Builders’ merchants and the importance of technology

In a world where technology is moving at a rapid pace, it is unsurprising that retail markets are more or less controlled by technological processes. Nowadays, builders’ merchants that fail to make the most of the technological support available to them are unlikely to provide much competition for their more advanced rivals. Technology and retail software enable companies to take greater control over the running of their businesses and to focus their energies more specifically to increase the likelihood of success. Those who do not keep up-to-date with the latest technology available to them are likely to be left behind. Take a look at these reasons why technology is so important to builders’ merchants and other construction industry traders.

Engage with customers

Whereas before builders’ merchants would have had to rely on newspaper adverts and face-to-face contact with their customers to create brand loyalty and encourage repeat trade, technology now enables us to keep in contact with our customers through a variety of means. Whether your company sets up a social media profile and engages with customer via promotional tweets and Facebook posts or chooses to send out weekly promotional emails and texts, technology will enable you to remind your customers of your business and inform them of your latest discounts or stock updates.

Control sales

Without technology and point-of-sale retail software such as Integrity Trader, reporting on sales performance would be extremely time-consuming and to make matters worse, inaccurate. If you want to proactively protect your sales margins, make informed decisions on discounts and loyalty schemes or put credit restrictions in place, technology can provide the support you need. Trader allows you to quickly report on sales performance by customer, product or staff member at any given time with a few simple clicks. Electronic point-of-sale software permits you to check the current state of a credit account before you hand over the goods, enabling you to have greater control over your sales.

Save money

Technology not only enables you to speed up processes that would normally take up a large amount of your time, but can also help you to save money. Rather than spend money on replenishing your paper supply and paying for postage and labour, invoices and important documents can often be sent electronically instead. Being able to liaise so easily and quickly with clients and customers can also help you to come to more convenient, satisfactory agreements, which would help to save you money in the long run. Trader enables you to email quotations, statement and copies of invoices straight from the system.

Compete in a difficult industry

As much as technology helps you with your day-to-day processes, it also enables you to stay competitive in what can sometimes be a difficult market. Technology allows your business to remain organised and helps you to work efficiently, always keeping one step ahead of your competitors. With the ability to research and attract new customers online, you can always be working to improve and to grow your business, helping you to stand out amongst others in your industry. It allows you to keep an eye on your competitors, the prices and deals they are offering and how well they are doing, which can help you to price your products and services more competitively.

Whether you run a traditional builders’ merchant that has been trading successfully for generations or are new to the market, there are numerous ways in which you and your business could benefit from a point-of-sale software solution such as Integrity Trader. If you would like to find out more about what Trader can offer you, contact the team today.