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IMARK Electrical Surveys Members on Current Customer Engagement Practices

Winter 2022 Feature
Open Interactive

IMARK Electrical conducted a survey of member sales and marketing execs in August 2021 to learn more about the “state of the art” of distributor marketing and customer engagement.

200 member execs completed the survey.

The results of the survey have been carefully reviewed by IMARK Electrical staff as well as by the members of the IMARK Marketing and Technology Committee, a group of both members and supplier execs committed to supporting IMARK members who want to improve their ability to market and sell products and services to a growing number of customers.

In a group as large and diverse as IMARK Electrical, we offer a summary of the results for two segments of members: 1) All member respondents and 2) Respondents from the Top 50 members (based on purchase volume).

BACKGROUND

1) Member Customer Mix:
 
%
(Top 50 Only)
%
(All Members)
Small Electrical Contractors (1-9 Electricians)
13.95
23.71
Medium Electrical Contractors (10-49 Electricians)
26.98
22.39
Large Electrical Contractors (50+ Electricians)
27.29
16.73
Commercial/Institutional MRO Customers
10.46
11.51
Industrial MRO customers
8.37
8.37
Retail—from Lighting Showroom
1.41
3.86
Utility
2.90
4.21
Government/Military
2.80
4.63
Other
3.39
4.10
2) Construction Project Types:
 
%
(Top 50 Only)
%
(All Members)
Residential (Single-Family Homes and/or MDUs)
18.02
27.38
Commercial
51.98
40.25
Institutional (Schools, Hospitals, etc.)
11.68
13.72
Industrial Plants
12.71
12.93
Government/Military
3.17
4.70

CUSTOMER FEEDBACK

3) Does your company survey customers on a consistent and formal basis to identify wants, needs, likes, dislikes?
 
%
(Top 50 Only)
%
(All Members)
No
62.50
77.40
Yes, quarterly
5.00
5.60
Yes, twice a year
5.00
4.60
Yes, once a year
27.50
12.30
4) Does your company conduct in-person focus groups or advisory councils to gather customer feedback and direction?
 
%
(Top 50 Only)
%
(All Members)
No
60.00
77.50
Yes, we do this on a regular basis
10.00
7.30
Yes, we will do this occasionally as we deem necessary
30.00
15.10

NEW CUSTOMER DEVELOPMENT

5) Does your company set specific goals relating to the addition of new customers over the course of a year?
 
%
(Top 50 Only)
%
(All Members)
Yes
53.70
33.80
No
43.90
65.70

COMMUNICATION RESOURCES

6) Which of the following communications resources/methods are currently used by your company?
 
%
(Top 50 Only)
%
(All Members)
Video on Corporate Capabilities
43.90
15.70
Brochure (Printed/PDF) on Company Capabilities
75.60
44.20
Newsletter (Paper) Mailed to Customers
17.10
13.20
E-Newsletter Emailed to Customers on a Regular Basis
46.30
32.00
E-mail Campaigns to Targeted Individuals with Customized Subject Matter Based on Your Knowledge of Customer’s Interests, Wants, Needs
68.30
46.20
Segment-Specific Solutions (Schools, Health Care, Office) Offered by Your Company
48.80
22.30
Direct Mail (Sent Via USPS) on a Regular Basis
22.00
22.80
Broadcast (Blast) Email to Customers Who Have ‘Opted-In’ to Receive Messages
53.70
37.10
Broadcast Text Message
12.20
9.10
Video Library on Varied Aspects of Company Services and Capabilities
41.50
11.70
Webinars for Customers and Prospects Offered on a Regular Basis
51.20
18.80
Case Studies or Success Stories Featuring Solutions Provided by Your Company
31.70
14.70

SALES LEAD GENERATION AND FOLLOW UP

7) Does your company capture sales leads which are generated from your communications activities?
 
%
(Top 50 Only)
%
(All Members)
Yes
61.00
38.40
No
39.00
61.60
8) Do you have a process for evaluating the leads and assigning follow-up activities?
 
%
(Top 50 Only)
%
(All Members)
Yes
69.00
58.50
No
31.00
41.50
9) Does your company track the value of leads based on sales generated or actions taken?
 
