Susan Merlo

Susan Merlo explains how using strategies to provide significant information to the right buyers at the right time is essential to a successful digital sales transformation.

Digital sales transformation is different for every company. Distributors are adopting new sales processes, changing internal structures, and installing technology to help maintain their relevance and stay competitive. However, they’re finding it challenging to communicate effectively with buyers. The struggle they’re having with their sales and go-to-market strategies is, undeniably, real. Why?

Distributors have been incredibly successful at selling face-to-face. It’s how the industry… Show more

Digital sales transformation is different for every company. Distributors are adopting new sales processes, changing internal structures, and installing technology to help maintain their relevance and stay competitive. However, they’re finding it challenging to communicate effectively with buyers. The struggle they’re having with their sales and go-to-market strategies is, undeniably, real. Why?

Distributors have been incredibly successful at selling face-to-face. It’s how the industry began, and it’s stayed that way ever since, until now. DIGITAL sales strategies are new territory for nearly every distributor I've come across. Not knowing how to generate the results you're expecting from a digital sales transformation is to be expected. If the results you’re looking for are something akin to an ability to leverage technology to make more or better sales, your 30,000-ft. view of success should look something like this: Show less

Distributors are looing for new ways to transform areas of their sales process -- and when a company moves through a sales transformation, gaps appear in what used to be a relatively streamlined process. It's crucial to be mindful of these gaps and know that there ARE steps that can be taken to eliminate them.

We have all heard stories about the relationship between sales and marketing, but with the pandemic, there are new ways of looking at how it can work better.

Susan Merlo is a Marketing Consultant who specializes in distribution and a writer for tED magazine and tedmag.com. She joins the DistributED with tED magazine podcast to talk about new strategies that are working for distributors, and ways to make sure the relationship grows in the future.

In an article from @MichaelLieberman, CEO of Square2Marketing. he pointed out that, due to COVID-19, at least some modicum of change is inevitable right now and asks, why not go all in and make the changes we’ve perhaps been gun-shy about or haven’t gotten around to implementing — specifically, technology-based changes?

If you agree that this could be an opportunity for some significant transformation, here are some quick and dirty sales and marketing-related suggestions I picked out of… Show more

In an article from @MichaelLieberman, CEO of Square2Marketing. he pointed out that, due to COVID-19, at least some modicum of change is inevitable right now and asks, why not go all in and make the changes we’ve perhaps been gun-shy about or haven’t gotten around to implementing — specifically, technology-based changes?

If you agree that this could be an opportunity for some significant transformation, here are some quick and dirty sales and marketing-related suggestions I picked out of Lieberman’s article for you to kick around. Show less

We live in an age where customers are more informed than ever before. At the touch of a button, they can compare products and services between companies, and they can often find information on what your customers think about the company itself. This makes for a uniquely challenging time because your customers have tremendous access to competitors’ offers and other information that may convince them to work with somebody else.

Learn how you can improve customer retention in the face of… Show more

We live in an age where customers are more informed than ever before. At the touch of a button, they can compare products and services between companies, and they can often find information on what your customers think about the company itself. This makes for a uniquely challenging time because your customers have tremendous access to competitors’ offers and other information that may convince them to work with somebody else.

Learn how you can improve customer retention in the face of unrelenting competition. Show less

In most distribution companies, the marketing and sales teams operate in separate lanes, and those lanes only occasionally cross. It’s important, however, that these two teams start working together more closely and more often in order to keep your numbers up and your field sales reps employed.

Of course, you may be seeing more collaboration between Sales and Marketing recently in order to boost online sales. That’s a good start, but… this isn't about eCommerce, it's about growing your… Show more

In most distribution companies, the marketing and sales teams operate in separate lanes, and those lanes only occasionally cross. It’s important, however, that these two teams start working together more closely and more often in order to keep your numbers up and your field sales reps employed.

Of course, you may be seeing more collaboration between Sales and Marketing recently in order to boost online sales. That’s a good start, but… this isn't about eCommerce, it's about growing your business.

