People, whether in a retail environment or a business setting, are willing to pay a higher price for well-known brands.
Many consumer-brand manufacturers are industry leaders and in some cases global leaders in their markets, says Loughrey. Institutional customers not only recognize these products through the commercial market, but also via the retail/household market.
“That recognition and consumer trust in the brand often gives an edge over the ‘private’ off-brands in the marketplace,” says Loughrey. “One of the reasons these companies are the industry leaders is their commitment to product development and innovation.”
When one of these manufacturers develops a new product, that provides the distributor another chance to contact key decision makers on their sales route.
For example, Loughrey and his team are often given advance notification of product introductions. And in some cases, Dalco is actually consulted during the development process. This information and jump start, he says, also provides an advantage.
Well-known products are suited for virtually all markets including healthcare, property management (office buildings), retail, building service contractors, entertainment venues, hospitality, municipalities, transportation and manufacturing facilities.
“For bath tissue and toweling, commercial products are designed for the higher volume restrooms that these markets require,” says Rasin. “There are more sheets on a roll of bath tissue and more towels available for hand-drying, so these high-traffic areas are less prone to outages.”
For chemicals, many commercial options have a high concentration, providing a significantly lower cost in use because they can be diluted with water on site, says Rasin.
There may be a couple of markets that might not be right for brand-name cleaning products. Retail brands may not be the best formulated for the special cleaning and disinfecting requirements necessary in hospitals and schools, says Rasin.
After distributors have targeted the best markets for these brands, selling them should be easy. Distributors should let the brands speak for themselves and tap into resources already created by the manufacturers.
“Some of these manufacturers have invested heavily in producing some very polished videos,” says Loughrey. “The message is much more impactful than what I can bring to the presentation alone.”
Loughrey does try to convey to the customer or prospect that consumer brands are leaders for many reasons. They provide innovation, dependability, proven effectiveness, reliability, and they’ve been around for a very long time. They’re not going anywhere.
Heather Larson is a freelance writer from Federal Way, Washington.
Selling Commercial Versions Of Consumer Brands