The Armitage Trust campaign has helped to boost small projects business, earning £95,000 of orders through contractors alone in the last six weeks of 2020.
Launched in October, the campaign began with a series of Blue Book mini-brochures, which focus on specific subjects and products to help contractors specify their project.
It also featured a voucher incentive for contractors placing their first order for £2,000 to £10,000 worth of Armitage Shanks products, with the aim of bringing on board new or lapsed contractors.
The campaign delivered £95,000 of new projects from ground-up relationships with contractors developed by the field sales team, making a significant contribution to the overall small projects income of £2.4m in a short period and with a narrow customer base.
Armitage Trust is supported by a range of marketing initiatives which aim to outline the benefits of working with Armitage Shanks, including specification support, quality products and a single point of contact every time.
One example project win was Largo House in Fife, Scotland.
Jamie Maguire, Regional Field Sales Team Leader (North and Scotland), said: “This project in itself was interesting as it was used as a Polish parachute training camp back in war time. It was for a Scottish customer called Smart who have historically used Roca for a lot of their work and typically switched us out for them where possible. I had been in contact with them before the incentive but it was the combined effort of the field sales service and the voucher that tipped this one over the line. The initial plan was to just put an end to us being switched out, but it has led them to send us open spec incremental business, which for us is really important.”
Jamie added: “The incentive for us has been great. It is just that extra tool we sometimes need to open a door to a new customer. The incentive working alongside our internal support system for these customers gives us a genuinely compelling story in the marketplace and sets us apart from the competition. We structured it in a way that it incentivised open and competitor specification, which for us is invaluable.”
Another project which was won on the back of the campaign was an office scheme in Croydon with the Orchard Group installers, which was secured by Business Development Executive Michael Burroughs.
Tom Ball, Regional Team Leader – Trade Channel (South), tells the story: “Michael had explained our service proposition, highlighting our speed and agility in providing quotes along with our new installer incentive which included a voucher. In one of the first conversations Michael had with Orchard Group they gave him an opportunity to secure an order for offices in Croydon which Lecico were in the running for. One of the issues with this project was Orchard Group were up against the clock as they needed the project completed as soon as possible. They gave Michael the opportunity to price at 1.30pm and with the help of the internal team we returned the quote to the merchant by 4.30pm. Subsequently, Michael received the order from the merchant the next morning.”
Tom continued: “Orchard Group highlighted our efficiency throughout the project as an important factor in securing the work. The combination of our service and Orchard Group having a point of contact who was able to liaise with the merchant was a big factor in our success. From speaking to Michael he has said the voucher has been an important part in building the relationship for the future as he has now received a couple more opportunities to take share.”