The responsibility of developing customers and gaining more customer-spend still rests heavily with your field salespeople and their ability to get in front of a customer or prospect. Because of the vastness of the information available online today, many buyers will only see a salesperson when they cannot resolve an issue on their own. Show less

Sharing content consistently across multiple channels via multiple media formats will allow your team to publish volumes of fresh and helpful content that will attract more readers. These readers will remember your company, and not only come back to your marketing platforms, but also trust you and approach you more often for your solutions and services. All because of the authority you carry thanks to your valuable content being “everywhere.”

Your customers and prospects, more than anything else, are searching for answers —solutions to their problems.

Does your company have the answers your target audience is looking for? Do you offer the solutions and services that solve your customers’ and prospects’ problems? The answer is yes, I’m sure. That’s why you’re still in business. But, if you don’t start telling the world about the services and solutions you offer — better yet, telling your customers and prospects — your bottom… Show more

Your customers and prospects, more than anything else, are searching for answers —solutions to their problems.

Does your company have the answers your target audience is looking for? Do you offer the solutions and services that solve your customers’ and prospects’ problems? The answer is yes, I’m sure. That’s why you’re still in business. But, if you don’t start telling the world about the services and solutions you offer — better yet, telling your customers and prospects — your bottom line may start suffering. Show less

Know who your best customers are and focus your efforts on retaining them by providing them with a level of service that your competition simply cannot match.

The sales and marketing strategies your team implements each day can be costly, and if they don’t yield results, you may have no idea why or what to do. It’s not a good position to be in.

Meanwhile, as you spend time worrying about what’s working and not working, you’ll be happy to know there’s an often overlooked… Show more

Know who your best customers are and focus your efforts on retaining them by providing them with a level of service that your competition simply cannot match.

The sales and marketing strategies your team implements each day can be costly, and if they don’t yield results, you may have no idea why or what to do. It’s not a good position to be in.

Meanwhile, as you spend time worrying about what’s working and not working, you’ll be happy to know there’s an often overlooked, affordable, measurable, and easy-to-implement strategy sitting right under your nose in the customer service department. All that’s required is a simple paradigm shift in how you handle your customers. Show less

Because access to Alexa is so easy, and the items Amazon stocks are so plentiful, there’s no question that conversational commerce could crush a lot of distributors who are not part of the Amazon ecosystem.

Here’s what’s already happening in your space: Once someone orders something (anything!) from Amazon, they can very easily re-order it through Alexa. Of course, Alexa might not hear well over the noise on a job site using an Echo (the Echo is the speaker, Alexa is the system), but… Show more

Because access to Alexa is so easy, and the items Amazon stocks are so plentiful, there’s no question that conversational commerce could crush a lot of distributors who are not part of the Amazon ecosystem.

Here’s what’s already happening in your space: Once someone orders something (anything!) from Amazon, they can very easily re-order it through Alexa. Of course, Alexa might not hear well over the noise on a job site using an Echo (the Echo is the speaker, Alexa is the system), but that’s okay, because Alexa also lives in our smartphones. If you have the Amazon Shopping app, which is ranked the #1 shopping app these days, you have Alexa.

So now, with one tap on your smartphone and the words, “Alexa, order me 1000 yards of copper wire”, the wire can be at your job site within a few hours (depending on your location), or at the very least, within the next day or two. Even if you haven’t ordered wire before, the app will present a list of wire to choose from, and you simply click on the item(s) you’d like.

I did it in less than a minute. Here’s what was presented to me when I tried it myself... Show less

A customer’s perception of your company, specifically whether you have their best interests at heart, plays a very big part in whether you are their “top-of-mind” distributor. While visitors will enjoy using your site because of its look and feel and ease of use, you’ll need to do more in order to stand apart from your competitors.

