On Money Ball, The Oakland A's and The Electrical Industry (Part 3 of 4)
Bill Floyd
Click here to read Part 1 or here to read Part 2
This article series has been inspired by the Paul De Podesta, Keynote Speaker at NAED's South Central who was a central figure in the book and movie Money Ball. Like the Electrical industry he dealt with a changing industry landscape and took on the better funded giants by moving away from traditional thinking. The result, he beat them at their own game and achieved far more success than his colleagues imagined possible. If you haven't read part one and two in this series, I'd encourage you to start there. Being that ElectricSmarts is well established in this industry and that our very existence was begun by abandoning the status quo, I unapologetically use our products as examples. They have been enormously successful and have helped countless partners market online in ways they couldn't have done by themselves.
Strategy 2: Online Catalogs. Imagine customers trying to access Manufacturers' catalogs. If a customer was always looking for just one product from one manufacturer, going to the manufacturer's site could be a viable option, although in most cases the customer still couldn't buy the product at that site. Now let's get real. Let's talk about the industry REALLY works. Few customers buy one product or buy from one manufacturer. They buy for jobs and projects. Distributors were created to solve that problem and to conveniently give purchasers one-stop shopping. Did that change with the advent of the internet? Hardly. Does AMAZON provide thousands of manufacturer website links to the products they sell so that their customers can get more information? If they did would they be nearly as popular? Would you shop there?
Then why do electrical manufacturers and distributors think this is a viable strategy? It may be easy but that approach will not keep customers coming back. The initial low-cost strategy available is the Esmarts Smart eCat. Simply, it is the same catalog collection of manufacturer products wholesalers have offered their customers for years , only now it's in electronic form. This collection is branded and on their wholesaler's Websites, in their eNewsletter Builders, and in their Mobile Apps - all for the consumption of the wholesalers customers. The Smart eCat incorporates Web Tools, Videos, IDW data, Cut Sheets and more. The partner advantage is simple. For the distributor most of these products cost them nothing. For the manufacturer the cost is a fraction of doing it any other way and all updating is done in one place, by ElectricSmarts and instantly disseminated to each manufacturer's distributor and rep partners.
Money Ball was about thinking differently. Apple's success has been about thinking differently. The ElectricSmarts Network does likewise. "Progress is ruthless. It easily leaves those stuck in the old ways behind." You may have always provided these types of tools yourself, but the Internet Age is about partnering, collaboration and breaking away from past practices.
Next Issue - See Part 4: Wrap up. Examples to succeeding with technology.
For both Distributors and Manufacturers relying only on your own ability to attract viewers to your website leaves an awful lot of industry eyeballs on the table. Contact us BFloyd@ElectricSmarts.com. We'll tell you more.
This article series has been inspired by the Paul De Podesta, Keynote Speaker at NAED's South Central who was a central figure in the book and movie Money Ball. Like the Electrical industry he dealt with a changing industry landscape and took on the better funded giants by moving away from traditional thinking. The result, he beat them at their own game and achieved far more success than his colleagues imagined possible. If you haven't read part one and two in this series, I'd encourage you to start there. Being that ElectricSmarts is well established in this industry and that our very existence was begun by abandoning the status quo, I unapologetically use our products as examples. They have been enormously successful and have helped countless partners market online in ways they couldn't have done by themselves.
Strategy 2: Online Catalogs. Imagine customers trying to access Manufacturers' catalogs. If a customer was always looking for just one product from one manufacturer, going to the manufacturer's site could be a viable option, although in most cases the customer still couldn't buy the product at that site. Now let's get real. Let's talk about the industry REALLY works. Few customers buy one product or buy from one manufacturer. They buy for jobs and projects. Distributors were created to solve that problem and to conveniently give purchasers one-stop shopping. Did that change with the advent of the internet? Hardly. Does AMAZON provide thousands of manufacturer website links to the products they sell so that their customers can get more information? If they did would they be nearly as popular? Would you shop there?
Then why do electrical manufacturers and distributors think this is a viable strategy? It may be easy but that approach will not keep customers coming back. The initial low-cost strategy available is the Esmarts Smart eCat. Simply, it is the same catalog collection of manufacturer products wholesalers have offered their customers for years , only now it's in electronic form. This collection is branded and on their wholesaler's Websites, in their eNewsletter Builders, and in their Mobile Apps - all for the consumption of the wholesalers customers. The Smart eCat incorporates Web Tools, Videos, IDW data, Cut Sheets and more. The partner advantage is simple. For the distributor most of these products cost them nothing. For the manufacturer the cost is a fraction of doing it any other way and all updating is done in one place, by ElectricSmarts and instantly disseminated to each manufacturer's distributor and rep partners.
Money Ball was about thinking differently. Apple's success has been about thinking differently. The ElectricSmarts Network does likewise. "Progress is ruthless. It easily leaves those stuck in the old ways behind." You may have always provided these types of tools yourself, but the Internet Age is about partnering, collaboration and breaking away from past practices.
Next Issue - See Part 4: Wrap up. Examples to succeeding with technology.
For both Distributors and Manufacturers relying only on your own ability to attract viewers to your website leaves an awful lot of industry eyeballs on the table. Contact us BFloyd@ElectricSmarts.com. We'll tell you more.