%
(Top 50 Only)
%
(All Members)
Yes
44.80
34.90
No
55.20
65.10

MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS MANAGEMENT

10) Does your company develop and use a Communications Calendar to regulate the flow and frequency of outbound communications?
 
%
(Top 50 Only)
%
(All Members)
Yes
51.20
22.20
No
48.80
77.80
11) Is there a person at your company that is primarily responsible for overseeing outbound communications to customers and prospects?
 
%
(Top 50 Only)
%
(All Members)
Yes
78.00
40.90
No, it's a team effort
22.00
59.10
12) Does your company utilize an outside ad agency in support of your market communications?
 
%
(Top 50 Only)
%
(All Members)
Yes, almost always
4.90
4.00
Yes, occasionally
29.30
19.20
No, we develop and deploy our communications in-house
65.90
76.80
13) Does your company have a separate budget for communications, promotions and training—or are these activities part of the sales budget?
 
%
(Top 50 Only)
%
(All Members)
Yes
43.90
33.80
No, it's a team effort
56.10
65.70

IN-PERSON TRAINING

14) Does your company have a stand-alone training room (on-site) for training of customers?
 
%
(Top 50 Only)
%
(All Members)
Yes
80.50
49.50
No
19.50
50.50
15) Does your company charge customers a fee for training?
 
%
(Top 50 Only)
%
(All Members)
No, never
51.20
76.30
Yes, occasionally
46.30
22.70
Yes, always
2.40
1.00

SOCIAL MEDIA

16) Does your company utilize social media to communicate with customers and prospects?
 
%
(Top 50 Only)
%
(All Members)
Yes
82.90
63.50
No
17.10
36.50
17) Which of the following social media platforms are used by your company?
 
%
(Top 50 Only)
%
(All Members)
Facebook
91.20
93.20
Instagram
61.80
47.00
LinkedIn
88.20
60.60
Pinterest
14.70
8.30
SnapChat
5.90
1.50
Tik Tok
2.90
0.80
Twitter
52.90
30.30
YouTube
70.60
26.50
18) Does your company use customer relationship management (CRM) software for sales and marketing?
 
%
(Top 50 Only)
%
(All Members)
No
68.30
83.20
Yes
31.70
16.80
19) Does your company use Marketing Automation Software?
 
%
(Top 50 Only)
%
(All Members)
No
82.90
91.90
Yes
17.10
8.10

PROMOTIONAL TECHNIQUES

20) From the list below, which promotional techniques are used by your company?
 
%
(Top 50 Only)
%
(All Members)
Weekly/Monthly/Quarterly Sales Promotions Which Reward Customers for Their Purchases (Product Type, Limited Time Period)
66.70
39.00
Trip Promotion that Rewards Customers for Loyalty and/or Purchase Growth (YOY)
20.50
12.80
“Spiffs” that Reward Your Sales Personnel for Sales of a Specific Product Type/Supplier Over a Limited Time Period
87.20
64.00
Events (Tradeshows, Tool Days, Special Fun Events (i.e., Golf, Cookouts))
97.40
84.90

WEBSITE BASICS

21) Which of the following are featured on your company’s website?
 
%
(Top 50 Only)
%
(All Members)
List of Branch Locations
92.70
84.40
Supplier Line Card
100.00
93.80
Information on New Products (Refreshed Periodically)
65.90
37.50
Links to Training Resources for Customers i.e., BlueVolt, Electri-Smarts
26.80
24.50
Special Deals/Promos, Dead Stock Promos, etc., Exclusively for Website Visitors
39.00
18.80
22) Does your company use search engine optimization (SEO) to improve your website’s visibility and pre-eminence in customer search results?
 
%
(Top 50 Only)
%
(All Members)
Yes
70.70
44.60
No
29.30
55.40

E-CUSTOMER SERVICE VIA WEBSITE

23) Which of the following e-commerce resources are available for customers on your website?
 
