For those marketing building materials, sometimes the conflict in our own heads is more difficult than the one waged with the competition. Do we push our products through the channels of distribution, or shall we pull them?

Push-pull marketing strategy is a significant component of the relationship between place and promotion, or one-half of the Four Ps of Marketing: product, price, place, and promotion. According to Marketing Made Simple, pushing relates to the process of “taking the product to the customer” while pulling concerns “getting the customer to come to you.”

Both approaches have coexisted for thousands of years and as long as people have been involved with merchandising. Often, a combination of the two schools provides a proper mix that is determined by the product category, the historical period or the marketer. Whatever the mix, the choices are truly endless for dealers wishing to stimulate building supply sales with pull marketing techniques.

Efforts such as creating incentives for distributors to buy at wholesale prices are clearly pushing while creating consumer demand via television advertising. The latter, of course, is quite expensive. In today’s marketplace, there is a plethora of options for building supply dealers to pull products through distribution as they attempt to reach more customers and increase sales: traditional methods such as paid advertising; new media channels such as electronic press releases and email marketing; and the spectrum of social media platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, Google Plus, Instagram and Pinterest.

Pull Marketing Options

For the building materials dealers, the time is ripe to combine all of the above while harnessing marketing tools such as design software and integrated sites such as Houzz that use pull marketing to generate B2B and B2C demand. Nearly all dealers can benefit from establishing a presence on Houzz, but those involved with the “finishing layers” such as tile, stone, landscaping, and floor coverings can especially capitalize on their inherent visual nature.

Houzz presents several options for dealers, including free and subscription memberships: an image gallery that resembles Pinterest; the Find Pros feature that mimics parts of The Blue Book Building & Construction Network; blogs, user forums, polls, and links to trading exchanges; and a virtual storefront where people can purchase just about anything for the home or office.

Design software provides dealers with the opportunity to express their creative sides. Online programs such as Floorplanner offer free basic subscriptions where one can design, save, export, and print very respectable two- and three-dimensional drawings. The paid levels offer features such as embedding logos on drawings and multiple staff logins. Viewers can access galleries to view professional drawings or read blog articles about a variety of related subjects.

Dealers can also purchase some design programs on CD (or download a digital copy from the vendors) to install on their office computers. Home Designer Software makes several products that can help building materials dealers as well as architects, interior designers, and homeowners.

Networking with Other Professionals

Interacting with other businesses presents specific advantages over the lone-wolf approach, whether the collaboration is with other building materials dealers, contractors, or architects.

For example, dealers specializing in stone products can work with dealers focused solely on landscaping materials to assist consumers in making outdoor improvements, or they may partner with flooring dealers with inventories focused only on carpeting, wood, or laminates. The partnerships can be informal agreements to throw each other “bones” or they can be strategic plans to share the effort and expenses of cooperative advertising, email marketing, and direct mail. Similarly, flooring dealers partnering with paint stores would generate advantages over those going it alone. Proper discussion, planning, and agreement are a must whatever approach is employed, and it never hurts to get things in writing to avoid misunderstanding after the fact.

Dealers should also consider reaching out to the people who actually design and install the materials — contractors, architects, and design-builders. More than likely, those professionals are familiar with traditional products such as natural stone or tile, but they might not know about the latest developments in green building materials or synthetics. Consider inviting them to a demo of the latest industry product releases in conjunction with a mixer where they can partner with one another while your dealership partners with them. Exchange business cards and establish appointments to discuss cooperative marketing efforts. The same approach should be practiced at major tradeshows.

Once a relationship is established, be sure to ask contractors and architects using your materials to share photos that can be used for promotional purposes.

B2C Outreach

Whether consumers are “do-it-yourselfers” or want you to “do it for me,” nearly all of them have a vested interest in learning about building materials. For the DIY group, consider Saturday workshops in painting casings, applying grout, installing yard drainage, cutting pet doors in walls, replacing electrical receptacles, or the proper way to lay engineered wood.

Reaching the DIFM crowd may require a bit more effort and investment. Mailing lists can be purchased to reach those willing to pay more for complete services. Set appointments to visit pampered consumers in their homes for complimentary consultations, or invite them to your showroom to review items staged in ensemble fashion.

Promotions

Of course, you will want to fill your professional demos or consumer workshops with eager participants by promoting via social media, email blasts, and direct mail pieces, and especially via the networking capabilities of Houzz and similar channels. Look “outside the box” for other avenues such as the Community and Discussion Forums of craigslist.

Some events may warrant hiring a public relations professional to compose and disseminate press releases or media alerts to generate interest, but the media must consider the event newsworthy for them to cover it. Approach journalists such as those covering a specific beat: real estate, the construction industry, or simply just a certain town or city. They need an endless supply of information, but they never like being “sold to.”

Social media is a long-term investment that demands nearly daily input. Make a commitment to upload images of new products as they arrive on your Pinterest and Instagram pages. Networking via Facebook, Google Plus, Twitter, and LinkedIn requires a dialogue. The goal is to approach professionals and consumers in a manner that encourages them to engage. Be a problem solver and make it easy for them to respond to your posts with a cordial approach that is simultaneously professional and friendly.

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