Hardware Retailing The Industry's Source for Insights and Information
House-Hasson Hardware has constructed a “buy local” electronic tool for its more than 2,000 independent hardware store and lumberyard dealers.
The program, designed to give retailers more flexibility in advertising and branding, will be unveiled at House-Hasson’s Summer Dealer Market, scheduled June 20-22 in Sevierville, Tenn.
“Historically, most hardware store and lumberyard advertising has been in printed circulars,” said Don Hasson, president of House-Hasson Hardware. “Circulars still have a place; however, we want our dealers to be ahead in their computer and smartphone-related electronic marketing.
“We’re expanding on the individual dealer’s ability to advertise and promote their stores and products in ways that strengthen their relationships with their customers.”
Ron Yatteau, House-Hasson’s director of online dealer services, is spearheading this latest addition to the company’s support for dealers. Yatteau is presenting a seminar for dealers June 20, at which he’ll explain how they can use this new electronic tool.
“One of the things our customers have said they want is to make all the products on our House-Hasson website available to them on their individual websites,” Yatteau added. ““What makes our program unique is that we’re not branding the product’s name: we’re branding the dealers’ stores: it’s a hyper-local marketing approach.
“Most hardware is bought because people have a product in mind or a project to complete,” he added. “About 50 percent go online and figure out exactly what they want before they even go to the store.”
Through a dealer’s store website, a consumer will be able to order items from the House-Hasson website and pick them up at their local hardware store or lumberyard.
“Customers will be buying locally from their neighborhood stores, not placing an online order in the classic sense,” Yatteau said. “We’ll be working from a cloud-based website and will update it frequently.”
Social media (Twitter, Facebook and other sources) can be employed in this program by individual dealers as well, Yatteau said.
“It enables the hardware store dealer to be even more prevalent, active and important in the ‘space’ where people are shopping and creates a stronger relationship for customers with that store.”
Following the June 20 seminar, smaller market-floor seminars will be given every 30 minutes on June 21-22.
“There are many things our dealers want to do, and are doing, to use the electronic medium to reach out to younger consumers,” Hasson said. “Our objective is to be where they want to be and have what they want to have, before they want it.”
