Mémoire-projet

Abstract

In B2B markets, customer heterogeneity and limited commercial resources make prioritization a key managerial challenge. This thesis examines this issue in the context of Trendy Foods, a Belgian B2B wholesaler distributing more than 20,000 food and non-food references. Although the company has offered a bakery-sandwich category for more than six years, sales remain modest, partly due to difficulties in identifying and targeting the most relevant points of sale. The research question asks how a B2B distributor can segment and prioritize points of sale for a specific product category, using a scoring model based on the Ideal Customer Profile, in order to optimize the allocation of commercial resources. The theoretical framework draws on B2B segmentation, the Ideal Customer Profile, lead scoring, and the organizational conditions required for implementation. A mixed-methods approach was adopted, combining a quantitative descriptive study conducted among 124 points of sale in Wallonia and eight semi-structured interviews with seven sales representatives and one field sales manager. The findings show that commercial potential is multidimensional. It depends on intrinsic factors, such as the breadth and intensity of the client's bakery-sandwich activity, as well as on commercial accessibility, including the supplier environment, awareness of the Trendy Foods offer, and openness to change. Nearly half of the respondents expressed conditional openness to switching suppliers. The qualitative study also revealed a gap between the manager's structured view of customer potential and the more implicit prioritization practices of sales representatives. Based on these results, the thesis proposes an Ideal Customer Profile and a weighted multi-criteria scoring grid built around five empirical criteria. The 100-point score classifies clients into three priority levels. This tool aims to support resource allocation without replacing sales representatives' professional judgement. However, its weighting has not been statistically validated and should be tested, updated, and adapted through field use.