Brandon Hull - Latest Comments

Re: On keeping a business journal

BrandonH — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 11:56:40 -0000

Hi David,

Great question. Here's the super-quick answer to the question: My most personal thoughts and ideas aren't published when they're still just being formulated. Period. If I'm just brainstorming, or kicking around some thoughts, I write, write, write, in that business journal. That's it. They're not online.

Re: On keeping a business journal

David — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 15:18:15 -0000

Brandon, Thanks for the post. I've been considering keeping a business journal (I've done it in the past with some success), but I'm a little concerned about privacy. Some of my best thoughts are not necessarily things I want others to read. How do you handle this issue?
David

Re: Groupon: Can you really count on the ROI?

BrandonH — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 15:48:43 -0000

Thanks Geoffrey. I updated the post to show a few more articles that I've discovered or have published since my post, regarding retention rates and who really wins in this wonderful series of calculations.

Re: Whoa little fella, you’re not speaking my language

BrandonH — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 18:58:10 -0000

Thanks to you too, Dave. I'm busy digging into onyourmarket.com as well. Love your stuff -- just discovered it within the last week or so.

Re: Whoa little fella, you’re not speaking my language

Dave Young — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 13:18:13 -0000

Thanks for noticing! Great addition with the Tommy Boy vid!

Re: Groupon: Can you really count on the ROI?

Guest — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 13:54:08 -0000

Regarding your comment: "And heck, returning once per month for the next year? What’s that metric based on?" That is a very good question. It might be right or it might not. A little analysis up-front can go a long way for the small business owner I think. Great post to share with your community @brandhull

Re: Your restaurant’s Foursquare strategy in one post

jvinch — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 14:30:11 -0000

Brandon - I agree, nicely put. Multiple specials would be nice - or they'd
do what Facebook Places seem to offer; time-sensitive specials. A few days a
week a new customer special, other times a frequency-based one - without
expecting the venue owner to babysit the whole thing.

Thanks for your insights on this one.

Re: Your restaurant’s Foursquare strategy in one post

BrandonH — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 14:08:06 -0000

Thanks Jan for commenting and the additional thoughts. To answer your question...

I like the Frequency special because it encourages the one thing bars/restaurants need badly right now: frequent, loyal customers. If I ONLY reward them for that first check-in, it's all that one food/service/atmosphere experience. If I reward them every 3 check-ins, let's say, I'm encouraging that repetitive behavior.

But also, I'm tapping into this:

From the Foursquare "player" or user's perspective...If I see there's a special available at a specific venue, even if that special only rewards a third check-in, but I've never tried the place...I might be willing to give it a try. The reason is I know two things about this place before even stepping foot inside.

1) I know this is a pretty hip, social media-savvy place to be placing specials on Foursquare to begin with. They think like me.

2) If I do like this place, I'm now just two steps away from that reward.

But obviously, with or without Foursquare, the bar/restaurant still has to nail that food/service/atmosphere experience.

Your comment also points out the need for Foursquare to open things up and allow for multiple specials.

Re: Your restaurant’s Foursquare strategy in one post

jvinch — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 10:21:17 -0000

Good stuff, Brandon. Why do you prefer the frequency special (rewarding existing clients) over a new business special that unlocks on first check-in? In general, I do think frequency and count specials are easiest to administer - especially because the special can't be unlocked unless the customer qualifies - that makes things a lot easier for staff on a busy day. In my opinion, the non-automated claim process (where staff has to verify whether someone is eligible) is a bridge too far for many starting Foursquare projects.

Re: The world of social media experts

BrandonH — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 16:59:15 -0000

Thanks for the compliment, Mark. You said what needed to be said...I'm just piggybacking.

Re: The world of social media experts

Mark W Schaefer — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 11:50:46 -0000

This is a fantastic extension of the discussion on the original post, Brandon. Well, said. Thanks for being a member of the {grow} blog community!!

@markwschaefer

Re: How would you make Barnes Distribution more social?

BrandonH — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 16:48:02 -0000

No involvement whatsoever with Barnes on this, as there will be none with future companies I select for this exercise. No survey. No conversations. Nothing.

Re: How would you make Barnes Distribution more social?

Ralph — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 16:42:59 -0000

Brandon, would you be honest enough with us readers to say if you are conducting a survey for Barnes on this topic or are looking for some type of re-employment with the results of the research?
I just couldn't imagine your interest in this without return benefit. Thanks for letting us know.

