Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/919877
Distributors should acquaint themselves with the lingo if they expect to gain a competitive advantage, says Greg Banks, Hubert's chief digital officer. He's also a member of the executive team hired to help the 70-year-old company shift its perspective from the outside in and use technology to enhance the customer experience. Last month he was at a chief digital officer's forum in Chicago to talk digital strategy. Below, he pauses for a chat with News & Views about Hubert's efforts to disrupt its own model and why responding to customer demand is no longer enough. (See page 32 to find out what digital tools Bargreen-Ellingson is using in its efforts to become a change agent.) Vision, Strategy…What's the Di erence A Talk with Hubert's VP of Customer Experience N&V: You've had a colorful career in multiple industries, where you've done extensive work in the areas of strategic execution and vision building. Can you talk about that past life, the trends you've witnessed over the years and how those experiences have shaped the work that you're doing at Hubert. Banks: I worked in healthcare for the majority of my career. I've worked in the finance industry, and for one of the big telecommunications companies. That, probably more than anything, was the most influential window into the future. In 2009, 2010, we worked with Samsung on the marketing for the Galaxy. At that time, I saw the need for a lot of the new trends—RFID, near field communication technology. I could see firsthand the world becoming more digitally connected and watched it transform. The stuff we're talking about today seems like it has been around forever. When you see those trends and can evolve them, it gives you a different perspective about the possibilities. We did that as a company and had to go very fast because of the competition. The T-Mobiles, AT&T, they were doing it. Those past experiences lead me to believe that at Hubert there will be other companies that will figure it out quickly and if we're not there, we'll just fall behind. Bargreen-Ellingson and The Hubert Co. have a lot in common. For one, they see themselves as the disruptor, both taking on the mindset of befriending change for the sake of getting out in front of it. For sure, no easy task in the age of Amazon but it helps to have zealots engineering the strategy. Enter next-generation leadership David and Eric Ellingson. They've taken on the challenge for Tacoma, Wash.-based, Bargreen-Ellingson by blending its traditional high-touch model with incremental leaps toward a souped- up omnichannel platform, while Hubert's leadership team has focused its efforts on the customer journey, job-to-be-done and B to anyone. Guiding Evolutionary Channel Change TWO OF THE INDUSTRY'S LEADING DISTRIBUTORS TALK STRATEGY By Stacy Ward, Editor in Chief stacy@feda.com "The opportunity that many companies have, including Hubert, has been the need to convert from an analog mentality to a digital mentality." — Greg Banks, Hubert's Vice President of Customer Experience Greg Banks Vision, Strategy…What's the Di erence A Talk with Hubert's VP of Customer Experience N&V: You've had a colorful career in multiple industries, where you've done extensive work in the areas of strategic execution and vision building. Can you talk about that past life, the trends you've witnessed over the years and how those experiences have shaped the work that you're doing at Hubert. Banks: I worked in healthcare for the majority of my career. I've worked in the finance industry, and for one of the big telecommunications companies. That, probably more than anything, was the most influential window into the future. In 2009, 2010, we worked with Samsung on the marketing for the Galaxy. At that time, I saw the need for a lot of the new trends—RFID, near field communication technology. I could see firsthand the world becoming more digitally connected and watched it transform. The stuff we're talking about today seems like it has been around forever. When you see those trends and can evolve them, it gives you a different perspective about the possibilities. We did that as a company and had to go very fast because of the competition. The T-Mobiles, AT&T, they were doing it. Those past experiences lead me to believe that at Hubert there will be other companies that will figure it out quickly and if we're not there, we'll just fall behind. up omnichannel platform, while Hubert's leadership team has focused its efforts on the customer journey, job-to-be-done and B to anyone. Greg Banks 26 FEDA News & Views