MERCHANT FOCUS: CMO STORES


of the CMO customer base, as are those householders who are confident about project managing their projects and for whom sourcing the materials is a big part of that.” The company does, however, also have a trade offer via its Trade website, CMOtrade. co.uk and a specialist trade team who Packer says invests “as long as it takes” to make sure a tradesperson is comfortable dealing with the company and is getting the attention they need. The Covid pandemic affected the company as much as it did everyone else, although Packer says that, being based online anyway, they did have a head-start.


“Luckily, we have a detailed disaster recovery plan, so by close of play on 16th March, we had sent all our vulnerable people home and they were up and running, working from home the following day. We redistributed laptops and changed phone configurations to make this possible, but probably didn’t lose more than a few hours of service from any one person, and to the customer it was seamless. “Following that, we sent home those who lived with vulnerable people and we isolated entry into the warehouse. Then, the following week, we had an orderly exit of all remaining staff. The only real issue we had was sourcing enough laptops.


Packer says that the company was already working on gearing up its experience for users before the pandemic hit. “We realised that our online user experience could do with an overhaul as could our organic search - the work that we do to ensure we appear at the top of a Google or Bing search. This is not easy, and with 75,000 products, all of which we need to show to potential customers, it’s a big job. Thanks to all the efforts we put in, Google rewarded us with really great online visibility of our products and stores. This meant that when online traffic increased over the lockdown period, we were able to capture a really good proportion of it.”


Packer believes that avoiding the temptation to panic at the beginning of lockdown, and being determined not to take advantage of the furlough scheme, meant that the company were also helping to keep many suppliers trading over the period when they would otherwise have closed. “The huge amount of trade we put through our suppliers during these difficult times has also made them realise the importance of having a true multi-channel business and turned the dial somewhat on what has, at times, been an e-Commerce resistant industry,” she says.


Digital platform


The pandemic has also meant that more traditional bricks and mortar merchants have also grasped the importance of a strong digital and online sales platform, which Packers says is a good thing as it will push CMO to keep on its toes. ”We have a close team that’s determined to stay ahead of the game and we are making sure we really understand our customers. We’re also investing in our new Help & Advice portal to support customer projects and are working on ways to make ourselves more visible to the customer at the start of his/her project so we can offer support throughout. That’s undoubtedly a challenge, but we’ll get there.”


One of the things that the industry’s response


to the covid-19 pandemic has been the realisation that while strong relationships with customers and suppliers has never been more important, those relationships don’t have to be face-to-face and in-person all of the time. Packers says: “I think COVID has taught us that strong relationships do not necessarily require face-to-face customer service. For a phone call or a transaction to turn into a relationship, it requires a commitment to understanding what the other party is trying to achieve and a promise to deliver it to the best of one’s ability. That’s just as true via a call centre as it is at the trade counter. Basically, for the customer to know that they matter, and our customers do. Our repeat business is on the rise. Which means we must be doing something right.”


Looking forward, Packer says that the company is looking to fill-in a few gaps in the product portfolio. “We will also be needing more warehouse space soon, both to support our growth and to alleviate some of the problems faced by our suppliers who have their own supply chain problems. I can’t imagine these improving with Brexit so we’re going to need the flexibility to order more in. And finally, we have a few longer-term ideas for improving customer experience. It’s all very exciting.” BMJ


December 2020 www.buildersmerchantsjournal.net


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