Re: How would you make Barnes Distribution more social?

ABC — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 12:35:46 -0000

Everything here ties back into 2 issues.
1st is bottom line profit. While MSC and Fastenal have expanded over the years, gaining more market share, Barnes has consolidated locations, (SSG's, store fronts and warehouses) and relied on it's field sales people and field management to retain, penetrate and add new customers and new business.
Product training for a variety of MRO product is available on the company Webb site. Right or wrong, company sponsored Social networking VIA utube and other outlets may reduce the need for direct CSR interface and could even have an adverse effect by customers using it to support purchases from competitors.
Secondly is bottom line profit. The workhorse of the company is the field sales rep. The constant erosion of the (senior) commissioned sales reps (due to earnings and reductions in commissions) is creating an influx of new (salaried) employees from the most current generation with little or no experience in the MRO field. I could go on and on but you have to consider that if the priority is not to keep your reps earnings at a scale commensurate with their responsibilities and expenses, how much importance can one expect to be placed on Social networking?
You have some good ideas and when Barnes hires you back to implement them, please remember these comments. Regards, ABC-

Re: How would you make Barnes Distribution more social?

BrandonH — Sat, 18 Sep 2010 15:38:14 -0000

Jan, my old friend, thanks for checking in. And you're absolutely right -- you don't shoot then aim. And any sort of organizational effort to reach out has to have that level of buy-in.

Re: How would you make Barnes Distribution more social?

Jan — Sat, 18 Sep 2010 12:52:43 -0000

Brandon,

You're making some really good points here. But it goes back to the heart of the question for many organizations - "what am I, why am I here"? You take the angle of the folks at Barnes being the expert, the go-to people for anything related to nuts, bolts, wires and whatever else you mentioned in your post. The trusted advisor.

But if you ask Barnes senior management, what do they say? Do they look at the company like that? Looking at the "about" page, I think the answer is no.

Many senior corporate people still don't really "get" social media beyond reconnecting with high-school classmates and looking at pictures of their grandkids online - let alone how it can help, no - how successful social media engagement is *critical* for their business. They have simply defined their organization and its purpose differently. Point is - if you can't really envision it, you can't really build it.

Jan

Re: How would you make Barnes Distribution more social?

BrandonH — Sat, 18 Sep 2010 11:59:18 -0000

Maldrine,

Thanks for commenting. However, none of that has anything to do with this post or what social media is all about. I understand your plight, but this isn't really the right place for it. There may be a Yahoo group or someplace for you to talk about these things with co-workers.

Re: How would you make Barnes Distribution more social?

Maldrine — Sat, 18 Sep 2010 08:52:11 -0000

Brandon,
As you can see from the post the mindset of alot of salespeople is it won't work.
I started with Barnes,Bowman at that time, in 1979. I think the real problem with Barnes and other companys similar to them is the amount you have to sell now for the same earnings you could achieve 20 years ago. I sold close to $300,000.00 in 1988 at 20.2 % comm. and that comm. was close to the average. Now to make 60 thousand you will have to sell close to 550 to 600 thousand and make quota. On top of that exspenses have risen. Now you have to have a cell phone, high speed internet and close to three times the cost for fuel plus the price of cars and insurance. Selling 550 thousand at lower prices also takes much longer to put the order away. Without help 600 thousand in straight VMI business is about all one person can handle and you are working 70 hours to achieve that.

Re: How would you make Barnes Distribution more social?

BrandonH — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 00:45:36 -0000

Thanks for the comments. I appreciate your take as a 20-year veteran. "A start" is a good way to look at it. Social media isn't going to rescue a company or neutralize all of a company's ills. It's just one way to engage customers in a new way.

Your comments about comfort zones is a real issue, too, though it's not just a Barnes thing. So many companies rely on a field sales force to do it all for them -- market, sell, deliver the bad news, etc. And they do it because there's no company-to-customer relationship. The relationships are almost entirely the property of those salespeople. Missed opportunities...

Re: How would you make Barnes Distribution more social?

