Distributor relationships
I'm sure that everyone has read something somewhere or another about building a relationship with your local distributor. I am curious as to if the majority of you do have a special relationship with one distributor, or shop around different distributors before making a purchase. 20 years ago salesmen used to stop in my stores on a regular basis. It became easy to develop a personal relationship with that person, and they in turn gave me good service, advice, and fair prices for my loyalty. Today it is much less personal. The only time I see a salesperson is when I call wanting to purchase new equipment. This leads me to the point of; what value do I receive from sending all my business to one distributor, as to shop around competing distributors for the same product. As the US economy has moved to a global economy, I see the coin op business moving from a local to a nationwide market. I've even bought new equipment over the internet without any human contact or phone communication. Is this the way you see the business heading, or do you find value in dealing with one local distributor, and if so what value do they provide you with?
|
Threaded Mode