Susan Smith, professor of marketing practice in the Whitman School of Management at Syracuse University, has been selected by the National Association of Electrical Distributors (NAED) Education and Research Foundation to conduct its next research study, “Maximizing Marketing Efforts in the Electrical Distribution Industry.”
Commissioned by the NAED and sponsored by the Channel Advantage Partnership, the study will examine current electrical distribution industry marketing practices and provide best-practice recommendations in order to streamline and improve efforts. The research conducted by Smith will provide the framework and understanding for industry marketing executives and managers to pursue marketing excellence, optimize resource allocation and measure marketing productivity and performance.
A long-time electrical industry marketing professional, Smith, along with research partner Tom Lyga ’11 MBA, an industry marketing consultant, will focus their research efforts on examining what the best marketing distributors do better or differently from the rest. They also will examine how interaction and collaboration with manufacturing partners impacts marketing success and how marketing’s “new tools” support or detract from traditional industry marketing practices. Lastly, they will evaluate how the effectiveness of industry marketing investment is measured and the formulation and importance of building a brand. Smith and Lyga each have more than 25 years in the electrical industry.
Through the spring, Smith, Lyga and the project team will gather industry insight on electrical distribution industry marketing practices through management interviews, blogging, comment topics and industry-wide surveys. For more information on the project, visit the study website, http://electricalmarketingbestpractices.com.
A marketing strategy and business development executive with extensive experience in the electrical and construction industries, Smith most recently served as vice president of marketing for IRWIN Industrial Tools, a division of Newell Rubbermaid in Huntersville, N.C. Previously, she led the marketing team at Pass & Seymour in Syracuse, which manufactures electrical wiring devices and data communication accessories. While there, she was responsible for product management, channel marketing, sales and new business teams. Her work with the firm included heading marketing while the company became a major U.S. manufacturer and eventual subsidiary of Legrand. Smith’s areas of expertise include product innovation, sales management and new business ventures.
