There are some common denominators in why some new product launches fail, while other, inferior products, are successful in industrial sales chanels marketing programs. This article breaks out some o nth more common causes of the failures.
“Faulty execution of a winning combination has lost many a game on the very brink of victory. In such cases a player sees the winning idea, plays the winning sacrifice and then inverts the order of his fellow-up moves or misses the really clinching point of his combination.”
~ Fred Reinfeld , The Complete Chess Course
~ Fred Reinfeld , The Complete Chess Course
Below you will find six key points to think about. Think of these six as cylinders in a car. If five of them are working but not all six you've lost all forward momentum.
Marketing Materials
Are catalogs, price lists, flyers, trade show schedules, advertising schedules, lead processing all provided in a timely fashion? Does the vendor send in 25 catalogs for a sales meeting with a salesforce of 5 people and a customer base of 250? What is the package quantity of literature? Does the literature have a part number? Is there a literature request form? Who is that sent to? Are the marketing materials “intuitive”? (are all of the components needed to complete and order listed in the catalog? Is the catalog easy to use and find all related products? What about videos? Social media sites? Brand exposure?
Marketing Materials
Are catalogs, price lists, flyers, trade show schedules, advertising schedules, lead processing all provided in a timely fashion? Does the vendor send in 25 catalogs for a sales meeting with a salesforce of 5 people and a customer base of 250? What is the package quantity of literature? Does the literature have a part number? Is there a literature request form? Who is that sent to? Are the marketing materials “intuitive”? (are all of the components needed to complete and order listed in the catalog? Is the catalog easy to use and find all related products? What about videos? Social media sites? Brand exposure?
Quality of Product
Does the product have “walk away reliability” or does it suffer from a myriad of quality issues. This goes beyond the product working as it was marketed to work and includes horseshoe nail problems (no torx screws in the box, partial shipment of all components. Is the distributor going to spend all the money that would have been made on the margin servicing the customer and trying NOT to get "egg on their face" in the process which will affect other product lines and the relationship with the customer?
Does the product have “walk away reliability” or does it suffer from a myriad of quality issues. This goes beyond the product working as it was marketed to work and includes horseshoe nail problems (no torx screws in the box, partial shipment of all components. Is the distributor going to spend all the money that would have been made on the margin servicing the customer and trying NOT to get "egg on their face" in the process which will affect other product lines and the relationship with the customer?
Competitive Pricing
Does the product provide a good ratio of price to performance? Is the vendor adaptable and responsive to price corrections in a short time frame? Has the vendor provided all of the necessary sales information to “sell” the value added?
Does the product provide a good ratio of price to performance? Is the vendor adaptable and responsive to price corrections in a short time frame? Has the vendor provided all of the necessary sales information to “sell” the value added?
Availability
Is there stock? If so on what products? Many times distributors have heard on new product introductions that “there is plenty of inventory” only to find out that “Well, we have three pieces of everything”. If there is a stock out problem, is the vendor proactively responsive contacting the distributor on late deliveries before the distributor calls to expedite?
Is there stock? If so on what products? Many times distributors have heard on new product introductions that “there is plenty of inventory” only to find out that “Well, we have three pieces of everything”. If there is a stock out problem, is the vendor proactively responsive contacting the distributor on late deliveries before the distributor calls to expedite?
Customer Support
Are the field support and customer support team trained and up-to-speed on all of the products? Can they technically support the product line? Can they crossover competitive information? Do the support people say “I don’t know the answer to that” and end the conversation with “Are your happy with my your level of service today?” or do they say “I don’t know the answer let me find out and call you back in 10 minutes”. Are they responsive? Are they proactive? What is the SOP on quote turnaround ( 2 hours, 24 hours, 2 weeks)? Customer service can take on many variations. I've listed a few for you to ponder.
You can read more at: Customer Support: How it Can Cost You Sales
Are the field support and customer support team trained and up-to-speed on all of the products? Can they technically support the product line? Can they crossover competitive information? Do the support people say “I don’t know the answer to that” and end the conversation with “Are your happy with my your level of service today?” or do they say “I don’t know the answer let me find out and call you back in 10 minutes”. Are they responsive? Are they proactive? What is the SOP on quote turnaround ( 2 hours, 24 hours, 2 weeks)? Customer service can take on many variations. I've listed a few for you to ponder.
You can read more at: Customer Support: How it Can Cost You Sales
Perhaps, more than any other item on the list, this TRUST IS THE MOST IMPORTANT.
Trust
Is there trust in the relationship? This is the "gut feeling" stuff. It comes out in the one-on-one conversations. Is something being held back? Are direct answers given? Is the manufacturer asking lots of questions as if he where going to handle the business directly or take it through a competing distributor? Is the manufacturer "throwing his weight around" and not really acknowledging that the distributor runs their own business? Does the agent or manufacturer call the end-user directly....and not tell the distributor or independent rep? Do they visit the end-user on their own?
The most successful brands are built on a foundation of trust and loyalty. Each party knows where the other stands. You can actually watch the relationships grow. In the early phases it may be that the distributor or the agent calls up the manufacturer and asks for something... The reprimanding parent response is "You know we can't do that! We can do xxxx." To which the smiling reply is "I know, but I had to ask." Later, as the relationship evolves, when the distributor or agent calls up they say "Hey, we just promised this program and that promo with this product, I know I need you to approve it but I already quoted it while you where on vacation" and the response "Great Job, what else ya need?"
Read more at: Trust: The Most IMPORTANT Factor in the Supply Chain
Trust
Is there trust in the relationship? This is the "gut feeling" stuff. It comes out in the one-on-one conversations. Is something being held back? Are direct answers given? Is the manufacturer asking lots of questions as if he where going to handle the business directly or take it through a competing distributor? Is the manufacturer "throwing his weight around" and not really acknowledging that the distributor runs their own business? Does the agent or manufacturer call the end-user directly....and not tell the distributor or independent rep? Do they visit the end-user on their own?
The most successful brands are built on a foundation of trust and loyalty. Each party knows where the other stands. You can actually watch the relationships grow. In the early phases it may be that the distributor or the agent calls up the manufacturer and asks for something... The reprimanding parent response is "You know we can't do that! We can do xxxx." To which the smiling reply is "I know, but I had to ask." Later, as the relationship evolves, when the distributor or agent calls up they say "Hey, we just promised this program and that promo with this product, I know I need you to approve it but I already quoted it while you where on vacation" and the response "Great Job, what else ya need?"
Read more at: Trust: The Most IMPORTANT Factor in the Supply Chain
Brands are sold ONE person, ONE customer at a time until they tell two friends and so on, and so on, and so on, until it's viral.
As a final thought, I'm reminded of a picture from the 1970's that hung in the VP of Student Life's office back when I was Student Senate President. It showed a picture of a HUGE Sit-In protest over some student issues. The caption read: "Communication is the beginning of Understanding" Good words to live by in your channels branding efforts
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