The Key to Innovation
Deliver Customer Value
While new product development and advanced technologies have been the standard approach to achieving a competitive edge, leading firms realize that innovation now stems from creating a differentiated customer experience.
Customers who receive additional value through new solution offerings that include insights into product quality and performance and receive extended services outside of the standard sale are likelier to remain loyal.
Commercial models must adapt as chemicals, packaging and specialty materials manufacturers and distributors develop go-to-market strategies that focus on providing customer value. Deploying overlay roles to sell applications, expanding e-commerce platforms for all customer levels and strengthening partner relationships to provide connected logistics are three emerging trends that high performers employ to innovate the customer experience successfully.
Specialist overlay roles for application selling: Traditional sellers may need to gain the skills to communicate the value proposition of application solutions effectively. In addition, adding specialists generates more significant opportunities for expanding the footprint within existing accounts, providing customer “stickiness” while driving incremental margins.
Rise of e-commerce: All customer tiers are now engaging and purchasing daily. As a result, it is now a necessity to ensure quick product ordering and fulfillment.
Deep partner relationships for connected logistics: The demand for connected logistics between manufacturers and distributors is more critical than ever. Distributors must provide the necessary customer purchasing behavior insights and data to help manufacturers develop the offerings and applications buyers desire.
Is your organization developing an innovative customer experience to remain competitive? Alexander Group helps you design job roles, processes and tools that align with your go-to-market model, enhancing partner relationships, sales growth and value-added customer experiences.
How We Help
- Solution selling: Drive commercial team collaboration and accountability.
- Coverage models: Target the right opportunities with the right value by determining your market opportunity and specialty roles.
- Revenue Operations: Invest in Revenue Operations to integrate Marketing, Sales and Service and drive commercial efficiency.
- Sales compensation: Align sales compensation and quota programs to motivate and achieve more aggressive business goals.
- Actionable research & benchmarks: Provide current and relevant data, trends and benchmarks to help guide sales, marketing and operational decisions.
- Opportunity modeling & territory design: Understand your share of wallet at the account or territory level and right size your resources for profitable growth.
Related Insights
Participate in Our Research
Open Opportunities Briefing Offers- Advanced Practices for Commercial Talent Management Manufacturers and distributors achieve revenue and margin outperformance with a lower proportion of above-market pay compared to other industries. Over 60% of leading firms meet monthly to discuss performance with their commercial teams. What are the best practices for developing a talent management strategy that brings a competitive advantage?
- Digital Go-to-Customer Study Discover the industry trends, insights and frameworks on the digital impact on revenue growth, as well as recommendations for increased sales performance and growth in a digital environment.
- Digital Insights Study Digital means changing how companies engage with customers and enable their commercial teams. Determining where and when your customers interact with your products and solutions can impact your organization’s digital maturity and where to guide your investments.
- Manufacturing & Distribution Industry Trends Research: Strategies | Insights | Metrics Digital is altering the way customers interact and purchase your offerings. Integrating sales, marketing and service to provide customer value will differentiate your firm, command a premium and deliver sustainable growth. Compare your business processes and performance metrics to your competition to see if you’re hitting the mark.
- Manufacturing & Distribution Productivity Drivers Rising inflation, supply chain constraints and uncertain demand are just a few economic factors that are impacting commercial models. What drivers are manufacturers and distributors investing in to prioritize customer segments, protect margin, and maintain and grow market share?
- Marketing Insights Study Over 150 marketing executives were interviewed to determine the marketing initiatives being prioritized to maximize customer lifetime value. From marketing roles and resource allocation to marketing mix, channels and spend, get the latest insights on where marketing leaders are investing to advance their organization’s marketing maturity.
- Prioritizing Quality Over Quantity: An Analysis of Marketing Demand Generation Performance Leaders in manufacturing and distribution have increased demand generation investments by over 13%. Marketing now accounts for 33% of functional pipeline development. As marketers look to allocate resources between channels and initiatives to increase conversion rates while navigating costs and tracking ROI, how do you determine the best demand gen investment strategies?
