Hardware Retailing The Industry's Source for Insights and Information
BY NICK TALARICO
Do it Best Executive Vice President of Sales & Marketing
Data Informs. It’s revolutionary. It provides valuable insights that can help independent home improvement business owners personalize the customer experience, increase efficiency and operations and optimize product assortments—ultimately boosting profitability. Data offers a pathway to success for businesses seeking growth and sustainability in an increasingly competitive environment. Here are some practical tips to harness your data for success.
Personalize the Customer Experience
E-commerce provides invaluable insights into customer search trends and participation data, which can help you personalize the customer experience online and in-store. A real-world example: Based on data collected from our e-commerce platform, we discovered that our customers were frequently searching for rental equipment. Using this information, we launched a brand new rental module that has boosted business for our members. Browsing patterns and past purchase histories can also help generate automated product recommendations, optimize inventory planning and marketing strategies—and much more.
Increase Efficiency and Operations
Implementing efficient operational processes is important to the success of any home improvement business, and one key component is having robust inventory tracking software. Using advanced analytics and algorithms from this software, you can enhance operations by strategically selecting SKUs and facilitating purposeful cycle counting. This reduces the time and resources spent on inventory management, ultimately driving profitability and competitiveness. At Do it Best, we employ Tracula, a precision-focused system that maximizes efficiencies by identifying focus areas during inventory cycle counts.
Optimize Product Assortments
It’s no secret: Optimizing your product assortments is a game-changer when it comes to maximizing sales and profitability. But how do you get started? You can leverage analytics from your sales data, preferred vendors and other partners to better understand market-specific sales performance, inventory turnover rates and product trends and preferences. Armed with this information, you can optimize your product assortments, minimize excess inventory and unlock your sales potential.
Undoubtedly, data is a powerful tool for independent home improvement businesses to thrive in today’s competitive market. At Do it Best, we go beyond simply selling products; we help our members grow their businesses. We use co-op analytics plus data from thousands of members and our most strategic vendor partners to develop technology tools that give our members a competitive advantage. By embracing a data-driven approach, you too can enhance your operational performance and customer satisfaction and position your business for long-term sustainability and resilience in the face of evolving market dynamics.
