Lakes has signed up 150 customers to Lakes Partners, a new partnership programme that combines sales and marketing support with rewards to its most committed stockists.
The programme was launched in March 2020, just before the first lockdown, and despite the challenges of the pandemic, Lakes Partners has been a hit with builders’ merchants and retail stockists.
Lakes Partners was developed to drive awareness and help Lakes’ stockist partners sell more. Customers who sign up benefit from business-generating tools, service and support, and new product developments that boost value and help stockists secure a greater share. Lakes Partners is a tiered system where customers can choose their level of involvment.
Last summer, as the bathroom sector was constrained by the closure of physical showrooms, Lakes expanded its partnership programme to include exclusive access to its online showroom. The lead-generating tool allows trade and end-user customers to browse and select Lakes products, request joint-branded brochures, and contact stockists directly to ask questions or place an order, all through the stockist’s own website.
Paul Burnett, Lakes Partner Gibbs & Dandy Commercial Manager, commented: “It’s good to have a relationship with a brand like Lakes who are known for their quality, service and have a great name in the industry. They share the same values as us and we want to offer this to our customers.
“We added the online showroom to our website because it allows our customers to browse all of Lakes products as we don’t have space to display them all in our branches,” continues Paul. “It’s easy to direct customers to the embedded website if they need more information and can easily browse at home too, and all without leaving our site.”
Lakes Sales & Marketing Director Mike Tattam added: “2020 was a challenging year to drive a new partnership initiative so the fact that we have 150 customers signed up in the first year is no mean feat. What’s clear from the feedback we’re getting is that Lakes Partners offers stockists the support they need to grow their businesses sustainably and help them to thrive in the most challenging of times.”
