VIEWPOINT


DIGITAL SOLUTIONS BUILD STRONG RELATIONSHIPS


Neil Sheldon, co-founder and chief operating officer at The Build Chain, discusses how merchant businesses can use online platforms to retain existing customers and strengthen loyalty.


SECURING CUSTOMER LOYALTY and repeat custom will be crucial for weathering the storm of a turbulent 2023. Meeting the needs of contractors that are undoubtedly going to face similar pressures, means we’re all going to have to assess current ways of working and seek opportunities to remain profitable.


Remaining competitive on cost and service is becoming increasingly difficult. With team resources also under pressure, merchants must react quickly and be informed to secure orders and ensure profitability. Adopting digital platforms, that will attract new audiences and boost the service provided to existing customers, is one effective way to do this. Essentially, our online


procurement platform connects contractors nationally to merchants locally, something that is far more complex and difficult to achieve through non-digital methods. We recognised that procurement was an area where efficiencies could easily be improved upon by embracing digitalisation. Our vision was to bring procurement into the modern digital world, ironing out long- standing inefficiencies to offer a streamlined, intuitive, and collaborative matching process that reduces risk and saves time and money on both sides. The platform allows contractors to drive enquiries online – filtering by stock and location. Likewise, merchants only receive enquiries that are suitable for them and their business needs. It’s important to recognise too, that for the new generation of up- and-coming contractors, having digital means of procurement is the only way they will know how to work, and they will expect merchants to offer these services.


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Merchants that meet this need are well placed to secure their loyalty early on and will likely lead to repeat business.


An online platform becomes a centralised resource that can be decentralised as needed. In simple terms this means that estimates can come from local teams with regional knowledge, or allocated to team members with dedicated time, speeding up response rates and improving chances of winning work. Online platforms like ours store all transactions, correspondence, and interactions, which can be viewed with just a few clicks, meaning no more instances of forgotten details on previous agreements or products sold. A pipeline of quote requests creates a comprehensive pool of new business from a range of larger, mid-size, and small contractors with the ability to discuss the details in a live chat to further nurture better relationships, more sales, and stronger business propositions in the long-term.


Direct payments The merchant can also invoice and take payment from contractors directly when using our platform. This means there is no disruption to their current ways of working, removing the risk of commission fees or third-party involvement in the payment process.


This effectively creates a level playing field putting smaller independent merchants at the same level as larger, nationwide suppliers. With the ability to also recommend the material or hire solution, all merchants can suggest alternatives or own-brand products, offer discounts or preferred terms, giving them the same advantages online as they would on the trade counter. For merchants, implementing a digital sales channel can also


help to support with long-term relationship building too. For example, an onboarding process allows for special attributes to be added to certain businesses that identifies them as having supplied materials to them before. This is then continued to the point where in the list of available enquiries to answer, your past partners are labelled and shown to you first.


An online presence can also support with brand recognition and customer ownership, providing merchants with the opportunity to upload their logos, information about their locations or business details alongside the quotation.


When evaluating business performance, data is invaluable to merchants with a local branch network. By providing access to this data, merchants can view enquiries by location and therefore better understand material and hire demands. This has the potential to inform and transform the stock profile of a local branch, tailoring it to what the branch manager already knows customers in the area are asking for allowing for no disconnect between them and the system. This will become


more relevant, and branches will potentially need to change stock profiles quickly as material shortages look likely to continue. Online platforms are the best way to navigate this, not only improving communication with customers but allowing greater support by potentially splitting orders or allowing discussion of alternatives.


It is understandable that not all merchants can invest in the very expensive process of creating their own online presence to encourage enquiries or to ensure estimates are answered efficiently. However, online platforms such as The Build Chain are an affordable solution, with the added benefit of support from a team who fully understand the industry. Merchants must embrace change to both retain and welcome new business ahead of economic uncertainty. Introducing digital methods of material procurement and equipment hire delivers convenience, efficiency, and transparency to the benefit of both the merchant and contractors. With “ready-made” options already out there and available, merchants should act now and seize those opportunities that are ripe for the taking. BMJ


www.buildersmerchantsjournal.net January 2023


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