Progressive manufacturers have long realized the value of developing and driving joint marketing plans with their distributor partners. When manufacturers and their channel work together, both parties prosper regardless of the business climate. In times of brisk economic growth like we are experiencing right now, joint marketing not only yields growth, but it also drives market share for both the manufacturer and the distributor.

Research during the Pandemic makes one point perfectly clear: customers have changed their buying habits. The internet has replaced their dog-eared collection of vendor catalogs. Customers, whether OEM, End User, Panel Builder, or Systems Integrator, are researching purchases online. When they do not know which product to purchase, gathering the information online has moved to the most preferred method.

Manufacturers who have partnered with KYKLO have discovered they and their distributors can move their products to the front of the pack.

Manufacturers struggle to create and amalgamate the types of product content distributors need to build their webstores. Sadly, this content space has been occupied by companies who “scrape” information from the internet often leaving out important buying criteria – this does not help the effort. KYKLO provides a manufacturer with a single point of contact for all-important product content. By providing a trusted and vetted content/solution, KYKLO removes workload from the manufacturer. In addition to the right product description, pictures and data required for customers to make buying decisions, KYKLO assists distributors in efficiently launching a webstore.

KYKLO becomes the go to organization for simplifying the distributor’s decision as to the right organization to work with in developing their webstore. When the distributor partners with KYKLO, the manufacture can be sure the distributor has data on the latest products and any revisions to the products will be quickly added to their system.

Thinking purely on the health and productivity of distributor channels, a manufacturer whose partners sign with KYKLO no longer needs to worry about a distributor sinking hundreds of thousands of dollars into a webstore which may or may not work. Further, webstore projects can be massive distractions for the leaders of the distributor. Time is lost; time which could better be invested in customer-facing efforts.

Finally, a manufacturer aligned with KYKLO can prioritize the content and even make featured products easier to find in common searches. This point comes in handy through new product launches and times of special promotion.

But this is not all about manufactures.
Distributors using KYKLO can be sure their top vendors have the proper (approved and vetted) product content. This includes new products, and new features added to the product. With KYKLO all of this is part of the “plug and play” format of the system.

Joint marketing brought into the 21st Century
We launched this article with a few comments on joint marketing. For decades, joint marketing programs consisted of funding for things like local trade shows, and promotional events. Co-op programs played a big role in the mutual funding of these events. However, when time got short, golf balls and polo shirts were used to fill in the difference between funds invested and funds unspent. While the value of golf balls is up for debate, no one can debate the value of a mutually funded web-presence. A growing number of leading distributors are earmarking a portion of their Co-Op funding to assist distributors in their efforts to go digital: KYKLO can help accelerate this change.