Online strategy of Building Distribution brands

Innovative tools to assist customers

Innovative services underscore the added valued provided each day by the men and women who work for the Building Distribution Sector. Because it is attuned to its customers’ emerging needs, the Building Distribution Sector has continued to develop its online strategy based on a four-pronged approach. Backed by its community of experts, it provides solutions geared to solving to customers’ problems and preempts new modes of consumption. 

The first approach involves enriching the content available on the brands’ websites with the support of partner suppliers. The aim is to make customers’ day-to-day easier by providing them with instant, clear and reliable information about the products (photographs and videos, detailed data sheets, assembly and installation guides, product prices, stock availability, etc.). The goal here is to provide the same level of information in sales outlets and online.

The second approach deals with ensuring that orders can be placed online 24/7. With the Click and Collect system, customers can collect their orders directly at a sales outlet or arrange for worksite delivery to save time. They can log onto the E-commerce site to check details about their account, track orders, view quotations, etc.

Additionally, the Sector provides numerous services on the Internet, mobile apps in particular. Prior to making a purchase, customers can use worksite simulators, for example, to get a detailed and costed comparison of different solutions; and then track their orders once they have been placed. All these services are designed to improve the customer experience and build their loyalty. 

To take things a step further, the brands also provide “administration” software to facilitate management of their companies and provide marketing advice with a view to improving how they promote their respective business. Moreover, by providing the salespeople with digital tools, the Sector brands are able to ensure that their professional customers receive more detailed advice. 

All the digital tools and services developed by the Sector focus on improving the customers’ understanding, meeting their current needs and anticipating their future requirements. As a result, the Sector records 80 million visits a year across all its websites. The Sector brands analyze customers’ purchasing and visit behavior and collect data that is fed into its Big Data system which is then mined to become Smart Data. This in turn is used to provide customers with personalized offers and services, targeted emails, for example. 

Several examples of initiatives

Dahl Denmark customer deliveries in one hour

Dahl recently introduced its “Kvik Levering” (quick delivery) service that provides delivery in under one hour in most regions of Denmark. Orders can be placed by phone or using the Dahl mobile app, which has been improved with the addition of new functions (such as selection of delivery mode and a packaging option) to make the purchasing process even faster and easier for customers. 

POINT.P and its digital tools

In France, POINT.P Matériaux de Construction provides its building professional customers with online services that simplify their day-to-day work and improve the performance of their business. For example, the brand has introduced Pack Avantages Pro with around 10 innovative services for building professionals, including:  

• Solu +, the first worksite configurator developed specifically for professionals to select products and then get a detailed report in just a few clicks. They can then easily place their orders and arrange for worksite delivery or pickup in a sale outlet. 
• Cap Renov +, a worksite simulator that immediately assesses their impact on energy efficiency. In just a few minutes, the professional can compile a thermal balance for a dwelling and calculate the corresponding tax and other financial incentives, which he can then submit to his end client.  
• Business +, a service that connects building professionals with homeowners with a renovation project. This tool helps professionals find new clients and upcoming work, which then improves their turnover. 
• Showroom de la déco, a free and open access tool that makes selecting floor and wall coverings easier. The user first selects the type of project (office, bedroom, bathroom or living room), and then clicks on an image that best resembles his own interior to test the various coverings available. 
• RÉNOPRIM +, a new service available in Pack Avantages Pro providing access to “Energy Saving Certificate” financial incentives issued for energy renovation work. With this tool, professionals can offer their homeowner clients finance at very attractive rates.

POINT.P Matériaux de Construction also provides a new version of its mobile app. Practical and easy to use, it has been redesigned and new functions have been added. Customers can now log onto their own personal space to locate products available in their local sales outlet, track their current orders (products and status) and outstanding quotations. The app can also locate the nearest  sales outlets and provide information about product availability in each. All the brand’s catalogues are also available online in interactive versions.

MinOptimera, a new tool making life easier

Optimera in Norway has introduced MinOptimera, a website with direct access to its brand for its own and the Montér brand’s customers. This tool, available for PCs, smartphones and tablets, provides customers with easy access to product documentation, invoicing, sales estimates and even orders.

Virtual interiors at Lapeyre

In order to meet its customers’ needs as best possible, Lapeyre has developed a new sales-aid tool called Lapeyre 3D. In just a few clicks, sales assistants are able to put together a customer’s interior finishing project and display it immediately in 3D.

Also available on the lapeyre.fr website, this tool allows customers to create their own project before collecting it at their nearest sales outlet. Lapeyre 3D has been extended to include several of the brand’s other product segments.

Lapeyre has also developed a facade simulator for customers to select their exterior doors, windows and joinery by showing these products on a facade photo and displaying them in virtual mode on their own home. This is a unique tool of its kind.

Saint-Gobain Recherche developed Vizea for Lapeyre, a sales-aid app for interior stairs. This simple and intuitive augmented reality tool is used to select a stair from Lapeyre’s entire range, personalize it and then display the result. 

Brødrene Dahl launches omni-channel experience with the iBeacons technology

In Denmark, Brødrene Dahl is experimenting the use of iBeacons, a geolocation beacon that works like a WiFi hotspot, on its mobile app and in one of its Copenhagen stores. This technology generates traffic between bricks-and-mortar outlets and e-stores, websites and mobiles, etc.

Dahl has created this solution together with two suppliers, Grundfos and Danfoss: all products showcased in these suppliers' shop-in-shop corners have a Bluetooth nearable sticker attached. When a customer passes near a product, the app records products which may interest the customer and automatically sends targeted information to his or her mobile, such as videos, technical advices about products, etc. This technology is helping Brødrene Dahl improve the customer experience in its outlets.

Jewson launches “Click-to-Chat”

In the United Kingdom, the Jewson brand’s Jewson Tools Direct website (available on smartphones and tablets) allows customers to explore a range of tools, decoration and gardening products. The latest innovation from Jewson Tools Direct is “Click-to-Chat.” This innovative service is designed to convert visitors into buyers by providing them with online assistance and answers to all their questions about the products they are looking at on the website. 

In addition to this new service, Jewson Tools Direct also provides customers with access to many other functions, such as the “Click & Collect” free delivery service and the account management service available 24/7, which has proven very popular with customers. It allows them to review their past orders, update their details, check their account balance and download documentation whenever they want.

Tadmar, Workshop For Plumber, new on Facebook

Tadmar in Poland launched a fan page on Facebook called “Workshop For Plumber," which is thematically linked to Tadmar existing expert’s blog. This blog is a package of knowledge for installers. On the fan page the brand publishes all the key information for plumbers and their business, such as trends and market information, practical advice for installers, information from suppliers, etc.

K PAR K in the mobile way

In France, the K PAR K brand has also created a smartphone and tablet version of its website. The mobile version provides smoother navigation and encourages customers to request a quotation or telephone contact. It also provides key information from the website, in particular special offers and the product catalogue. K PAR K has also introduced three new apps to provide additional support for customers embarking on a new project: K PAR K Portails (gates); K PAR K Vision; K PAR K Vitrage (glazing). These sales-aid tools enable customers to visualize their project and the salesperson to advise them. K PAR K Portails enables the customer to test and display the “Gate” product range as a 3D reconstruction in a “real” context. K PAR K Vision allows customers to view the interior and exterior effect of glazing on visibility. The K PAR K Vitrage app answers various customer questions about products and applications (acoustic, thermal and security performance, and potential energy savings).