The changing pump distributor landscape.

 

Past Reality

Pre-internet pump distributors enjoyed a captive market for the brands they sold in their region. Word got around, and their business grew with help from field sales reps and local tradeshows. The competition was local and easily identified.

Manufacturers would help distributors promote their products by offering generous product discounts and co-op advertising dollars. The only criteria for obtaining a good discount and some of those ad dollars were simple, carry a large amount of stock. A distributors value was in their ability to service their territory, build relationships, and provide quick shipping. Tradeshows had high attendance rates that generated a lot of new leads and placing print ads in industry publications helped spread the word.

Current Reality

Manufacturer’s budgets declined, which meant co-op advertising money went away. Manufacturers decided that the product discounts distributors received was more than enough incentive to promote their products. However, the generous discounts now became more structured and based on many criteria. At the same time, distributors were cutting back on the amount of inventory they carried to lower costs. Without large stocking orders, generous product discounts were in jeopardy. Tradeshows started becoming more expensive to attend, and tradeshow attendance began to decline, which meant fewer new leads for the expense. And customers stopped relying on industry publications for new product information.

Then there was this thing emerging called the internet, which further changed everything. Online pump distributors began infringing on what were once protected territories causing the competition to increase and become more complex. Customers are now using the internet to learn about new products.

For the distributor, communicating value suddenly became critical – but many smaller distributorships lacked the branding and messaging expertise to clearly communicate their value to an online audience.

Future Reality

So how in this new landscape can distributors communicate their value to local customers and broaden their reach? Here are a few good rules to follow:

1. Know your customers. How do they view your website? Does your site provide them with the information they need buy your products?
2.  Know the value you bring and promote those values with clear and concise messaging on your website. For example, talk about the following points focusing on the benefit to the customer:
3. Know the value you bring and promote those values with clear and concise messaging on your website. For example, talk about the following points focusing on the benefit to the customer:
   • Local presence
   • Repair service
   • Immediate delivery
   • Personal visits to evaluate the job
   • Field service
   • Equipment and skills to minimize costs
4. Incorporate case studies on your site to showcase your expertise.
5. Humanize your site. Show your product and fluid system experts using photos, profiles, and contact information.
6. Describe your competitive advantage — what do you have to offer that the competition does not?
7. If obtaining local business is important, ensure you do the following:
   • Adjust web content and meta data (backend content) with localization in mind. An example is tagging installation photos with product brand and location.
   • Register with local search services at ensure you use a consistent company name, address, and phone number for all listings.

Your website must become your primary promotion tool, and it must quickly, clearly, and concisely communicate your value.