Winner of the Builders’ Merchants Awards for Excellence – Best Builders’ Merchants Website Award in 2009, TBS has invested in developing its technology. However, the key to making it work is the customer, as IT manager James Norden tells Lynn Sencicle from Builders’ Merchant News.
James Norden receives the award for best website from James Murray or Brintex (left) and host John Inverdale (right).
It was coming runner-up in the 2006 Builders’ Merchant Awards for the website category for www.tbsmerchants.co.uk that inspired TBS to develop its technology further.
“It was a real surprise”, said IT manager James Norden. “We had worked to develop the website, but we did not expect to do that well.
“By 2009 though, we had invested so much and worked so hard, we were quietly confident. Winning in 2009 was confirmation that it was all worth it.”
The website is designed to make the company more accessible to its customers, and alongside improved product pitches, offers added value such as COSHH information and the ability to log on and get their personalised pricing.
But the trade sector is notoriously reluctant to embrace new technologies.
“The uptake was initially slow,” Mr Norden acknowledges. “People are learning and we now have 200 accounts. As the younger, more technologically aware generations are coming through, we’re well secured for the future.”
The website does not stand alone, and forms just one part of a much bigger agenda.“Obvious though it sounds, the customer is the most important element and businesses often forget that, or assume they know what the customer wants,” Mr Norden says.
A dedicated plumber's counter was the result of customer feedback
The company’s two customer service objectives are to do what it says its going to do, and to stay friendly and personal.
TBS asked its customers what they would like and has used the results to shape its development. People who know exactly what they want don’t want to wait for someone who takes up a lot of trade counter time, for example. This has resulted in the development of a dedicated plumber’s counter.
A friendly and knowledgeable face or voice is equally as important as an efficient machine that lets people order products and manage their accounts.
“Allowing people to build and place an order at their leisure using the information at their fingertips makes life much easier for trade counter staff,” he explains, “but a short phone call confirming the order maintains that personal contact.”
Texting is also a key tool – especially for those seeking fast answers from the worksite. “Builders often text us for a price or availability, and we reply to them,” he relates. “Or, if we are unable to get through to them on the phone, we send them a text message. It’s a very good system that’s been working well for the last couple of years.”
Stock can be checked while on the phone.
Practical service elements also include things like mobile technology so that staff can roam the store for a customer that telephones in.
The personal touch is carried through elsewhere, with Twitter and blogging on the website helping to create a small community.
The achievement of the website award has been used to raise the profile of the company on its newsletter and blogs, And, with the small community mentality, the value of word-of-mouth advertising must not be under-estimated.
With so much already in place, and the imminent opening of a new branch, the company is keen not to rest on its laurels, and there are more developments to look forward to in future.
Reproduced from the May 2010 edition of Builders’ Merchant News
