A few final thoughts and, if I may be so bold, a call to action.
My time as the IMARK board chair is ending and as I reflect on my tenure, I thought it would be appropriate to share some key impressions. And it just wouldn’t feel right if I didn’t use this platform, one last time, to share some thoughts on the ever-growing impact of the internet on our businesses and ask for a focused effort to help support the ongoing success of our channel.
I have enjoyed serving on the board, especially working with Bob Smith and the very talented IMARK team. We should all be comfortable with the knowledge that our member-owned, member-governed cooperative is led strategically by a group of enthusiastic, hard-working professionals. I’ve learned much and hope that I have contributed positively to their mission. Bob and I have certainly had a few laughs and, every once and a while, mildly intense but always constructively candid conversations.
Bob Powers of the EDGES Electrical Group will assume the chairman’s gavel for the next three years. What I’ve learned about Bob over the past year is that he is a person of high character who has spent the bulk of his career in our industry. I am confident in his leadership and know he will serve us well in the years to come. Congratulations, Bob.
So, what about this call to action? First, a couple of questions.
IMARK members: Are we a sales channel or a pricing channel? Do we provide enough value to our customers to remain the channel of first choice for our manufacturer allies?
Manufacturers: Are your products of sufficient value to be sold at a price (somewhat) superior to your competition or is your customer value proposition entirely price-driven (as good as, but less expensive)? The answers to these questions will have a long-term impact on our viability in an increasingly interconnected world where everything is available now, within hours, the same or next day, by an expanding number of companies offering substantially differing value propositions.
The answers are complicated and may not always be what we strive to accomplish every time with every product. However, I strongly believe that the majority of the sales dollars attributed to our channel are sold, and most of our suppliers offer value worth more, for which they and we should be paid.
My call to action will not be easy and, alone, will not resolve all the issues we face, but it is something that is within our control.
It’s time to get serious about MAP pricing! For anyone not familiar with the acronym, it stands for Minimum Advertised Price and has been successfully implemented more often in the world of retail.
Why is this important? Because of the expansion of authorized and unauthorized (gray market) channels providing relatively low value. A good example of this are internet-only resellers whose main values are price, availability and product descriptions. In a world where selling more complicated value remains critical, distributors and manufacturers collectively should address this issue as part of an overall strategy to insure our alliance continues to prosper.
I have been asking key manufacturers about this tool and most often their response is, “It’s hard.” I get it, but how difficult or expensive was it to build your unique customer value proposition? Your value proposition that includes high-quality products and unique services, along with the support of expensive marketing programs to drive your message home. Some are worried about losing key distributors who may not comply, as this practice is only viable if it is applied evenly. I understand that concern, but shouldn’t we be able to agree on an overarching policy that can be implemented within your authorized channel? Hard shouldn’t stop us; it never has before.
This topic is worthy of more discussion and debate, certainly more than what I have experienced thus far within our combined community.
Ultimately, I believe these questions remain:
- Is a lack of advertised pricing control strategically important enough so that the manufacturers we represent are compelled to address it?
- Are the products that make up most of our sale really of adequate value for this to work?
- Does this channel offer enough value to cover the expense of successfully implementing this strategy?
I am not offering this opinion pretending to be an expert. I also know that we face many other challenges and opportunities.
However, I am sure of this: we will all be required to work collectively on more and more issues moving forward. This is worthy of our attention. It has been a true pleasure to serve. I have the greatest respect for our past achievements and look forward to our future successes.
One last time–Onward!
Manufacturers: Are your products of sufficient value to be sold at a price (somewhat) superior to your competition or is your customer value proposition entirely price-driven (as good as, but less expensive)?
The answers to these questions will have a long-termimpact on our viability in an increasingly interconnected world where everything is available now, within hours, the same or next day, by an expanding number of companies offering substantially differing value propositions.
The answers are complicated and may not always be what we strive to accomplish every time with every product. However, I strongly believe that the majority of the sales dollars attributed to our channel are sold, and most of our suppliers offer value worth more, for which they and we should be paid.
My call to action will not be easy and, alone, will not resolve all the issues we face, but it is something that is within our control.
It’s time to get serious about MAP pricing! For anyone not familiar with the acronym, it stands for Minimum Advertised Price and has been successfully implemented more often in the world of retail.
Why is this important? Because of the expansion of authorized and unauthorized (gray market) channels providing relatively low value. A good example of this are internet-only resellers whose main values are price, availability and product descriptions. In a world where selling more complicated value remains critical, distributors and manufacturers collectively should address this issue as part of an overall strategy to insure our alliance continues to prosper.
I have been asking key manufacturers about this tool and most often their response is, “It’s hard.” I get it, but how difficult or expensive was it to build your unique customer value proposition? Your value proposition that includes high-quality products and unique services, along with the support of expensive marketing programs to drive your message home. Some are worried about losing key distributors who may not comply, as this practice is only viable if it is applied evenly. I understand that concern, but shouldn’t we be able to agree on an overarching policy that can be implemented within your authorized channel? Hard shouldn’t stop us; it never has before.
This topic is worthy of more discussion and debate, certainly more than what I have experienced thus far within our combined community.
Ultimately, I believe these questions remain:
- Is a lack of advertised pricing control strategically important enough so that the manufacturers we represent are compelled to address it?
- Are the products that make up most of our sales really of adequate value for this to work?
- Does this channel offer enough value to cover the expense of successfully implementing this strategy?
I am not offering this opinion pretending to be an expert. I also know that we face many other challenges and opportunities. However, I am sure of this: we will all be required to work collectively on more and more issues moving forward. This is worthy of our attention.
It has been a true pleasure to serve. I have the greatest respect for our past achievements and look forward to our future successes.
One last time—Onward!