- Redefine Excellence Through Customer Experience From executing a customer experience (CX) vision and strategy, deploying the right resources for customer engagement, setting specific CX goals and measurements, and defining the processes and growth plays that drive retention, the study provides insights and metrics for manufacturers and distributors on leading practices for a successful CX program.
- Revenue Operations Survey Over 200 executives in sales and revenue operations were surveyed across Business Services, Financial Services, Manufacturing and Distribution, MedTech, Health and Wellness, Media and Technology to determine the leading practices of world-class revenue operations organizations.
- Sales Compensation Hot Topics Survey Over 350 sales compensation leaders across seven industries provided insights on key sales comp topics including costs, quota planning and attainment, profitability, AI’s impact on comp, global comp practices, marketing comp practices and client/deliver services comp practices.
Upcoming Manufacturing and Distribution Events
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Talent Development: From Super Seller to Performance Multiplier – Rethinking the Sales Manager Role
WebinarJune 23, 2026 | 2:00 – 2:45 p.m. ET | Virtual
Sales managers are operating in an environment of constant change and increasing pressure, yet when top sellers are promoted into management, the job itself is rarely reset. Managers have new expectations to lead the team, navigate change and impact culture, but time is still spent deal by deal, leaving managers with no time for anything else. The result can be lagging team performance and stalled change adoption, driven not by effort gaps but by a lack of role clarity and talent development. Sales managers need a new way forward and the organizational support behind them to succeed.
What You’ll Learn:
In a guided interview with Alexander Group consultants and through real client examples and Alexander Group insights, you’ll examine how the sales manager role has expanded. We’ll make the business case for refocusing sales managers as one of the highest leverage investments organizations can make. You’ll see how the spearhead sales manager model reframes the role from super seller to performance multiplier, shifting focus from individual deal support to sustained team development and business impact. You’ll leave with specific actions you can take after the webinar to realign roles, expectations and enablement around sales managers.
Why Attend?
You will leave the webinar with:
- A clear, research-backed point of view on how the sales manager role has changed, and how sales managers must lead differently today.
- Concrete actions you can take as a leader or enablement partner, including how to clarify sales manager job priorities, put the right support structures in place, and develop playbooks that reinforce consistent execution.
- Insight-driven guidance you can apply immediately, informed by data, research and real client work to help you better support frontline leadership.
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Tuesday, June 23, 2026
2:00 p.m. – 2:45 p.m. ET -
Virtual
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Sales Compensation Symposium: Virtual
Industry Focus: AllRevolutionize your approach at the #1 event for sales compensation professionals and all executives who care about sales comp. Designed specifically for senior executives, join industry peers and renowned experts to gain exclusive access to cutting-edge research, emerging trends, real-world case studies and proven best practices in governance, design and administration.
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Tuesday, August 11, 2026 –
Tuesday, August 11, 2026 -
Virtual
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Sales Compensation Symposium: Chicago
Industry Focus: AllRevolutionize your approach at the #1 event for sales compensation professionals and all executives who care about sales comp.
Designed specifically for executives in HR, Compensation, Sales and Revenue Operations that want to use sales comp more effectively.Industry Focus: All
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Thursday, August 27, 2026 –
Thursday, August 27, 2026 -
Chicago
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Executive Forum
St. Regis Hotel | Chicago, ILJoin senior sales, marketing, commercial and operations leaders to share stories of transformation, connect 1:1 virtually and take away actionable ideas.
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Wednesday, September 30, 2026 –
Thursday, October 1, 2026 -
St. Regis Hotel | Chicago, IL
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Sales Compensation Symposium
Reserve your spot at Alexander Group’s upcoming Sales Compensation Symposium. Join leading manufacturers and distributors as we discuss the latest strategies and best practices to support your sales reps as you look to set, measure and compensate success.
Practice Leadership
Research & Benchmarks
Get access to the latest go-to-market research and benchmarks to leverage growth drivers for valuation improvement