Proper Segmentation Unlocks the Door to New Sales Opportunities

Most distributors examine their current sales reports to determine if their sales are trending up or down. The better sales people track this data customer-by-customer. Unfortunately, this type of analysis does not help you determine missing share of wallet.

If a customer’s rate of sales decreases, can you be certain what is causing the decline? A decrease doesn’t necessarily imply competitive encroachment. There may be a more subtle reason behind the missed sales, like a market change, seasonal demand patters or some other economic change.

Likewise if a customer’s spend increases it doesn’t necessarily signal that you are doing all you can to capture increased share of wallet. Paradoxically, the customer’s business could be increasing across the board and they might be spending even more with your competition than they do with you.

The key to unlocking the real patterns in the markets you serve is to start with properly segmented customer and product groups so that you know you are comparing the right data.