In the fall of 2016, I put myself in the shoes of office products and supply resellers in recounting the "story" of a dealership successfully embracing digital technology. As regular readers will already appreciate, it takes a lot of work to get from a disjointed analog setup to a fully integrated digital capability and set off the path toward a business transformation.
How could anyone think there's anything in common between Uber and Office Products? High-tech transportation versus ink, toner, and paper clips! "I don't think so!" I hear you all saying. Well, hold on for a moment and think about the following.
In this article, the second part of a seven-part series, I'm going to identify the deficiencies of a typical office products resellers website, explain how it can be graded, what must be worked on to improve its grade, and, finally, why it's so essential this objective must be accomplished.
The internet has catalyzed a significant change in the sales process. Underlying this change is the buyer's access to unlimited information sources before needing to engage with a salesperson.
Our blogging focus has been to analyze the office products industry while strongly emphasizing the aftermarket office supplies segment. Office products are a big, mature industry where the most prominent players exert significant control over the distribution channels and market shares.
In my recent blog post, "Office Products, New-Build Cartridges, and Clone Hysteria!", I made the statement that "instead of being a threat to the independent reseller and the aftermarket industry, legitimate new-builds are a threat to the established order and may be the single biggest chance of survival for those that some elements of the media purport them to be the ruin of!"
