This is a great article by Jon Wyly. While this article is more than a year old, it’s even more valid today than it was in 2015. Jon had spoken in his article  about those growing up with keyboards in hand, which today is very relevant. I do believe the original estimates to be a bit low, but one thing is for sure… people do shop for products online and then buy either online or in store.

What Jon doesn’t really touch on is the paradigm shift to mobile devices. Mobile devices are slowly creeping in as the preferred method of shopping over desktops. Why? Shopper’s phones are getting smarter and bigger becoming the ideal shopping platform because they are always at hand. There is a segment of that population who are not interested in having or owning a computer, but do have a smart phone. My point is, I think most statistics underestimate the impact mobile will have on business and those who shop, especially for businesses that have not addressed this trend. Now is the time to review and be ready or the impact can affect your bottom line. A couple of good examples of this is with Google’s SERPs now favoring mobile sites, Microsoft building their Windows 10 as a cross device platform.

If you or your company needs help and expertise in this area, give us a call… 416-875-3347. We’ll get you going in the right direction!

Here is Jon’s article…

SEMA News—January 2015

SEMA DATA CO-OP
By Jon Wyly

Tell Me Again Why I Need to Be Internet Friendly…?

“It is forecast that by 2025, 20% of global retailing will be conducted through online channels.”
—Frost & Sullivan Mega Trends Research.

That’s why every manufacturer and reseller of consumer products needs to be paying attention today to where the Internet is going and learn how to leverage its substantial influence and power.

Now hear me out before you get your hackles up and declare me yet another of the “end of the brick-and-mortar” doomsayers. The statistics are there for anyone to read, and the fact-based opinions of some very sharp folks are telling us in no uncertain terms that consumers are continuing to gravitate to the Internet to research and purchase all sorts of goods. The automotive parts and accessories category is no exception.

Frost & Sullivan is forecasting that North American revenue from the online sale of auto parts and accessories will nearly quadruple in the next eight years to more than $16 billion. Some say that prediction is conservative. I agree.

Also, current information indicates that more than 75% of potential buyers of specialty automotive parts research on the Internet before buying. Not all buy online, but the information on the Internet is darn sure influencing what is being sold, if not where.

If you are a manufacturer, you must have your product visible in the right places on the web, and you need to control how it is being represented. If you are a reseller, especially in brick and mortar, you need to at least be aware of what is going on with your online competitors. Remember, the number of people who are moving to the web for research leading to a purchase is increasing steadily year over year. To make matters worse, younger consumers who were raised with a keyboard in their hands are natural-born Internet shoppers. As they become more affluent, this will only serve to increase the speed of that trend.

So how do you position for success in a marketplace that is moving steadily to the convenience, affordability and ease of search, click, found?

Manufacturers can start with making sure that products are well represented in all the right places and that potential online resellers are given fair consideration as legitimate opportunities for sales growth. Put aside the all-too-common position of “guilty until proven innocent” and get to know these new customers. And, as I have mentioned so many times before, get your product data in order and make it available! If you don’t control the content and message, your customers will try to do it themselves while often creating confusion, inaccuracy and excessive returns in the process.

Resellers, on the other hand, need to be good partners with manufacturers. Let suppliers know that their product data is critical to successful sales growth, and urge them to make it available. Respect and adhere to manufacturers’ policies, diligently ensure accuracy and completeness of your product presentations and create an atmosphere of confidence and trust. Support brands in your stores for more reasons than who has the lowest price this week. Measure quality, stand behind the products you sell with pride and work closely with manufacturers and their reps to truly create a market. After all, when was the last time you met a businessman who credited his good fortune and long-term growth to selling the cheapest stuff he could get his hands on?

via Tell Me Again Why I Need to Be Internet Friendly…? | Specialty Equipment Market Association.

I’ve been in involved with marketing and sales for over 35 years and always remembered this tale from one of the many books I had read on the subject.
Enjoy…

The tale of 2 shoe sales reps

Sometimes an opportunity is right in front of you. Success can mean the difference between being able to distinguish the difference.

There is a tale about two shoe sales reps who travel to a third world country in search of new business opportunities.
One sales rep calls the manager the moment they land, telling the manager, “I’m coming back home. There’s no hope here. Nobody here is wearing shoes, so there’s no one to sell to.” Feeling depressed, the rep boards the next flight home.

The second sales rep calls the manager and says, “You wouldn’t believe what I found here. There is so much opportunity. No one here is wearing shoes. The market here is HUGE, we can have a monopoly on market share!”

Depending on your perspective, there is opportunity.