Audisfan — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 22:21:40 -0000

I think Barnes' business model is limited. I feel there is a certain percentage of the market for VMI. Fastenal didn't grow fast by VMI alone ( which I feel Fastenal doesn't even come close to VMI the way Barnes does it), they grew by putting stores up all over the country and the business came to them in a sense. Basically, the only marketing Barnes does is through it sales force. So, Barnes is pretty much relying on sales reps to penetrate the marketplace to get the word out. Most sales reps are in their "comfort zone " and do not do much prospecting IMO. By the way, I have been with Barnes Distribution for over 20 years as a sales rep. I like your ideas on putting videos on Youtube for customers to seek out answers or see product demonstrations. I also agree that Barnes needs to find new avenues to connect with their customers other than just the sales force. There are other ways to build relationships with customers besides relying on your sales reps. Barnes' always preaches it's "Value Added Services" that it brings to the table, so the Youtube idea could be another extension of that. I have a had a great career so far at Barnes and think it has been a great company to work for, but I feel Barnes has relied too heavily on the VMI model and hasn't had the vision to make itself grow other than through acquisitions. This could be a start.

Re: What’s next after real-time?

BrandonH — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 17:59:13 -0000

Robin,

Thanks for checking in, you got me thinking. And your follow-up is outstanding. Thanks for pointing me and others to that post as well.

Re: How would you make Barnes Distribution more social?

BrandonH — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 17:54:52 -0000

Hmmmm...where to begin.

Fair point on the disclosure. I'll take you up on that: I've updated the post and my About page -- nothing to hide but felt it was a moot point. I didn't make or influence any marketing decisions at Barnes while there, and I don't today, nor do I benefit from any at this point. And unlike your unmoderated, unedited comment, it's not an anonymous post either -- I'm fine sticking my name on it.

Regarding the post, however, it has nothing to do with internal communications or employee relations (did you actually read the post?). It has to do with what efforts a company -- any company, really -- makes to connect with CUSTOMERS and PROSPECTS using freely available, increasingly popular, social networking and sharing tools. That's it. And MRO distribution isn't any more competitive than Aramark vs. Cintas (former employers), or T-Mobile vs. Verizon vs. AT&T, or Pepsi vs. Coca-Cola. Those companies have as much, if not more, at stake than Barnes Distribution.

And it's exactly BECAUSE Barnes is a relationship-based business that it should evaluate new ways it can connect with customers and users of its products. That's what makes Barnes great -- it works from a relationship foundation. But the company has a chance to engage in a way they haven't before -- as an organization -- in order to solidify those relationships even more.

And regarding videos, surely you can appreciate that HAVING ACCESS to a few hundred thousand products doesn't obligate you to create a few hundred thousand videos. Customers would obviously not expect that. Five well-meaning, educational videos beats zero.

Re: How would you make Barnes Distribution more social?

Ittakes1_toknow1 — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 17:08:49 -0000

You should have disclosed that you once worked for the company - I guess you couldn't make changes or make these suggestions while you were there? I hope you got permission to use their logo on your blog.

There already is a way for employees - including sales people - to interact using the company's intranet. But since you don't work there any more you wouldn't know about it. No business wants people talking about their day to day business issues - or proprietary matters - in an open forum like Facebook or Twitter. It makes good sense for the company to keep this kind of interaction in a closed environment. MRO distribution is a competitive business and publlic forums are no place to go over private business issues.

Sure it is easy for your weed wacker retailer to make a video - I bet they only have a few products. Try to make videos when you carry a few HUNDRED THOUSAND products with various uses. The fact that Grainger doesn't do it either should have been a clue to you that it's not something that is always worth the time and cost.

It's important to note that companies like Grainger and Fastenal got big during the years that there wasn't anything remotely like Facebook and Twitter. BD is a relationship based business but that doens't mean that the social interaction has to take place on Facebook and Twitter, there is something to be said for the value of real face to face contact.

Re: What’s next after real-time?

RobinGood — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 02:46:39 -0000

Brandon, first of all thank you for kindly referring to my work. I am glad you have found it useful.

To answer your last question: There are a lot of things happening, and my personal preference for what's really big after real-time is the emergence of a new media publishing role that serves the very purpose of helping real-time not to become our next nightmare. With all of the information coming at you every second, there must be something better than just subscribing to as many Twitter channels, FB friends and RSS feeds as humanly possible... and that is where I see things are really starting to move now: Real-time news curation. If you are interested in learning more about it, check the three part guide I have started to publish yesterday - http://bit.ly/bwntdU - and let me know what you think of it.

Re: I’ll take fast with a good plan over painfully slow with a perfect plan

Guest — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 18:43:18 -0000

LOL - yes that would be a good one too!