BUSINESS INSIGHT


MY YEAR I


n September 2017 I


stepped into crowded office in


Paris, with desks in


every possible location and with a


bustling team of happy and smiling young people…the place had energy! ‘So, this is ManoMano’, I thought to myself. In my first meeting I spent some time with the co-founder, Christian Raisson, and I was immediately impressed with what he had to say about why he started the business, the incredible growth they were experiencing, and the ambitious goals he wanted to achieve. After some quick discussions – his business does not hang about that is for sure – I was offered the opportunity to build the UK sourcing team and give a boost to the UK business, acquiring sellers through my extensive network for the following few months. Those few months turned into


more than a year... and now here we are. It has gone so quickly, it is unbelievable. They say ‘love what you are doing and you will never work another day in your life’, and I have loved working with the ManoMano team this past year. Let me tell you why…


What is the business all about? I am a great believer that businesses need to be clear on why they exist, Simon Sinek describes it very well in his Golden Circles, which invites businesses to define their Why?, How?,


and What? These give


meaning to why a business exists and the values that they stand for. For ManoMano, its ‘why?’ is deeply rooted in the co-founders Christian and Philippe’s personal goals. After completing some major DIY projects themselves they realised how little advice and information there was available to people, and they wanted to improve this. Secondly they had worked in poor working cultures, so they wanted to create a fantastic team with great values working in an environment to be proud of…and to support


8 DIY WEEK 14 DECEMBER 2018 a


MANOMANO WITH


Retail consultant Clive Daley talks about the year he spent working with European DIY marketplace ManoMano and offers retailers tips on how to drive innovation and change within their own business.


this goal they adopted the values ‘Boldness, Ingenuity and Caring’, which now guide the business in all its actions and communications. This business is extremely consumer focused; one of the best examples I have ever seen. You can feel this in ‘how?’ it does business and ‘what?’ it delivers. I devised a one-minute pitch with the team to use when speaking to potential sellers about ManoMano, and I really feel this captures and defines the model well.


The pitch: ManoMano is a dedicated marketplace for home improvement and garden products across Europe. It currently operates in France, Spain, Italy, Belgium, Germany and the UK. The business has a large team of tech experts who use the best techniques in digital acquisition and marketing… I like to think of them as


a super-powerful acquisition engine! The strategy is simple, • Advice – Offering consumers great


advice through live chat,


online guides and videos to ensure consumers have the confidence to complete their home improvement and garden projects • Choice – A great selection of product that has authority with great sellers selected. ManoMano believes in a personal business relationship and to work in partnership and specifically hand picks sellers • Value – Strong content is essential, so that consumers make the right purchase and buy all they need to complete their project…making it an value added purchase This platform is a hassle-free and


profitable sales channel offering the opportunity to sellers to have cross boarder sales, providing they have the capability and product offer,


which can give a boost to their sales and profit especially in this time of currency fluctuation. The retail market is rapidly evolving and the “market place” model is a key player in this change. It has the ability to reach a wide audience at speed, gain valuable insight on how consumers behave and therefore can allow businesses to react to change quickly.


Tip: “Make sure your business can clearly define the Why?, How? and What? you do. This will ensure your teams are clear on your offer and will, therefore, communicate it well to the businesses they interact with, and to your customers. If your teams are clear about why you exist and believe in what they say about you and do, their passion for your business will flow freely. People don’t buy what you do; they buy why you do it”


www.diyweek.net


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