%
(Top 50 Only)
%
(All Members)
E-Product Catalog with Search Capability
78.00
42.20
Customers Can Place Orders
82.90
47.90
Customized Account Information Featuring Password-Protected Access
80.50
44.80
Customers Can Check Inventory
87.80
45.30
Customers Can Check Your Supplier’s Inventory
19.50
8.30
Customers Can Check Delivery Status
41.50
18.80
Chatroom Assistance Provided by a "Digital Ambassador"
26.80
10.40
A Blog that Features General Guidance and Expert Insights Relevant to Your Customer Base
26.80
10.40
Industry News Updates
17.10
12.50
An Archive of Videos and/or Webinars Developed or Presented by Your Company
31.70
10.40
24) For those with webstores (96 respondents) how many fully attributed product SKUs (pictures, specs, dimensions, etc.) are in your webstore?
 
%
(Top 50 Only)
%
(All Members)
<10,000
26.80
17.70
10,001 to 20,000
14.60
16.20
20,001 to 50,000
7.30
4.00
50,000+
34.10
13.60
25) From which sources do you obtain your attributed data (check all that apply)?
 
%
(Top 50 Only)
%
(All Members)
Trade Service
80.60
56.40
IDEA Connector/IDW
58.30
40.00
Directly from Supplier
52.80
43.60
Developed by Your Company
44.40
35.50
Distributor Data Solutions (DDS)
16.70
9.10
Other
11.10
12.70
26) Member respondents with webstores (96) were asked to estimate the percentage of company sales generated on their webstore:
 
%
(Top 50 Only)
%
(All Members)
1-2%
56.10
34.80
3-5%
17.10
12.10
6-10%
2.40
2.50
11-15%
4.90
3.50
16-20%
4.90
2.00
20% or more
0.00
1.50

MOBILE MARKETING

27) Does your company offer one or more apps to enhance customer service to mobile device users?
 
%
(Top 50 Only)
%
(All Members)
Yes
43.90
15.80
No
56.10
84.20
28) Members that said ‘Yes’ (49) were asked which of the following features were included in their company’s apps:
 
%
(Top 50 Only)
%
(All Members)
Find Locations ‘By Me’
73.70
67.30
Click to Call and/or Order by Text
57.90
49.00
Place Order Via Quick Order Form
100.00
73.50
Scan to Cart
68.40
42.90
Document Access
63.20
49.00
Stock Check
94.70
73.50
Product Search
100.00
75.50
Warranty Search
10.50
8.20
MSDS Sheets
57.90
46.90

MEMBER FAVORITES:
WHAT DO WE LIKE TO DO? WHAT DO WE DO WELL?

29) Member respondents were asked to select no more than five (5) tactics which they use currently and believe to be most effective with their customer base:
 
%
(Top 50 Only)
%
(All Members)
Email Communications
45.00
39.60
Event Marketing
70.00
57.30
Training of Customers
55.00
41.70
New Product Launches
17.50
23.40
Our Website and Webstore
30.00
19.30
Sales Promotions
50.00
44.80
Customer Loyalty Incentive Programs
25.00
14.60
Lead Generation for Marketing/Sales Team
22.50
9.90
Provide Real-Time Customer History to Sales Reps
22.50
25.00
Social Media Engagement
20.00
20.30
SEO Techniques to Promote Web Presence
15.00
9.90
Use Company Sales Data to Find Opportunities to Spur Add-On Sales and Increase Share of Customer Spend
35.00
24.40

MEMBER ASPIRATIONS: WHERE DO WE NEED TO GET BETTER?

30) Member respondents were asked to select no more than five (5) capabilities that could be an area of interest or a priority for improvement:
 
%
(Top 50 Only)
%
(All Members)
Collect and Analyze Large Data Sets (from Your Company Results) and Provide Business Intelligence to Decision-Makers
50.00
28.00
Deploy CRM Software to Your Sales and Marketing Resources
35.00
23.70
Deploy Marketing Automation Software to Increase the Number of ‘Touch Points’ and the Relevance of the Message to the Target Audience
32.50
17.20
Increase Percentage of Overall Company Sales on Company Webstore
77.50
48.90
Improve Ability to Respond to Mobile Device Users
35.00
38.70
Improve the Quality of the Product Data Used in Your Webstore
57.50
37.10
Improve the Ability to Sell Remotely
17.50
25.80
Train Sales Force to Generate Revenue from Services Provided
47.50
48.90
Use Company Sales Data to Find Opportunities to Spur Add-On Sales and Increase Share of Customer Spend
25.00
24.20

About the Authors: