Spring 2020 Strategies

CUSTOMER PROFILE

“I still remember that my very first order with Blish-Mize was for $352,” John says. “I talked to all of the major distributors in the market at that time, including the national co-ops. All I wanted to do was buy a little bit of hardware, but everyone was telling me I needed to invest a few hundred thousand dollars and get a new building. I couldn’t do that. Then one of my vendors told me to contact Blish-Mize. I met Janet Elias and she agreed to take my very first order. They didn’t have a minimum order and didn’t need us to give them any upfront money to become a customer.” Today, John says his store will do more than $1 million in business with Blish-Mize. “Other distributors have since come and asked for our business,” he says. “But I go back 20 years and remind them that they wouldn’t do business with us back then. Blish-Mize has always been fair and their service is great. They care about us as people.” New Shopping Experience As Blish-Mize helped the Stauffers design the interior of their new building, they kept two different sets of customers in mind. Contractor customers are still a focus. To cater to their needs, there is a full lumberyard with all the materials for a building project. A dedicated contractor entrance and service counter allows customers to get in and out quickly. John has integrated various building materials he sells into the design of the building so customers can see the products in use. He’s also expanded into several new lines, such as professional masonry tools, to cast a broader net for finding new business. He tries to differentiate his product mix by offering vendors not found in his big-box competitors. When it came to planning and setting up their new store, the Stauffers got help from Clay Uhrmacher, Blish-Mize vice president of sales and marketing, and Janet Elias, regional sales manager.

With a larger salesfloor, Tanco Lumber now has space to display fashion plumbing items out of the box, making the category more appealing to consumers.

The new Tanco Lumber has a larger product selection, with categories such as wild bird feed and paint, that attract more customers to the store.

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