By Bill Wade, Wade & Partners
OK, I get it. You’re tired of hearing about Amazon and the end of the world. But please understand it’s hard to ignore a story that introduces an exciting new chapter regularly (this week: Prime Wardrobe). Like all so-called intermediaries, heavy-duty distributors and service suppliers need to deliver a new level of customer experience, not only to defend themselves from new threats, but to win share in more traditional fleet parts and service areas.
This must be a ‘way-different’ approach. Shifts in social norms and Internet dependence demand more creative customer service upgrades, we need to provide a digital customer experience that cuts across mobile and social lines. To stay ahead of quickly-evolving customer needs (suggested by a great new survey by UPS), recognize these facts:
Distributors also need to think about the experience after the sale, especially returns — 43 percent of buyers expect returns to be a normal post-sales offering. This is especially true for MRO parts buyers who have identified returns as a basic expectation (45 percent of those surveyed).
Make no mistake, traditional distributors face formidable — threats internet sales taxes, labor availability and tariffs being this week’s favorites. As the UPS study warns, as distributors get more comfortable with their e-commerce capabilities, buyers are demanding mobile buying and a host of emerging features.
More Millennials than other age groups expect services that were not historically included in industrial sales. The next generation of buyers is now bringing tech-savvy, non-traditional mindsets to leadership roles.
How about a few ideas to help identify some key opportunities and potential hurdles in leapfrogging these new customer needs/wants/expectations?
