This article looks at fundamental shifts in business over the past couple of decades and what they mean for how distributors approach marketing. Jonathan Bein of Real Results Marketing uses past MDM surveys and his experience working with distributors to highlight the top three marketing moves distributors must make to grow in the new year.

The vast majority of distributors who are still in business today have good direct salespeople without whom they would not be in business. Yet the distribution world is changing – it’s not your grandfather’s distribution business anymore. Your grandfather’s distribution business relied almost exclusively on strong relationships between direct or in-store salespeople and the customer.

The first big change is that in today’s world, your competitor could be …