While mobile ordering is not very popular across distribution because most companies don't have apps or mobile-friendly websites, simply offering those capabilities can reverse that trend and increase sales, according to Jonathan Bein of Real Results Marketing in Listen to Customers or Lose Them.
"There's a movement toward more efficient interactions, whether it's shopping or buying," says Bein, author of the recently published report from MDM What Customers Want: A Distributor's Guide to Customer Buying & Shopping Preferences. "Companies that apply themselves with a mobile offering – whether it's an app, mobile-friendly site or both – can change demand the customers have for it."
That's especially true in the building materials and HVACR sectors. Making it easier for customers to order from a job site is a top priority for pool & spa distributor Pool Contracts Supply, Memphis, TN, which is focused on meeting customers' changing demands to stay competitive.
"The first guy is going to win the prize," says Ed Flemmons, the company's president. "If you can give them the price and ask for the order and close the sale, it beats the heck out of three phone calls and checking back. You can run circles around your competition if you're able to respond timely and get accurate information to them. It's the competitive environment we're in."
At electronics master distributor Axcess Technology Source LLC, Carrollton, TX, President James Teat acknowledges that the company's website, which is primarily informational for the two-way radios it sells to other distributors, raises the potential for losing sales.
"Somebody Googles something and if it doesn't load quick enough, if there are things they can't get to in a hurry, they go elsewhere," Teat says. "We know that we have to make all of our stuff more mobile-friendly just to make it easier for people to use. It's a trend that's only going to grow and accelerate."
Read more about going mobile and other ways of helping your customers shop and buy from you in Listen to Customers or Lose Them.
