Crutchfield Means Business in Corporate Sales

Why would a leading retailer of home and car electronics set up a separate division for corporate sales? The division grew out of requests coming from the company’s consumer customers and now provides a dedicated team for the incentive, rewards, and recognition business (IRR) as well as corporate, government and educational use. 

 

True to its commitment to customer service, Crutchfield discovered early on that many of its customers also were business owners or people working for government agencies who had a need for its full array of home, automobile, or marine audio and related products for their incentive programs, offices, restaurants, or other institutions, such as churches, schools, or government. 

 

Founded 48 years ago, Crutchfield is a leading direct retailer of car and home stereos and speakers; televisions and video; headphones; wireless and marine audio. 

 

Explains Will Crutchfield, Senior Director, Business and Retail Sales, “Our customer base is very broad.  Although many of our business customers are premium, incentive, and promotion focused, we work with everything from small businesses to the federal government. We even have a dedicated team of commercial audio/video designers who outfit restaurants, retail stores, churches, and more with audio/ video products specifically curated for their unique needs.” 

 

Crutchfield says the company performed well during the pandemic, and that its business-to-business division grew, including its IRR business. Asked whether he feels his company as a retailer fared better in the supply chain crisis than incentive wholesalers, he responds, “I cannot say that we have any advantages over anyone else, but I can say that overall, we fared well due to the strong relationships we have with our vendors. We live by the Golden Rule. We treat others the way we want to be treated.  I believe this has a positive impact on our customers, colleagues, and vendors.” He says the company has maintained high levels of inventory, has consistently met its shipping standards, and “our warehouses remained fully operational. Many customers were surprised at the high level of service have been able to maintain.” 

 

At the very top of the Crutchfield.com is a link to a section specifically for the business market. On that page, businesses can submit a request for a business account online. “Once vetted, each member of the organization will receive their own login to our business website to access the organization’s quotes, order history, stock levels, and current pricing. Members can generate quotes and check out online. Or, they can always call, e-mail or chat with their account manager. Each account works with a dedicated account manager,” he explains.

 

When Crutchfield’s business customers do not see the business-to-business link and they contact the main call center, “Our advisors are well trained in not only the products themselves, but accurately qualifying the customer to ensure they receive the right recommendation.  When an Advisor learns that the request is for business use, the customer is warm-transferred to an Account Manager within the business department.” Each advisor at Crutchfield receives 400 hours of paid training before they talk to a single live customer, which includes a specific training on corporate sales.

 

To service its business customers, the company offers “in-house full-color customization of higher end products, which has become very popular over the past few years. Employers are seeking quality gifts that their colleagues will not only use but enjoy. We can offer inserts or other special branding options on a case-by-case basis. We are seeing increased interest in customization--mostly corporate or division logos. Corporations are looking to reward employees,” says Crutchfield. “Most of the customization is on the item itself, but we can also handle customized inserts.” The company does all its imprinting inhouse, as well as fulfillment, he says, and all items are drop-shipped to recipients. 

 

Crutchfield says that the company has not faced a “Great Resignation.” He explains, “Thankfully, we have continued to hire throughout Covid. We’re grateful to have been ranked one of the top places to work in Virginia many times over the past decade or so. We have not experienced the horror stories that we have heard on the news.  From the beginning, we’ve treated our customers, colleagues and vendors with the upmost respect, and plan to continue doing so for the next 48 years.”   

 

For More Information 

Will Crutchfield 

business.crutchfield.com 

Tel. 434-218-6095 

williamc@crutchfield.com