Concept Not Profit
When dealing with major multi-million dollar stores you get much more due to training and product availability. Home improvement is a huge industry and to be at the top you must adapt to meet the entire needs of the consumer. If you fail to look at all customers as equal then you will lose business and of course money. Most often when people start a do-it yourself project, they know what they are trying to accomplish and what they need to complete it. As a company that supplies the materials and know how, you must be able to be on the same page with the customer and supply them with the information, materials, and guidance to complete their desired project.
In the case of Build-it-stores, they were coming up short in the important areas that their competition were meeting. Home Depot and other big chai stores have taken the DIY market by storm and did it with great products and employees. Home Depot is on the fore front of this huge market. “There's about $175 billion in the do-it-yourself market. There's $110 in installation--labor only--and another $100 billion if you add material to it. There is about $290 billion in the professional small repair and remodel area. There's another couple of hundred billion dollars in the higher-end professional”. (Nardelli, B., Sellers, P., & Schlosser, J. 2004) With a market that big you must implement a great strategy or be left behind.
To meet the demands of the DIY and professional builders, Build-it must develop a customer based program that deals in all areas of this booming business. It is easy to stack some plywood and hang new light fixtures for customers to view; but to really sell your product you must go beyond just moving product. You have to have a plan in place where the customer can see more than just product. They may need guidance or planning before they start a project. It is not easy or safe to do many home improvements and if a customer feels that your employees are just selling and not helping, then there is a problem.
Without the customer there is no business and any service concept is dead. “Robust figures and good marketing alone, however, will not develop relationships with customers. The operation must deliver something of value to ensure loyalty and customer support. Loyal and valuable customers are created by providing a level of service that satisfies or even delights customers”. (Johnston, R., Clark, G. 2008) A customer will spend their money where they feel their needs and demands are being met. In the Build-it stores their needs to be more attention paid to the need of the customer and not just the price of a product. In the DIY area, the customer base is not just the couple adding a spare room; it also includes the professional that knows what they want.
To meet the needs of all customers, Built-it needs to develop dual concepts and put them into action. One concept should be built around the untrained DIY customer. They should have staff trained to deal directly with that type of customer. Implement a program in which those customers are given the training and planning to complete their home projects. The professional builder does not need the ins and outs of the how to do it; that is needed by those that are branching out into unknown areas. Have staff available to take customers through what products needed and have detailed plans for them to view.
The professional builder does not need
