Uniting technology and marketing
Ben Aspinall, Doorco’s IT and marketing manager, discusses how Doorco’s blend of technology and marketing is designed to transform the door supply chain.
The marketing sector on its own can be a complicated place as new tools and techniques appear almost daily. But add in the technology sector, and you’ve got a world of unlimited choice – and complexities.
Digital transformation began decades ago in the UK but in many companies, paper-based transactions and manual processes persist despite widespread innovation offering faster, safer, cheaper and more secure ways of doing business. From the outset, we recognised that nimble companies with technology at their heart would lead the way, and Doorco is committed to remaining ahead of the digital curve.
Recent research by The Telegraph found that almost half of companies believe UK businesses will be digitally transformed within the next three to 10 years, with the final remains of analogue replaced by digital and online alternatives, from accounting to advertising.
Among the main benefits they hope to gain are higher productivity, better customer insight, and streamlined processes. Of course, any digital adoption within a business needs to be well executed, relevant and purposeful. Does a local corner shop need its own app? Probably not. But closer to home in the door industry, is digital transformation a way to engage, improve and add value to the supply chain? We think so.
Doorco recognised early on that it was vital for us to invest heavily in IT and management systems to stay ahead of our rapid growth. We went back to the drawing board to see how we could best deliver a consistently high standard of customer service, even to the point of putting disciplines together that most businesses would not consider. Take my job title as an example of this. Representing heavy investment, we’re proud to launch what we believe is the perfect blend of technology and marketing: Doorco’s fully comprehensive, online customer support package, an initiative we believe will transform how the entire supply chain buys and sells.
Working as closely with our customers as we do, we identified a need to make the process of generating leads, creating orders and ultimately selling more doors, even easier. Which is why we commissioned specialist development company, The Consultancy, to develop online customer packages for fabricators and installers. We’ve also worked closely with Business Micros on internal processing and moving orders seamlessly along the supply chain via electronic ordering.
Our fabricators can already order directly with Doorco online, but this new package helps them do business with their customers online as well. At the first level, our fabricators can use the Doorco door designer to power their own bespoke online ordering systems and door designers. This means their installer customers can invest in a package that generates instant quotes and orders from them directly via individual trade portals. Our fabricators can also provide their own version of the door designer to their ‘full door set’ customers to assist selling more doors online or closing the sale in the field. The whole system allows homeowners to design, quote and order doors online via door slab and prepped slab fabricators and their installers.
We’ve also launched a stand-alone installer package to allow installers direct access to the Doorco door designer, a package that can be individually branded to each retailer and used for marketing on their own website, or operationally within their business.
And going right to the end user, www.door-co.com/door-designer/ offers homeowners a door designer facility so they can browse style, frame, colour, glass and hardware options before they request a quote. All these leads are then distributed to Doorco customers. The Consultancy holds all the data and images for our entire range on file, so whenever a new product, colour or design is added to our portfolio, it is seamlessly integrated into customers’ own software.
Introducing a full supply chain ordering system like this makes the entire operational process more efficient, secure and convenient. And from a marketing perspective, generates more leads and more sales. We think this is a perfect endorsement of how IT and marketing can be the perfect pairing to create fantastic customer experiences.
