Retail sales are at the core of corporate success. OEMs that fail to provide their distribution networks with tools & resources to help them sell make a critical error. Aiding your distributing network in sales works to ensure growth and help your bottom line.

Wanna see brand equity in action? I was in the camping section today and observed this side-by-side comparison of two “Emergency Ponchos.”

The oldest tactic in marketing and branding sounds so simple. Offer customers something they don’t even know they want. Okay, great – but how do you gain insight to what your customers don’t even know?

Every year we develop a Christmas e-card for Jayco. The last three years we’ve kept to a sort of retro, whimsical approach. For 2009 we simply captured Santa and his favorite fury friends out enjoying a campfire at their favorite campsite north of any border. And don’t neglect to take a look at previous years…

When it comes to your distribution network, your “front lines”, are you doing enough to aid success?

It’s surprising to see how many manufacturers take a laissez-faire approach to managing their front lines when it’s the success at the retail level that drives corporate profits. At the end of the day, your distribution network’s ability to champion your brand and sell your product has the biggest impact on your bottom line. It’s important to be involved.

If it’s been awhile since your organization has asked this question, let alone tried to answer it, then now is a great time to find out. There’s no better way to find out how your brand is doing than with an AIM Report from HuebnerPetersen.

Through extensive research and analysis an AIM report can identify how your company, products and services are perceived internally and externally—resulting in a strategic plan for the direction of your brand.

Marketing at the dealer/retail level is tricky. The options customers have grow everyday, and the Internet the best friend of any shopper looking for alternatives. Manufacturers and their dealers/retailers know that marketing is important. They know that customer service is important. They spend invest money in both of these areas – but money isn’t enough when you’re out of touch. How dealers communicate and engage with customers will drive customer loyalty and word of mouth.