Business to Business Best All-Round Business or Brand with Annual Sales of £10 million+ Sponsored by
Ironmongery Direct
in any architectural project. Therefore, a company serving this sector must be prepared to meet tight budget and time constraints if it wants to secure repeat business—something the ECMOD judges found Ironmongery Direct to excel at.
B Catalogue
In 2010, Ironmongery Direct achieved its sixth year of consecutive growth, with turnover up 25 percent to £12.5 million. The company, which supplies to tradesmen in the construction industry via a catalogue and website, also saw pretax profit double to £1 million during the year, despite a general decline in construction activity.
What the judges said “Ironmongery Direct don’t do the basics very well—they do them unbelievably well. Their next-day delivery rate is phenomenal and sets the precedent for a superb all-round customer service experience.” Murray Kenneth
In their own words... “Everything we do, all the parts of the business coming together, shone through in this award.” Stuart Wilson
The business’s growth during the past year can be attributed to knowing its products, knowing its market, and most of all, knowing its customers. For example, in 2010 it employed a new product management team to support product
uying ironmongery products and fixings can be a complicated procedure that is often the last job
growth strategy from 11,500 lines to 20,000 within the next five years. It also further strengthened its promise of next- day delivery for goods ordered before 7.30 pm by installing MetaPack’s multicarrier system to improve the efficiency of its order fulfilment.
Another crucial aspect is ensuring customers have access to expert advice— either via technical documents that can be downloaded from the website, or through talking to a knowledgeable customer service agent on the phone. Ironmongery Direct also understands the importance of recruiting and retaining the right type of customers—those that keep coming back and who recommend the company to others. To secure future orders, it employs intelligent data analysis to segment its customer database, which in turn improves the relevancy of its targeted offers. It also asks for customer feedback to help it improve its services and ensure it always delivers on all its promises.
Ironmongery Direct’s pearl of wisdom for 2011 “Have clear objectives and a clear strategy - know who you are and who your customers are.”
Pictured (l-r): Dermot Murnaghan, Stuart Wilson, Jenna Starr, Emilie Carson (more2), Wayne Lysaght-Mason
ecmod DIRECT COMMERCE YEAR BOOK 2011 29
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