To become your customers’ first choice, go-to solution, your website must offer them value that goes over and above simple product ordering. Show customers… Show more

A customer’s perception of your company, specifically whether you have their best interests at heart, plays a very big part in whether you are their “top-of-mind” distributor. While visitors will enjoy using your site because of its look and feel and ease of use, you’ll need to do more in order to stand apart from your competitors.

To become your customers’ first choice, go-to solution, your website must offer them value that goes over and above simple product ordering. Show customers that you are their partner and that you have their business success as one of your goals. Give customers the supportive information that they see as beneficial to them. Your customers will become more trustful and look to you more often to fulfill their needs. They’ll then begin to create the habit of ordering from your site simply because their visits will become more frequent. Here are six strategies that will get you there. Show less

More and more distributors are jumping into e-commerce. Unfortunately, many (if not most) of them are experiencing a significant lack of success, which comes with a bit of disappointment in the accompanying negative ROI. You’ve taken the steps recommended by the experts, so why aren’t your customers buying from your website?

Build It and They Will Come is not True!

Getting customers to use your e-commerce site requires them to change some very deeply-ingrained habits. Telling them… Show more

More and more distributors are jumping into e-commerce. Unfortunately, many (if not most) of them are experiencing a significant lack of success, which comes with a bit of disappointment in the accompanying negative ROI. You’ve taken the steps recommended by the experts, so why aren’t your customers buying from your website?

Build It and They Will Come is not True!

Getting customers to use your e-commerce site requires them to change some very deeply-ingrained habits. Telling them they’ll save money and time just isn’t enough when it’s more comfortable to order the way they’ve become accustomed to. Motivational speakers are paid millions to teach people to change, which speaks directly to the level of difficulty tied to what you’re trying to accomplish. Show less

Let’s say you’re an electrical distributor who donates $50,000 in materials to the town of New Bern, NC to help rebuild its infrastructure after Hurricane Florence. This is a great opportunity for your distributorship to post on social media, but what would your company post?

Most would post about their donation and paint themselves as a hero. The smartest businesses, though, would post differently. The smartest would post about the efforts made by New Bern’s first responders and… Show more

Let’s say you’re an electrical distributor who donates $50,000 in materials to the town of New Bern, NC to help rebuild its infrastructure after Hurricane Florence. This is a great opportunity for your distributorship to post on social media, but what would your company post?

Most would post about their donation and paint themselves as a hero. The smartest businesses, though, would post differently. The smartest would post about the efforts made by New Bern’s first responders and volunteers and not mention the donation at all. Why? Because true heroes lift up others without patting themselves on the back. It’s no different on social media. Show less

How do you out-market Amazon? Truthfully, you don’t. You can’t. Considering the fact that Amazon spends billions of dollars each year on marketing and advertising, you shouldn’t worry about trying, because you’d be wasting your time.

In fact, even when Amazon has an occasional fail (for example, the recent Amazon Prime Day when their system crashed), they get free press. No distributor can compete with that. Not even Grainger.

While you may not be able to be heard amongst the… Show more

How do you out-market Amazon? Truthfully, you don’t. You can’t. Considering the fact that Amazon spends billions of dollars each year on marketing and advertising, you shouldn’t worry about trying, because you’d be wasting your time.

In fact, even when Amazon has an occasional fail (for example, the recent Amazon Prime Day when their system crashed), they get free press. No distributor can compete with that. Not even Grainger.

While you may not be able to be heard amongst the noise Amazon generates, you can easily be present and heard where their noise doesn’t exist. You can maintain a presence where Amazon isn’t, and your customers are; a place where Amazon doesn’t feel the need to be just yet and perhaps never will. Sound interesting? If so, allow me to introduce you to the always improving and ever-present, Google My Business™. Show less

Today more than ever, all companies – especially distribution companies – must know and rely on successful digital marketing in order to stay competitive.

As simple as it sounds, however, this is one area where I see distributors struggle, quite simply because they don’t understand the true goals of a successful digital marketing campaign.

For example, all distribution companies know that their marketing should provide information about their products. But what they don’t know is,… Show more

Today more than ever, all companies – especially distribution companies – must know and rely on successful digital marketing in order to stay competitive.

