Distributors can be a valuable asset to a corporation, if the organization uses them correctly. Let’s take a look at some of the challenges of driving sales through distributors and what the manufacturer/vendor can do to overcome those barriers.

Challenges
One of the primary roadblocks to improved distributor sales is motivation. This can be especially true with smaller distributors. Often times they are comfortable with their current sales levels and are not interested in really growing their business. The manufacturer also bears some responsibility for making the information needed to sell effectively accessible and convenient. For example, not having a single point of contact is a hassle that will cause many distributors to disengage.

Tags: branding, co-op marketing, sales, distributors, marketing, distributed sales, incentive programs, MRM, marketing resource management

It’s a no-brainer to say customer service matters, but some recent studies really quantify just how much it matters. In one study, respondents indicated that they stand to lose up to 21% of annual revenue as a result of not offering a positive, consistent and brand-relevant customer experience. Another study says that bad customer service stories are more likely to be shared than good customer services stories, with 62% of B2B and 42% of B2C customers purchasing more after a good experience.

It’s really important for us at DocuStar to make sure the client experience is a positive one. My goal is for the client to consider us a part of their team. After all, we practically serve as an extension of their marketing department for some projects. Whether you work B2B or B2C, reaching that level of intimacy with your clients is critical for sustained success but can be difficult to achieve. I think there are four things you can do that will put you and your client in a position to succeed:

Tags: marketing, B2B, B2C, business-to-consumer, client service, customer service, marketing technology, customer experience, customer retention

Somewhere in America, a business leader is standing in front of an audience prepared to use the phrase, “Our most important asset is our people.” Do you think they really mean it? What about other key assets, for example:

1. Real estate
2. Rights to natural resources like oil and gas
3. Cash reserves
4. Patents
5. The corporate brand

Tags: branding, facebook, Twitter, trust, credibility, Klout, social influence, marketing, Kred, corporate branding, personal branding, social media

Executives hate to hear the S-word. The very sound of it is abrasive to their business sense, and hearing it tossed around the office is an affront to the culture they’ve tried to build. That word, of course, is “silos” – the word used to describe the extent of divisions between functional departments within the organization.

Tags: branding, silos, blogging, brand advocacy, employee engagement, marketing, content development, content marketing, brand consistency

Tags: branding, digital marketing, online marketing, google, online advertising, advertising trends, marketing, scalability, digital advertising, marketing trends, creative production, collaboration, brand consistency, marketing technology, personalization

Last Thursday, DocuStar and the Cincinnati American Marketing Association teamed up to host a panel
discussion featuring executives from the Cincinnati region. Participating in the event were Jerry Kathman, President and CEO of LPK; Chris McNamee, Vice President Marketing, Hobsons; Ed Burghard, CEO & Manager at The Burghard Group; and Heather Adkins, Vice President, Chief Strategy and Mission Officer, The Christ Hospital Health Network; and moderating was Dan Knowles, President of Brand Ubiquity.

Tags: branding, ROI, executive leadership, buy-in, MOL, brand advocacy, Cincinnati AMA, employee engagement, marketing, c-level, human resources, Marketing Organizational Leadership

DocuStar’s MarketHUB+ marketing resource management system is a finalist for this year’s Innovation Awards to be announced this week! In the spirit of that designation, below are some guidelines for building a culture of Innovation within your company.

In an era of rapid change and evolving technology, companies that provide the culture, resources and willingness to innovate are better poised for long-term success. But in order to build a culture of innovation, businesses need to think about what innovation means to them. Too often, we hinder our ability to innovate by only thinking of innovation in grandiose terms – “What’s the next greatest product ever invented,” – and overlook smaller, more practical ways to stay ahead of the curve.

Tags: culture of innovation, marketing leadership, marketing, creativity, culture of creativity, marketing innovation

Think like a human, not like a company

Tags: branding, silos, messaging, organizational leadership, brand image, marketing, communication, customer relations, MRM, marketing technology, marketing resource management

Depending on the size and age of your company and the market it competes in, it can be difficult to build and establish a strong, meaningful corporate brand. It’s hard to create perception, and almost twice as hard to change it, but one group is attempting to do just that, and they’re doing it on a very macro level.

Denyse Ferguson and Nicole Ball are Director and Marketing Director, respectively, of BrandHUB, a branding initiative geared toward changing the image not of a company, but of a whole city – Cincinnati, Ohio, to be specific. The effort is driven by the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber, which champions economic development in the area, and aims to promote the city as a bastion of branding expertise.
“The term ‘BrandHUB’ is quite literal for us,” Ferguson says. “Cincinnati is home to 60,000 brand development professionals, and 40 percent of the top 100 most valuable global brands are tapping into that talent. Until now, the city has never been able to successfully pull these resources together to benefit local business and spur economic development of the region.

Tags: branding, Cincinnati, rebranding, brand experts, marketing, young professionals, The Brandery, social media