Do it Best Shares Proven Solutions to Drive Member Growth

With the theme of “Driving Members’ Growth,” Do it Best is sharing industry insights, proven solutions and exclusive purchasing opportunities designed to drive member growth at their fall market, held September 8–11 at the Indianapolis Convention Center. The market was packed with new and prospective members, thousands of new products and nearly 100 new vendors.

“We’re fully committed to being the best partner in the independent home improvement industry and the fall market is delivering solutions to drive our members’ growth,” said Do it Best President and CEO Dan Starr. “From our innovative programs and products, to our proven solutions, to our expert team—we’re providing every opportunity for our members to grow their businesses and achieve their dreams.”

Two key event highlights are specifically designed to drive member growth: the launch of a powerful new ecommerce platform and the immersive Solutions in Action exhibit. The ecommerce solution powers up members’ online competitiveness, capturing more customers wherever they’re shopping and driving more traffic into their stores.

Solutions in Action—a 13,000-square-foot home center exhibit with expansive garden center featuring proven solutions for branding, merchandising, lighting, layout and ecommerce integration—allows members to see the customer journey from online to in-store. The exhibit is wrapped in the modern style, bright open floor plans and engaging displays of the new Signature Store Design™, with each aspect having been thoughtfully developed by Do it Best to equip members with tools to create an outstanding shopping experience for their customers.

To further support the customer journey, Do it Best is launching a tagline that supplements members’ local brand. With the tagline “Trusted products. Neighborhood knowhow.” members can immediately answer two key questions customers have: Do they have what I need and can they help me?

“We’ve tested our tagline with customers, so we know it’s powerful and compelling—it hits home,” said Do it Best VP of Marketing Rich Lynch. “Some members have really well thought out brand messaging, and we encourage them to keep using it. But others haven’t had the resources to invest in it, and this new brand messaging helps take some of the burden off them, giving them the resources they need to continue driving growth.”

During Friday’s Market Kickoff, Vice President of Ecommerce Allison Flatjord gave an overview of Do it Best’s new ecommerce platform, which recently rolled out its first phase on doitbest.com.

“While we’re at the early stages, just think about what we have unlocked already. You now have the ability for customers to earn and redeem Best Rewards both online and in-store. The foundation for you to be able to show your full assortment online, even if it wasn’t purchased through Do it Best,” Flatjord said.

She continued, “We still have much to do. We need to migrate your websites over to microsites, we need to let our AI-powered search learn our customers’ behaviors and we need to optimize the customer experience. But with our core platform launched, there is no better time to join us than now. There are many reasons to participate in the new ecommerce program. We’ve talked about great benefits like no set up fees, a top-tier platform, the ability to show your entire assortment online and support from Do it Best on much of the ‘ecommerce’ part of running an online business. And of course–your ability to earn proceeds on all orders including ship to address.”

Flatjord added, “Same Day Pickup is an important service to offer for the customers who want to shop that way, that you are not reaching today. But setting up same day pickup actually enables much more. Having that integrated data feed between your point-of-sale and your website really sets you and your store up for future success. That feed provides the seamless integration between online and in-store that customers expect. Customers already view their phones as an extension of their shopping experience. They want to see your product assortment, know what you have available and understand your pricing. And they want to do all this before coming into your store. Currently 80 percent of sales are digitally influenced and it’s not slowing down. So getting your point-of-sale data integrated with ecommerce will help customers choose your store over big boxes and other competitors, because they see the info they need.”

Flatjord said, “Having integrated data between your store and website might seem like a daunting task. But we’re here to help. While you’re at the market, don’t miss the opportunity to talk with our ecommerce team about getting signed up for the integrated data feed that powers same day pickup and that delivers that close tie between the ecommerce and in-store experience. We also have the White Glove team here, and they are available to help with inventory counts, walking through the setup process and store procedures for same day pickup.”

Flatjord touted the biggest accomplishment of the ecommerce project to date. “Let’s talk content. This is a big one. As of last week, our team now has access to 1.6 million items of content. We have been working behind the scenes on a way to increase content without losing our focus on quality—and the team has delivered. And, by being a part of our ecommerce solution, you have access to this content. Let our content team know about items that you stock that you’d like to show online. Chances are, we have the content and if not, we will work with your vendors directly to get it,” she said.

She concluded, “Content is just another thing that makes our ecommerce solution so powerful. Your new ecommerce platform fulfills customer expectations of a top-notch online experience. Your physical store needs to match. When the online customer gets to the store, we have to be ready to deliver the outstanding customer experience they expect. And a unified experience is how we’re all going to win—together.”

The fall market creates an atmosphere of open collaboration where members are encouraged to connect with their fellow business owners to share best practices, challenge conventional thinking and inspire new ideas for growth. “There are tremendous opportunities for Do it Best members to build on the historic growth we achieved throughout the past few years,” said Starr. “With the launch of our all-new ecommerce platform, immersive Solutions in Action exhibit, integrated marketing solutions, exclusive purchasing opportunities and outstanding educational seminars, it’s clear our members have the right partner to continue driving business growth and industry success. We’re confident our members will leave Indianapolis with the inspiration and knowhow to take full advantage of the momentum we’ve built together.”