As simple as it sounds, however, this is one area where I see distributors struggle, quite simply because they don’t understand the true goals of a successful digital marketing campaign.

For example, all distribution companies know that their marketing should provide information about their products. But what they don’t know is, that their marketing, when done correctly can help them do things like Obtain a Bigger Piece of Customer Spend, Position Themselves as the True Expert in their Industry, Educate Existing and Prospective Customers resulting in a Change in Behavior, and more.

In this episode Susan Merlo and Dirk Beveridge explore what distributors can do with its marketing that will set it apart and push it way ahead of the competition. Show less

"An In-Depth Look at the Digital Marketing Essentials Necessary for Distributors to Remain Competitive and Well-Positioned for the Future"

Whether someone is looking to purchase your product, or would like to learn more about your company, or perhaps they need some industry-specific information that doesn’t relate directly to your product or your company, the leading distributors will be those who can anticipate what their ideal customers need, sometimes before that customer knows it… Show more

"An In-Depth Look at the Digital Marketing Essentials Necessary for Distributors to Remain Competitive and Well-Positioned for the Future"

Whether someone is looking to purchase your product, or would like to learn more about your company, or perhaps they need some industry-specific information that doesn’t relate directly to your product or your company, the leading distributors will be those who can anticipate what their ideal customers need, sometimes before that customer knows it himself, and give it to them. This book teaches you how to do this.

Wholesale distribution companies will find themselves at a serious disadvantage if they don’t have the correct digital marketing essentials in place. In today’s market of instant gratification and instant delivery of information, if you cannot provide the information that your customer needs, or answers to questions that a prospect is asking, expect to find yourself left in the dust.

Distributors who understand their customers’ problems and needs and can resolve them without being “salesy” will be the distributors who will lead the pack.

For many distributors, a powerful digital marketing strategy is already a driver of revenue. As more millennials enter the workforce, there’s no question that that number of distributors who harness the power of the internet will grow.

Over the next five years, it’s safe to assume that the choices you make for company regarding its digital marketing strategy will not only impact your revenue, but also your recruiting efforts, your internal communication efforts, and perhaps even affect your ability to raise financial equity when necessary.

The challenge to meet, therefore, is not just to have a digital marketing strategy in place, but rather to have the right strategy in place for your company, and the ability to execute that strategy effectively and efficiently.
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What does your web presence say about you? Learn to improve and capitalize on your customers' perception of you and your company.

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This book will show you the fastest, easiest way to fill your restaurant instantly, whenever you'd like, with the ease of pressing a button.

It'll also show you how to increase your revenue by up to thirty percent every month. If you follow these instructions exactly as I’ve laid them out for you, the results are guaranteed.

Can your restaurant benefit from having more customers, better visibility, and perhaps even a better ability to track your marketing and the habits of your… Show more

This book will show you the fastest, easiest way to fill your restaurant instantly, whenever you'd like, with the ease of pressing a button.

It'll also show you how to increase your revenue by up to thirty percent every month. If you follow these instructions exactly as I’ve laid them out for you, the results are guaranteed.

Can your restaurant benefit from having more customers, better visibility, and perhaps even a better ability to track your marketing and the habits of your customers? If so, then this book is for you.

Do you have goals for your restaurant? Or do you have dreams? Do you know what the difference is? The difference is your ability to take action.

Reading This Book = You Taking Action.

Doing What I Teach In This Book = You On Fire!

When you're ready to take action and watch your dreams come true and your goals come to fruition for yourself and your restaurant, read this book.

This book is no longer available. Show less

"The Queen Of Restaurant Marketing", Susan Merlo, will be on talking about the future of the restaurant industry and giving her insight and perspective to what Restaurant Owners NEED to do right now to compete in this economy.

Susan Merlo and Mary Borse talk about how small businesses should leverage business directories like Google My Business and Whitepages.com to help promote their presence online.