KBzine: the original kitchen and bathroom industry e-news - since 2002
28th January 2021

We strongly recommend viewing KBzine full size in your web browser. Click our masthead above to visit our website version.

Annual Bathroom Conference - Good digital is just about connecting stuff with people who want stuff

Stefan Hull, insight director at Propellernet, demystifies digital at the Annual Bathroom Conference:

The biggest question we all want to answer is how do you get a bigger piece of the pie when the pie is shrinking? There are opportunities out there. Companies are doing well. So stop making excuses if you’re not.

If what you do is amazing, why can’t I find you online? Not many people in the bathroom industry are getting digital right.

The online space is incredibly important. Why? Well, nine out of 10 consumers are now purchasing using ROPO (research online, purchase offline). Four out of 10 ‘purchase journeys’ use some sort of search online.

The people who win are the people who prioritise, know their niche and focus. The bigger brands are spending less per channel than some of the independent players. With digital, you aren’t competing head-to-head in The Telegraph for share of voice. You can win.

“The technical execution of digital is a very tiny proportion of Google. It is like wanting a drink and worrying too much about the glass that holds it. Whether the drink is a Diet Coke or a gin and tonic is going to make far more difference.

“I thought loads of people would be searching for ‘shower suites’ as that’s what I searched for recently when I replaced mine. But they’re not - Google reports only 281 people have searched for that in the past month. However 12,100 people search for tubs and showers. That information is freely available and gives you detailed insight into about how people really are searching.

“But the most important thing is to think about people, not tools and techniques. As we’ve seen with ROPO, online is the starting point. The information must be clear online, but this must link into offline. Don’t stay in a silo. You must connect online and offline.

“The stores that are winning currently are the stores who are doing this. You might need to rip up your organisational chart. You can’t have separate department heads for IT, ecommerce, sales and marketing. This way they are competing for power and budgets. And it can’t work successfully. .

Good digital is simply about connecting stuff with people who buy stuff. Is the website clear? Yes? That’s great. If I phone, are they helpful? In that case I might actually go in and purchase. That’s the secret to it.

12th October 2012