I’ve got a problem with double standards.
At least the ones which benefit others more than they benefit me!
Which I suspect is your problem with double standards! Because I know I’m not the only one with this problem.
Getting dressed for an afternoon out with my fiancée Guy, Gaetana for those who prefer the full-Italian, my “web-side” toes ripped through my jeans as they passed a thin spot in the denim.
Wanting to make sure that her man looked good enough to occupy the space at her side, I was given the bad news:
I’m too old to wear ripped jeans!
A rule which we could start enforcing the next time I’m not already dressed in a pair of ripped jeans! For their 20-years of service to my backside, the jeans earned one more caress of the notoriously flat Lipton hinds.
Speaking of worn thin, I’m wearing my voice thin these days with all the high energy talking I’m doing about the web and e-commerce sites of THE Revolution.
Revolutions requires passion!
Before the sun sets on this week, we will have a launch date for our first Minuteman: Todd Zigelbaum of Town Line Paint in Malden, MA.
Go take a look at his existing web site. Once you see the “before” you’ll enjoy the big reveal even more!
Days after we launch Town Line, we’ll launch Andriots and Columbia Paint.
I don’t like to keep the Minutemen waiting!
Much of the time (and therefore money) spent on building web sites is on the database work: the product information, pictures and other data which populates the product pages. Some of the integrations have been smooth and I applaud Benjamin Moore, Brewster Home Fashions, Farrow & Ball, Romabio and a few other vendors who were ready for our calls. Being ready for a digital Revolution means having digital assets a-plenty! And an efficient means of delivering those assets to independent retailers of paint, wallpaper, decor and fashion.
Many vendors have fallen short.
With consumer trends continuing to show shift towards online, and dealers following the sales there, vendors who fail to support their dealers digitally will lose opportunity to gain or even hold onto their space on dealer’s shelves. As these sites grow as a percentage of a dealer’s business, the rubric they use to make buying decisions will change as well. Accessibility to digital assets and other digital support will be far more important than more traditional vendor offerings such as an 5% off and an additional 30-days to pay.
It is the manufacturers and vendors who will need to make this investment. Not the dealers.
This week on my podcast I’m joined by Tom Hill of The Coatings Alliance and C2 Paints. As a dealer I was always a fan of their business model.
They’re dealer run!
So, when I heard that they were doing something with e-commerce, I wanted to see what they were up to. My relationships with the group go back over 20-years and while I agree that it may seem like we are “competitors” we don’t see it that way. Besides, what’s wrong with doing a little research?
Keep your friends close, and your frenemies closer!
You can listen to this episode on my own site here, or on Apple, Stitcher, Blubrry or Soundcloud.
As always, shoot me a text and tell me what you think!
