consumers confidence, gives the manufacturer a competitive edge, and makes it easier for dealers to close a sale.
v Spotlight the experts – You don’t have to know everything, but being the go-to location for expertise keeps customers and dealers engaged, and ultimately buying and selling. Manufacturer-hosted forums and blogs provide a unique opportunity to create communities that actively involve a range of stakeholders.
o In-house experts – Your engineers and back-office experts provide humanity and a face for your organization. Allowing them to have individual blogs on the corporate website also helps the employees establish their professional brands.
o Hobbyists and enthusiasts – Bring the most knowledgeable of these folks onto your site. Let them share their knowledge, answer questions, and raise ideas. Raise their profile and your own.
o Dealers – Front-line dealers have tremendous vision into the market, competitors, and product. Give them a voice. As smaller businesses, dealers often lack the time or resources to set up their own digital and social networks, but they welcome the venue that manufacturers can offer.
element14 (www.element14.com), built for electronic design engineers, brings together all of these various stakeholders. One of my favorite aspects is the use of YouTube, allowing people to showcase skills and techniques. The Ben Heck Show (http://bit.ly/e14benheck) is part of the element 14 community, yet it’s unique and fun and often fascinating. Take a look at Ben Heck’s Remote Expedition Camera Trailer (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=coMZY5FNado). It’s the type of exchange that simply wouldn’t happen without element14 and social media.
v Improve dealer “help desk” functions – Forums that allow questions and answers to be easily searched, that put internal experts in touch with dealers, and that enable dealers to help one another drive down call center costs and improve the information flow. I addressed this in a previous post, http://bit.ly/welcomingdistributorsontonetworks .
Establishing vibrant social networks creates greater engagement between manufacturer and dealer, helps dealers close sales, and forges greater bonds among the dealer, consumer, and manufacturer. B2B companies have been edging into social media reluctantly but steadily. The opportunity exists NOW to realize significant competitive advantage by establishing a social dealer network. It’s not the old supply chain any more.
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