Distributors can increase the number of female employees and leaders through word of mouth and by making sure women are present in all departments, says Christina Nielsen, director of government accounts at Lawson Products. Marti Wenzler, also of Lawson, says that focused "recruiting efforts would also expand awareness of the opportunities for women in our field."

Using minimum order quantities for most customers can minimize problems with dead inventory and stockouts while also increasing profit, says Randy MacLean, founder of WayPoint Analytics.

Distributors that want to succeed at marketplace e-commerce need platforms with eight features, including product information management systems, site-search tools, shopping cart functionality and a content management system, writes Ian Heller. He also shows a sample guide for distributors to assess their maturity in various areas.

While it may be tempting to emulate successful competitors, it represents a failing strategy most of the time, writes David Brock. "Copying clearly communicates to the customer that we don't care -- we don't care about them, we don't care enough about our own offerings and company to do the work that creates differentiated value," Brock writes.

Sherry Chiger offers advice and best practices on how business-to-business marketers can maximize three of LinkedIn's latest features -- Stories, Polls and Sales Insights. Use Stories to humanize B2B brands by sharing behind-the-scenes or client testimonial videos and employ Polls to interact with prospects and build a more in-depth understanding of your audience, Chiger writes.

The people closest to you impart great influence, writes Steve Keating, so make sure they are positive and likely to push you to succeed. "Even though some of your friends may mean you no harm they may be harming you with their choices ... because you are influenced and impacted by them," he writes.

Nobel-winning physicist Richard Feynman had aphorisms for life that included the value of hard work and the importance of experimentation, imagination and curiosity, writes John Baldoni. "Organizations only grow when leaders and followers alike are willing, as Feynman encouraged, to 'experiment, fail, learn and repeat,'" he writes.

In this free NAW webinar on April 6, at 2 p.m. Eastern, Ian Heller and Jonathan Bein will evaluate the marketplace strategic options available to distributors, such as becoming a third-party seller on a merchant-owned marketplace, becoming a third-party seller on a marketplace not owned by a merchant, building your own marketplace, the imperative for an industry-owned marketplace, and opting out of marketplaces. Register now! Check out the full Adding Value in a Post-Pandemic World series! Sponsored by Oracle Netsuite.

According to guest blogger Jason Hein of Bloomreach, with a digital experience platform, "distributors have a new set of tools they can use to get the most out of the other components of their tech stack. In doing so, they can create an experience that delights visitors, wins new customers and has an edge over new industry disruptors or the competition that lags behind." Read his post.

During this 90-minute open discussion, you'll exchange ideas with a trusted network of C-suite peers in distribution. Companies belonging to this community are from firms between $100 million and up to $1 billion in annual sales. There is no formal agenda or speakers -- just you and more than a dozen of your friends in distribution discussing today's pressing issues. Last year, participants shared how they were protecting their employees during the pandemic and more. Don't miss this opportunity. Register today.