Collecting and housing distributor information in a single place, and being able to access it all at the click of a button is not as complicated as it sounds. If you use an advanced distributor management system like Fieldproxy, this process becomes fairly simple.
But if you’re still looking for an effective way to tackle this problem manually (read: with more effort), look no further. In this article, we’re going to take a look at how you can capture and collect distributor data in three simple steps. Let’s get started.
With distributor data, you’re actually asking a business to give you their bread and butter. So you have to be absolutely sure of the kind of data you’re collecting, and whether or not you can store it securely. Once you cross that bridge, you’re ready to start collecting helpful data from your distributors. And how do you do that? Really simple:
Create a questionnaire or a public form
Integrate that form with your CRM, securely
Approach your distributors
Now let’s dig a level deeper and try and further simplify this process.
Creating A Questionnaire: How And Why
Creating a form is fairly simple. There are hundreds of tools out there in the market that can help - Google Forms, Survey Monkey, JotForms. These tools often come with a free version that is enough to create a simple survey form. For capturing basic distributor information, you should be able to achieve your goals with the help of these form builders.
But if you want somethign more complex - maybe you want to capture the location data at which a particular form was submitted, or QR code scanners for multi-level distributor verification - you can use something like Fieldproxy, where you get multiple different question types to capture relevant distributor information, like adding attachment fields, or requesting orders from the form itself.
Want a date of purchase field added to your form? Done. Need a photo of the distributor’s outlet? Just select that question type, have your agents point their phone camera, and it’s done.
You also have distributor signatures, OTP-based task unlocks, and feedback stars, just in case you needed some additional motivation. If this scratches your itch, then look no further than Fieldproxy. Get a free demo today.
Integrate Your Form With A CRM
Once your form is ready, it can be pushed live as a website embed, or as a simple link that can be shared with your distributors. This is the easy part.
Now, you have to figure out a way to bring all of this data into your existing CRM. One way to do this would be to take a dump of your form submissions, and import them into your CRM solution.
Nearly every CRM in the world allows this, and if yours doesn’t, there’s your sign that it’s time for an upgrade.
There is a problem with this approach however. When you’re sending out online forms, you cannot expect everyone to answer right away. And you also cannot expect a resource to download form submissions every day and upload them to the CRM. It’s a lot of time and effort that can be spent doing better things.
That’s where integrations come in. Then again, if a solution does not offer proper integration support with the forms that you are using, it may cause problems. This is why many distributor-focussed platforms like Fieldproxy have their own form builders, than can be incorporated into your field teams’ mobile apps as well. Makes data communication and storage a lot easier.
Approaching Your Distributors
Once your forms are ready, you can start sending your field teams out to war. There’s a few different ways you can approach your distributors. We go about our favourite ones in detail in this article, so be sure to check it out.
But just to give you a gist, you can also deploy your forms on your website, send them out as newsletters, and/or publish them in public forums to attract a lot of eyeballs. This will give you a better understanding of your market, outside of your existing distributors.
Something to make note of when your field teams are out talking to distributors is managing the data that comes in. This is where a distributor management system helps.
How Does A Distributor Management System Work?
Okay, but how does a distributor management system really help in data collection and management? Isn’t it just supposed to be software that helps with inventory management for distributors?
Well, yes and no. Let’s take a look at a distributor management system and how it works kind of as a crm solution for distributors.
Capture End-to-End Distributor And Customer Information
A distributor management system is like a data warehouse for all your distributor contacts. But it is also so much more than that. A good DMS solution should be able to not just store and retrieve distributor data for you, but also give you actionable insights and steps to enact on the information you have.
Think of it as a smart application that helps you keep track of when your distributors are running out of stock, what would be a good time to initiate a marketing campaign, and sending out personal handwritten notes to their families on Diwali. Well, maybe not that last bit, but for everything else, and more, an end-to-end DMS is the ideal go-to.
Optimize Routes And Make Visit Plans To Distributors
Building up on our previous point, a software for distributors should be built around the relationship between your field agents and the dealers/distributors.
It should be able to recognize when a shipment needs to be made, notify managers of the upcoming shipment, help them create a proper route plan, identify who is best suited to complete the job fastest and most effectively - capacity planning 101 - assign the job to the right field agent, all while doing a hundred and fifty-five other things. That is the definition of a distributor management software that works for your business.
As businesses expand and operations grow more complex, managing field teams can be a daunting task. From managing tickets to scheduling jobs and everything in between, keeping track of everything can be time-consuming and inefficient. That's where Fieldproxy comes in - an end-to-end field team management solution that aims to simplify these tasks and streamline operations.
Distributor Management Solutions By Fieldproxy
Fieldproxy's Distributor Management Solutions leverage AI and smart sheets to optimize inventory management, order processing, and supply chain visibility. It helps you improve communication between manufacturers and distributors, promoting better issue resolution times and faster deliveries.
With real-time data analytics, businesses can make informed decisions, minimize stockouts, and enhance overall productivity. It’s worked for 250+ clients across the globe, it will work for your business too. Get a free demo today!
Another important aspect of Fieldproxy is its job scheduling feature. With this tool, businesses can schedule jobs and assign them to field teams in real-time. This helps ensure that the right team is on the job at the right time, which can save businesses time and money.
Generate Quotes And Estimates
Fieldproxy also offers a mobile application that allows field teams to generate quotes and estimates on the go. This is particularly useful for businesses that operate in industries where quotes and estimates are necessary, such as construction or landscaping. With this feature, businesses can provide accurate quotes to their customers quickly and easily.
In addition to generating quotes and estimates, the Fieldproxy mobile application also allows businesses to raise invoices and facilitate payment collections through integrations with popular payment gateways. This can help businesses get paid faster and with less hassle.
Collect Valuable Customer Feedback
With features like customer happiness index, and historical customer data, ensure your customers are always satisfied with your products and services. Know exactly how your customers operate and provide better quality services.
Fieldproxy’s easily-presentable data dashboards and reports allow managers to make sense of all the data their field teams collect, in real time.
Create, curate, and manage different dashboards and reports to help make better data-backed decisions for your service teams.
There’s always going to be visits that clash with your agents’ schedules or that are of immediate attention. Question is, will your current route management process be prepared to handle it? If not, then you might want to consider shifting to a new system.
The old way to go about this would be taking a look at all your visits scheduled for the day and find out which agent has more time on their hands, then see if they’re closer to the client’s place and schedule a visit.
At Fieldproxy, we do things a bit different. All you have to do is, head over to Fieldproxy’s AI visual builder, ask it a question, and it will show you actionable data for you to interact with, in 5 seconds.
You instantly know who’s available and who’s not, and allocating tasks to your agents becomes child’s play. The point is, if you’re not able to prioritize your visits for your agents, you will have a hard time scaling your operations.
Closing Thoughts
So why should businesses consider Fieldproxy? With its comprehensive set of features, Fieldproxy can help businesses save time, streamline operations, and improve customer satisfaction. And with a free demo available, there's no reason not to give it a try.
If you're looking for an end-to-end field team management solution that can help you manage tickets, schedule jobs, generate quotes and estimates, raise invoices, and collect payments while also providing customer feedback support, then Fieldproxy might be the solution for you. Book a free demo today to see how Fieldproxy can help your business improve its operations and customer satisfaction.
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