Case Study: "Keep It Simple, S__________"
April 1, 2004

I recently did some work for a manufacturer who was working to find ways to enhance its relationship with its industrial channel distributor partners. I learned something.

First, I validated that fact that I am not a genius. I just pointed out the obvious. Simple observation, and honest feedback, enabled me to let the manufacturer know that some of their initiatives were way too complex for their distributor customers to absorb and put into action.

This doesn't mean the distributor's customers are stupid. Not at all. The manufacturer was trying to think of ways to motivate its distributor sales teams to focus attention on their product lines. A fairly complex and scientific product line analysis was being developed as a way to validate the product line's effectiveness, and therefore to make the distributor sales reps confident in selling the items. In fact, while the extensive analysis done by the manufacturer was essential, it would have the opposite effect on the distributor sales force.

Distributors expect their supplier partners to do extensive research and testing on their products before they bring them to market. My client certainly could make a case that they did a more effective job in this area than their competition. However, (and this is my point), their emphasis on their extensive research and development was really not the reason why the distributor sales team would focus their efforts on their product line.

You see, the distributors already knew about the manufacturer's outstanding research and development, quality control, guideline conformance, etc, My client didn't realize that the reason why the distributors were spending more time on the competitor's product line was because the competitive line was focused on making the selling proposition simpler. Stated differently, the competitive supplier had the edge because they de-emphasized the technical aspects of their line, and focused instead on ways to have fun selling the product. Reps wanted the selling process to be defined as simple, straightforward, relatively fast, and not overwhelming.

The result was that the manufacturer continued their outstanding technical work, but shifted their emphasis on why the product line was worth emphasizing to what the distributor reps believed to be important and what worked for them.