The increase in demand for bricks and blocks should serve as a trigger for building products organisations to review their customer relationship and sales strategies, Carol Kelly of KSA Sales Solutions has said.
According to Ms Kelly, during significant trends such as increased demand, building products suppliers can pick up new key customers provided they have a well-planned strategy in place.
"It is vital to understand and evaluate the relationship between pricing and customer relationships", said Ms Kelly. "Suppliers with stocks of bricks and blocks are currently in a very strong position but maximising this opportunity must be planned carefully. Should you opt for the short-term quick win by raising prices, or do you use this opportunity to develop a longer relationship and perhaps repeat purchase with a potential key customer by maintaining marketplace pricing, thus offering the customer goodwill and value for money?"
Organisations with large, complex sales structures can often miss out on such opportunities, due to the inability to communicate pricing and value strategies effectively throughout the teams. However, similar obstacles can also occur at management level.
"During workshops and consultations when we've looked at the issue of pricing, many customers have told me that their pricing structure remains static, regardless of industry trends and demands", Ms Kelly continued. "Understandably, some sales teams feel they are under increased pressure to undercut the competition to win orders, so they are compelled to maintain the prices which have won them work in the past. It's up to the management teams to identify emerging product demand and plan appropriately, in order to maximise any potential business opportunity such as the one we're experiencing now.”
