Self-service portals are increasingly common in the building materials industry. Allowing customers to look up pricing and place their own orders improves efficiency, grows revenue and attracts new business. But there\u2019s one problem with these portals: customers don\u2019t always use them. If you\u2019re struggling to bring customers online, or simply want to improve your numbers, here are three strategies that can help.<\/p>\n
Get everyone on board<\/strong> Offering incentives can increase enthusiasm. When Wurth Wood Group launched their eCommerce site, they took extra steps to motivate their team. \u201cWe ran internal contests that rewarded the sales agents with the most web-buying customers,\u201d said Theresa Liscinsky, IT manager at Wurth.<\/p>\n Improve visibility<\/strong> As with any advertising, you must emphasize the value proposition. Customers need to understand why the portal benefits them. (Hint: \u201cYou\u2019ll call us less\u201d is not a compelling benefit.) Theresa Cole, systems manager of Monsma Marketing Corporation, said, \u201cWe have had a great response to PartnerView by focusing on the many features it offers: access to search inventory, invoices, open orders and pricing. There are images available now, which is an added benefit.\u201d Keep in mind your customers may have different priorities and may only be interested in some of the features you offer. Williams Distributing\u2019s customers use their portal for a variety of reasons. \u201cSome use it for checking item availability and pricing. Others enter their own orders,\u201d said Hartley. \u201cAll customers really appreciate the fact that the system is available 24\/7.\u201d Find out which features your customers value most and promote them accordingly.<\/p>\n Make it familiar<\/strong> It\u2019s crucial your sales and support teams become comfortable with the portal. If they stumble through or can\u2019t answer questions, it will discourage customers from trying it. Allow plenty of time for employee training. It may also help to appoint one person as the \u201cspecialist\u201d who can help with more advanced issues. \u201cWe did dedicate one person to work with each customer, usually on site,\u201d said Hartley. \u201cOur trainer spent 30-60 minutes with each customer, showing them the basics and any additional features that might not have been immediately evident. It has been very successful for us. Within 18 months of rolling out PartnerView, we had 280 registered users representing 139 companies.\u201d<\/p>\n If your customers are slow to use your online resources, don\u2019t worry or second-guess yourself. Promoting your portal is an ongoing process. Continue to market your resources and customers will start to take advantage of them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Self-service portals are increasingly common in the building materials industry. Allowing customers to look up pricing and place their own orders improves efficiency, grows revenue and attracts new business. But there\u2019s one problem with these portals: customers don\u2019t always use them. If you\u2019re struggling to bring customers online, or simply want to improve your numbers, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[97],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3046","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
\nIf employees don\u2019t see the value in your portal, customers will pick up on their lack of enthusiasm. Build support among your team by emphasizing how it benefits them. Explain how it will make their jobs easier by reducing call volume and time-consuming tasks. Williams Distributing uses PartnerView, an eCommerce solution from DMSi Software. \u201cIt has helped our staff tremendously,\u201d said Tim Hartley, vice president of technology. \u201cThey\u2019ve been freed up to spend more time helping in areas beyond simply taking orders and answering questions.\u201d When your team appreciates how the portal can help them, they will willingly promote it to customers.<\/p>\n
\nIf you want customers to use your portal, they need to know you have one. Advertise it like a product: have signs in your showroom and flyers at the front counter. Add a message about it to the bottom of sales docs and delivery tickets. Include a link to the site\u2019s homepage in the signature block of company emails. It may take a few visits before customers are comfortable, so keep encouraging them. Wurth Wood Group continues to promote its portal well after the site\u2019s launch. \u201cTo entice our customers, we have web promotions like discounts, free shipping and giveaways,\u201d said Liscinsky. \u201cOur biggest hit was a helmet autographed by Sam Hornish Jr. and Brad Keselowski. Who knew we had so many racing fans!\u201d<\/p>\n
\nPeople resist the unknown \u2013 it\u2019s just human nature. Making your portal a familiar presence will go a long way towards improving adoption. Liscinsky describes it as \u201cgetting customers out of their comfort zone.\u201d Create a setup where customers can watch employees check available inventory, get pricing, and place an order. Have your outside sales team sign on and look up account information during site visits. The intention isn\u2019t training customers to use the portal as much as letting them see it in action. When customers do express interest, have plenty of training resources ready. Create step-by-step guides, cheat sheets, and how-to videos. Find out if your vendor has materials you can use.<\/p>\n