Know-How Exchange : Strategy

Are you trying to gain market share or increase reordering/retention?
How does your company's offerings compare to the competition? What makes what they're selling unique in the marketplace?
Have you done a SWOT analysis to better understand where your company's issues/opportunities are – and acted on the intelligence?

What is the objective? What criteria will you use to evaluate any suggestions we have? Or will this be an open-ended "We'll know it when we see it" decision?

If you are simply a re-seller of safety products from various manufacturers/distributers, do you know whether any of your retail competitors have 'special' marketing deals with these manufacturers/distributers that put you at a competitive disadvantage. If you can be assured that there are none, have you examined whether an opportunity exists for you to negotiate a marketing strategy with individual manufacturers/distributers that may give you some marketplace benefits.

Have you actually conducted a comprehensive competitive analysis of your retail competitors that can lead into an effective SWOT analysis as has been recommended by my colleague here, Jay Hamilton-Roth? That seems to me to be a fundamental action on your part to set a benchmark for the development of a future course of action.

It is very difficult for us at KHE to suggest future courses of action without knowing the details of your actual situation. It would be most helpful if you could advise what specific actions you have taken to resolve your perceived difficulty, along with any actions you may have tried to implement without success.