There is clear evidence, from many sectors, that dealers who use strong supplier brands in their sales and marketing tend to do well.  

Orange, for example, found that in towns where there was an Orange retail store, sales of Orange products were higher than in towns where Orange did not have a presence. Interestingly, it found that phone dealers located near the Orange store also tended to sell disproportionately more Orange products.

Take another example. Working with a large supplier of surveying equipment, I  found that a dealer which wrapped itself in its supplier brand saw sales grow more than fourfold in three years and achieved higher than average profitability.

Or look at the automotive industry.  BMW has followed a long-term strategy of getting its dealers to subsume their own identity, and to present themselves as part of the BMW brand experience. This tight, Teutonic brand control occasionally irks BMW dealers, but they put up with it because they know that their margins, thanks to the power of the brand, are the highest enjoyed in the industry.

However, many dealers are loath to use their main supplier’s brand. I recently came across a case where a dealer was pitching for a $1 million order. Some 80% of this was product from one manufacturer and most of the rest was dependent service revenue. Yet the dealer did not even show the supplier’s brand in the pitch.

So how can you get your dealer channel to include and use your brand?