Maximizing Sales Potential with Pathfinder

July 14, 2020

By Carol McGlogan

While preparing to write this article on Pathfinder, it became obvious to me how appropriate “Pathfinder” is as the name of the report, published annually by Kerrwil. When I was responsible for sales and marketing in my past life, Pathfinder was a tool I used religiously to help navigate growth opportunities for our company. As president of Electro-Federation Canada (EFC), I viewed the report through a different lens to help identify opportunities for our association.

As we deal with COVID-19, most are suffering from a weakened market, and evaluating options using data becomes critical to building a strong foundation for future growth.
For manufacturers, Pathfinder helps map customers and products to channels. Manufacturers can establish market share by region, by channel type, and by product category. Using this information allows companies to benchmark channel effectiveness and sales performance. Understanding your starting point provides insights into the options available to you: increase share within existing channels; expand share via new channels; address regional performance issues.

For distributors, Pathfinder provides information on product mix and customer mix by channel. Distributors can establish market share by region, by customer type, by product category. Distributors may use this information to benchmark their own performance and decide on market building options ranging from acquisitions, to product mix expansions, to general market penetration improvements within the regions. Information is also provided on employee mix comparisons providing insights into value added opportunities and possible upskilling requirements.

Some who are reading this article may receive market share statistics from EFC. It’s important to note that the market info from EFC is based on participating members only and is unique to either your product type (as a manufacturer) or your channel (as a distributor). Pathfinder provides insight into all product types and all professional channels and provides information on the “total market” within those channels. I used to map the Pathfinder data with the EFC data to get a clearer picture of our market performance and opportunities.

Now, more than ever, we need to find our “path,” and Pathfinder is the perfect tool to help you get there.

Presales for the 2021 edition of Pathfinder are now being accepted. Click here to order your copy. For more details on this report, visit: www.electrofed.com/market-resources/pathfinder/

Carol McGlogan is President & CEO, Electro-Federation Canada.