The observation has been on the table for several years now: the time-honoured vertical model of “manufacturer - distributor - tradesperson” is no more! New distribution models, uberisation of practices, digitalisation of customer journeys: the relationship between the manufacturer and the professional user has evolved considerably towards greater proximity. What if it were now the tradesperson setting the rules of the game? Let's take a closer look.
By becoming a specifier, the tradesperson is shifting the balance of power between manufacturer and distributor.
The temptation of direct sales
It is true that the professional distribution landscape is shifting. Faced with the rise of DIY superstores and pure players (editor's note: manomano, Amazon...), builders' merchants are emerging from several stormy years and a deep questioning of their DNA and purpose. A context that has led some manufacturers to ask themselves legitimate questions: what place should distribution have in my communication plan? What is its real added value? Why not address the tradesperson directly? Without giving in to the — sometimes legitimate — temptation of direct sales, brands are now facing a reality that fundamentally changes their approach to communication and sales activity: yes, tradespeople can themselves act as specifiers with their distributor, but above all with their own customer (editor's note: the private individual or project owner)! At a time when the role of builders' merchants is a sensitive subject, the tradesperson is becoming a highly strategic — and therefore top-priority — audience.
Brand preference
Without "bypassing" the distributor (in-store or digital), manufacturers no longer hesitate to converse directly with construction tradespeople and works contractors. The objective: to get their products substituted in. In competitive markets, it is a clever way of creating genuine brand preference, changing the selling habits of distributors who, until now, controlled how a product was showcased. Today, by addressing construction tradespeople directly — bringing them useful, practical information, sales support tools, good arguments or quite simply the support they need on a daily basis — manufacturers turn them into professionals committed to their brand of choice. A new supply-and-demand relationship that creates opportunities for manufacturers vis-à-vis distributors increasingly reluctant to roll out communication operations deemed invasive in the point of sale (POS displays, for example).
21 February 2020
Paul R.
5minThe tradesperson on the front line
Faced with private customers who are increasingly well informed, notably via the internet (regulations, technical matters, trends...), the tradesperson's word is no longer taken on trust. They must now support, explain, specify and showcase their work in order to reassure their prospect, remove every obstacle and finally hope to turn their quote into an invoice! It is by supporting this new sales dynamic that the manufacturer can play a strategic role! How? By helping them understand better, sell better, install better... To do this, the brand must change its stance: from product supplier, it must become a partner that supports, solves problems and makes daily life easier. Its message evolves accordingly: "products" now become "solutions" with a strong service dimension, joint sales visits become widespread, and local events multiply (roadshows, technical mornings...). Going out to meet tradespeople is no longer about being a pioneer: it is about responding concretely to their changing expectations.
The view of Geoffrey Saugeon, associate director at Convergence
More than ever, combining marketing and communication initiatives aimed at tradespeople is essential. On one hand, maintaining the historic trade marketing mechanics aimed at stock rotation and thus at driving sales through the distributor (games, promotions, competitions...). On the other, strengthening relationship strategies to develop brand preference by enabling the manufacturer to enter into conversation with the tradesperson (clubs, ambassadors, programmes...). The objective: to train, support and make professionals' daily lives easier. By positioning itself as the partner brand, all the lights are green for building loyalty and engaging this audience.
The customer insight challenge
The perfect strategy for the manufacturer would therefore be to energise distributors and installers simultaneously. The loop would be closed and the customer journey locked in! (editor's note: we will discuss the strategic role of the private individual in a future issue). Unfortunately, manufacturers run into a major obstacle: customer insight! Emerging from many years of a very vertical channel, the precious "data" remained the preserve (and the trump card) of builders' merchants — their exclusive property, in short. Seeing tradespeople become ever more autonomous, volatile and connected, few manufacturers had considered building their own "data capital". Yet to address an audience properly, you must know it well. Here is one of the great challenges of the coming years: improving customer insight in order to enter into conversation with construction tradespeople. Shall we talk about it over a coffee?