COMMENT AND OPINION | Paul Crow
The Ripples MD reflects how the coronavirus situation has been an opportunity for retailers to re-evaluate how they run their businesses
UNITED we stand
noticeable T
he best thing to have come out of the Covid situation has been a significantly unity
across the
industry that has played out as much on LinkedIn as it has in the personal communication I have had with many.
The valuable podcasts, such as those hosted by kbbreview’s own Andrew Davies, have removed that sense of business isolation that one can suffer at these times and the broad scope of guests has been educational. Usually,
in such circumstances,
management sit around a table and re-examine. Why do we deal with certain customers? Which customers do we want? Why do we sell that product? And do we actually need to do things this way? A less-asked question is – why do our customers buy from us? When you actually ask your customers, it tends to throw up a few surprises. Whether you supply retailers, or are a retailer yourself, knowing why people buy from you helps you formulate a strategy that will determine who you employ, your training material, what you say and ultimately most decisions you make. As these questions are routinely discussed, I expect to see more changes happening within the bathroom industry. All suppliers want to deliver more products with every delivery to a customer and if you are a retailer with many brands, there is a good chance you might fall down the gap and be left behind. It’s better to be making these decisions yourself before they are made for you. I hope that suppliers, rather than cutting back on their investment
in customer support, will instead review where their money is spent. I would expect and hope to see a significant reduction in the amount of printed material that is produced in favour of improved web pages – both consumer-facing and trade. Not many do both well and not all are investing in industry-leading software like EQ. With most companies closed more hours than they are open, information must be available at any time.
I have been politely challenging MDs at our suppliers to ask their wives what they think of their own company’s website or Instagram. I asked this because, statistically, it is females over the age of 40 that Ripples targets and attracts, and I think many suppliers could serve that demographic better. I am sensing this is now higher on the agenda for some.
Getting customers to make appointments to visit us is working well and it’s certainly helping identify who is serious and who is not. But I think we need to be careful we don’t filter our customer base too much, as I’ve never liked ‘ring the doorbell’-type premises. It’s bad enough we are scaring people off with Covid safety messages. Market traders don’t have this luxury – instead they smile and
12 engage with their customers more.
We must never forget to do the same. The impact on commercial property prices will be good news for those with a rent review coming up and even better news for anyone looking to open their own bathroom or kitchen showroom. With lots of talented people potentially looking for new employment, landlords offering six months rent-free and rents lower than they have been for years, I would expect a significant boom. The start-up costs are always much lower than people think and obviously we know a bit about this because of our franchise offer. Stamp duty changes were long overdue and estate agents I have spoken to are
incredibly busy, which bodes well as the impact trickles up the property price chain. This should ensure everyone gets a good autumn trade figure, so long as consumers know you are there. We know that consumers get significantly better value for money buying from an independent retailer. But I’m not sure they know this until they actually make that first visit. If that retailer is able to work with supply partners that help them find and support those customers, in a profitable way, then life can get better. And that is the key. Because if you are a supplier that fundamentally doesn’t really care how much profit is, or isn’t, made when a retailers sells your product, your loyalty card will be very short on stamps.
Ultimately, now more than ever, there are choices. Who suppliers want to trade with, who retailers want to buy from, what type of business you want to be and how you can ensure the end customer invests in you. Make the right choices and life will be good. My final word will go to the suppliers, as all the ones we trade with have been good. They haven’t had it easy as, let’s face it, in many cases they weren’t paid, they were publicly criticised about stock levels and then they got pilloried for their sales team being placed on furlough. We need them to be profitable and we also need them to be there for us tomorrow, so I thank them publicly for their support.
If you are a supplier that doesn’t really care how much profit a retailer makes, your loyalty card will be very short on stamps
· September 2020
OPINION PAUL CROW
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