5 minute read
tech help
from BPD - June 2022
How to support your trade customers through technology
As we near the midpoint of 2022, the trade community continues to grapple with the same challenges they were facing in 2021, such as supply chain delays, inflation and labor shortages. At the same time, new construction and the home improvement space continues to boom, so demand is higher than ever for builders, general contractors, and sub-contractors.
With this storm of disruption and demand, tradespeople need a community of trusted suppliers now more than ever for securing all the products they need to complete projects on schedule. To help the trade community better navigate this disruption and have a strong 2022, lumber and building material businesses need to make sure they are prioritizing the right tech investments and meeting this audience on their preferred platforms.
E-commerce
The pandemic accelerated the adoption of all things digital, and that includes e-commerce. Customers now expect businesses of all sizes to have a professional web presence. As a result of these changing expectations, online shopping for delivery or in-store pickup options are emerging as the gold standard across lumber and building materials businesses.
In addition, having an online site lets potential customers research and purchase items at their convenience. For industries such as lumber and building materials where contractors must work around unpredictable schedules, online selling options provide a convenient experience that they can rely on. For LBM dealers that are serious about their customers and investing in tools to improve the overall experience, having the right technology is critical for building loyalty and attracting new shoppers.
There is already evidence of permanent change happening in this space due to the pandemic. According to ECI’s 2021 State of SMB Digital Transformation Report, 43% of SMBs in the LBM space implemented or expanded their e-commerce offering in 2020. As more consumers continue to expect seamless shopping experiences, it will become essential for LBM professionals to remain connected to their customers through e-commerce tools or risk losing market share.
Cloud Investment
With the digital shift, the last two years have also expedited the need for LBM businesses to adopt cloud technology, such as cloud-based business management software, to maintain busi-
ness operations with anywhere-anytime access. For most LBM dealers, this has been a consistent priority since the start of the pandemic—additional data from the survey shows 64% of SMBs have increased their technology investments in this timeframe so they can better serve their trade customers.
In the early months of the year, it’s also important that these dealers are accurately planning their technology investments for the remaining months ahead and making actionable steps to achieve these goals. It’s likely that the growing emphasis on anywhereanytime access will continue as more companies are relying on technology to keep them powered on and connected to their customers through times of disruption.
As the cloud continues to become more prominent in this space, LBM professionals should be looking for cloudbased tools that integrate seamlessly into their current technology stack. Disparate systems or data stuck in silos, such as desktop-native spreadsheets, hinders efficiency and limits the experiences they can provide customers.
Data Privacy
With the pandemic enabling a digital movement, many lumber and building material businesses are grappling with more data and customer information than ever before. This influx of data has also meant more opportunities for cybercriminals to take advantage of any system weaknesses—71% of security professionals reported an overall increase in the number of cyber-threats since the start of the pandemic.
In order to better protect customers’ sensitive information and prevent any downtime caused by cyber-threats, SMBs need to be more vigilant about security practices and minimizing vulnerabilities to hackers. This means training employees on the most common cybersecurity threats (like phishing emails) and having strong everyday practices in place (such as multifactor authentication and “Zero Trust” architectures) that make sure only authorized users are getting access to the network.
For businesses without the resources to support a strong cybersecurity program or manage the physical IT environment, there are cloud-based providers that offer these solutions as a service. With cloud providers, dealers can ease some anxiety knowing that their data is protected and can focus on other aspects of the business like providing exceptional customer experiences.
There is no one-size-fits-all approach to managing cybersecurity, but making sure this area is a key priority across business operations will be increasingly important as these digital environments grow, and cybercriminals get more sophisticated in their attacks. In industries where customer trust is critical for retention, such as the lumber and building material business, making proactive investments to protect your customers’ information is now a required pillar in any successful business strategy.
For contractors facing a turbulent and busy year ahead, being able to rely on their local LBM dealers for all the products they need to complete projects on schedule helps mitigate some of the stress that comes with annual planning. For dealers, it will be critical to have the right solutions in place to stay connected with this audience through times of disruption while providing the best service possible to all customers.
– As president of the LBM & Hardlines Group at ECI Software Solutions, John Maiuri is responsible for the vision, guidance and strategic growth of his team within the Building and Construction Division (www.ecisolutions.com). With more than 30 years of experience in the lumber and hardware industry, John understands the importance of leveraging technology to remain competitive.
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