When it comes to maximising sales, Peter Wilson, Brand Manager for Setcrete, explains why merchant and customer support can be equally as important as the quality of the products themselves.
When builders pick up a bag of floor levelling compound, they’re buying a lot more than the actual powder itself. Naturally, you would expect the product to perform to a given standard, but you should also expect help and advice to be readily and proactively available to make sure that customers get the best results from their purchases.
This is particularly the case on RMI projects, which can present a variation of subfloor types from sand/cements screeds, concrete or wood to ceramic or quarry tiles and even asphalt.
Often site conditions are far from ‘perfect’ and sometimes a subfloor needs additional preparation before a levelling compound is applied. In addition, some subfloors (for example plywood or floors exposed or semi-exposed to the external environment) will require specialist levelling compounds to ensure the integrity of a flooring installation isn’t compromised.
Builders’ delight
From a merchant’s perspective, you want builders to be delighted with their purchases, so they come back and order more. If a job goes wrong, for whatever reason, the builder will likely blame the product, rather than look at what they may have done wrong themselves — including using the wrong type of product.
Product manufacturers need to help merchants by doing everything they can to make sure it doesn’t happen and, indeed, help to promote the benefits of alternative, premium products that are advantageous to both merchants and builders.
Manufacturers need to help boost product sales in-store by attracting builders to their product and guiding them through the purchasing process, especially if the product is newly launched or has just been listed by a merchant.
Naturally, product literature and selector charts will provide builders with the detailed information they need, but for a busy tradesperson, helping to simplify product identification and selection in store using simple and clear, eye-catching product packaging with high visibility, point-of-sale displays and pallet wraps makes the task easier and quicker.
Demonstration days
“Time and again, trade days have demonstrated that they can deliver a kick start to product sales, and are also a valued support for new merchant stockists of a product range.”
For new product launches or to get across important technical information, trade demonstration days at merchant branches offer the perfect promotional opportunity, especially if they are tied into special offers to buy the product.
Time and again, trade days have demonstrated that they can deliver a kick start to product sales, and are also a valued support for new merchant stockists of a product range.
For many projects, builders will have ‘go to’ floor levelling compounds that they use and which work well for them. But in some cases, especially many RMI jobs, specialist compounds may be needed or offer additional benefits to the builder. For example, when preparing plywood subfloors, which can be flex slightly when walked on, it is essential to use a high performance levelling compound that can accommodate such movement without compromising it’s integrity.
If an old floorcovering has been removed from a subfloor, often remnants of old adhesive are left stuck to the subfloor. If a conventional levelling compound is being used, this old adhesive residue needs to first be removed to avoid potential failure of a new flooring installation.
This adds a further process to the job and added cost. Alternatively, specialist levelling compounds are available that are designed to work over old adhesive residues. In addition, in such situations the subfloor does not require priming beforehand offering a further bonus to the builder.
Upselling benefits
For merchant branch staff to be able to advise builders of these and other options, technical training undertaken by the manufacturer is crucial. Understanding why one product is better than another and why it is able to deliver better results enables merchant staff to confidently advise customers on the best or most appropriate products to use for a job.
Upselling to higher margin products in such situations is often a win-win situation, with the builder benefiting from higher preforming, premium products or actually saving time (and money) by getting the job done more quickly or avoiding the need for usual preparation processes.
In some circumstances, again commonly found in RMI projects, builders will come across a subfloor that is not in a good state or which requires a further level of technical advice. Having technical experts on the end of the phone to provide this advice on issues such as subfloor moisture (the number one reason for floor installation failures) or dealing with contaminated floors will save a tradesperson time and money — and could prevent a total disaster.
For more complicated problems an in-person site visit from a technical advisor, who can provide a detailed specification and product recommendations, offers the ultimate level of support that builds lasting customer loyalty.
Stocking a product range that offers builders the right solutions for their needs that is packaged and displayed in a way that commands attention and simplifies product selection should be a given in a competitive market. Additional support in the form of branch staff, demonstration trade days, and pre- and post-sales technical support, makes the range even more attractive for both the merchant and the builder.
Click here for more information on Setcrete’s range of products and support services.
A version of this article appeared in the February edition of Professional Builders Merchant. Click here to read the full digital issue via the PBM website.
