SHARP Home Appliances has multiple distribution partners in the United States serving some 1500 independent dealers, but this doesn’t stop Peter Weedfald, Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing for SHARP Home Appliances, from reaching out to the dealers.
“I’m a big believer in selling and marketing on the other side of distribution and making sure there’s brand perfection at the last three feet of the sale for Team SHARP,” he says. “Ensuring that our highly effective and valued distributor partners and our independent dealer channel is strong is extremely important to ensure our brand promise, our market growth and P&L aspirations are achieved. Our SHARP independent dealer channel is extremely important to our success and is highly valued along with our regional and national big box retailers.”
Within the local partner channel marketing program, Weedfald runs a sub-program called Radius that recognizes top independent dealers and invests in marketing campaigns in their region. He might also leverage SHARP Home Appliances’ professional video studio to produce videos for dealers. In return, dealers agree to promote SHARP Home Appliances in their emails and social networks. “I’m more concerned with driving foot traffic and eyeballs at the last feet of the sale with an independent dealer than I am with worrying about spending the same money and driving traffic back to our SHARP web site,” Weedfald says.
Digital marketing tactics are critical to independent dealers, Weedfald says. “Big box” retailers with multi-million-dollar ad budgets can pay for television commercials and other pricey media outlets, but independent dealers can’t afford them. Social media levels the playing field, stretches ad dollars and enables dealers to compete effectively within their given trading area. It’s a challenge to build relationships with so many local independent dealers. Weedfald, though, makes a serious effort. Every holiday season, his team produces a hundred personalized videos that go out to dealers just to thank them and let them know how the business is going. Sharp Home Appliances also makes donations to worthy causes championed by dealers.
“A key focus for the independent channel is: Articulating market demand while breaking thru competitive boundaries by exercising digital disciplines and tools.” Weedfald says. “The work we’re doing with the independent channel to help them with digital demand generating articulation is so important. Most of our competitors don’t do it. We are proud to say the independent dealer channel has built a major part of our market success thru their pro-active, best of breed salesmanship, service and support. Our brand promise is exercised and curated perfectly thru our distributor partner sales force in lock step with our SHARP and independent dealer’s sales and marketing daily initiatives.”
“Ensuring that our highly effective and valued distributor partners and our independent dealer channel is strong is extremely important to ensure our brand promise, our market growth and P&L aspirations are achieved.”
Peter Weedfald, SVP, Sales and Marketing,
Sharp Home Appliances
Access more insights in the CMO Council Report: National Brands Kickstart Local Demand
We surveyed over 140 marketing leaders and conducted in-depth interviews with executives at SHARP Home Appliances, Caterpillar, Gap, Invesco, Nationwide, BNY Mellon Wealth Management, KloudGin and MisfitsGaming to reveal best practices for your channel marketing strategy.
