Sales and marketing are crucial to any contractor’s business. But what do those key business functions look like in this digital age of iPad-assisted marketing and Amazon-style sales? And how can contractors leverage this tech to improve profits?
The answer to both questions may be a British company you’ve probably never heard of: Door-Stop International, which Masonite purchased for about $50 million in 2014.
Why? In a word, technology. Door-Stop spent a year developing the technology to integrate its fiberglass entry door inventory with its product offering in a single, simplified, user-friendly system. It then refined that process over another two-year period, said Patrick Dean, Door-Stop’s head of marketing and sales, who added that “the evolution continues.” The latest is the Sales Manager, an online sales tool that allows contractors to display price and even take orders online themselves.
“The biggest surprise for us is how staggeringly simple and rewarding the process can be once the technology has been embedded,” Dean said of the overall Door-Stop business model.
What that means for contractors is that they can configure a door for customers in a 1-minute, 5-step online ordering process right from their own laptops or tablets. The door then gets delivered in three days — or contractors get their money back. There’s also a cash flow bonus: Because contractors pay online with a credit card, and have a guaranteed delivery date, they have a full month to pay off a project that only takes a week to complete. That same process in the U.S. is typically much lower tech and can be maddeningly complex. Even after a customer chooses a door, it can take weeks for delivery.
U.K. contractors rave about how the Door-Stop technology boosts business. “It sold an extra 10 doors for us in the first week, and only took 30 minutes to install on our site,” said TJ Tierney, manager of Front-Door.
No wonder Door-Stop’s business model has been phenomenally successful. It has grown its revenue by six times over the past several years, Masonite said, though it doesn’t disclose revenue figures for individual operating units. “It’s a great model for us,” said Tony Hair, Masonite’s VP & Business Leader, Global Residential Products. “It continues to outpace and outperform profitability for the rest of the company.”
Hair says the reason for Door-Stop’s success goes back to the way the company has used technology to perform three key sales and marketing functions in one seamless process:
- Inspiration: Showing the customer what a new door could look like on their home.
- Configuration: Giving contractors the tools to configure the door exactly as the customer wants it including hardware and glass.
- Transaction: Allowing customers to immediately purchase the door online and secure delivery.
Putting all of those processes together creates what Hair called “the empowered” contractor. “What you’re doing is equipping them to be their own best marketers,” he said. “We want to empower them to be the experts and simplify the process for bids and remodels alike so folks are comfortable with their decision around doors.”
But too much complexity around choosing and uncertainty around delivery creates a lot of discomfort for U.S. customers — and makes it difficult for contractors to capitalize on the front door market, Hair said. When it started, Door-Stop marketed its entry-door technology as an easy add-on sale for window contractors who were already in the home. Hair said every U.S. contractor who isn’t doing the same is leaving money on the table, though he understands why.
“It’s a great add-on that consumers frankly haven’t been aware of enough. People just aren’t recognizing the importance of entry doors and the power of making a door change and remodelers have been shy about getting into them because of the complexity,” he said. “Delivering a door in a timely fashion is a huge source of frustration.”
And therein lies the rub. Currently, he says most U.S. manufacturers, including Masonite, are only beginning to become adept at using technology for inspiration. Configuration and transaction — the two key elements Door-Stop integrates — are lagging.
Hair also acknowledges that the U.S. and U.K. markets are vastly different geographically. In a country roughly the size of Wyoming, it’s much easier to guarantee fast delivery and manage all the moving parts required to do so. But he added, “The simplification of the sales process and the empowerment of the remodeler to be the best salesperson and expert in the eyes of the consumer absolutely could work in this market.”
Hair won’t say when Masonite hopes to bring the Door-Stop business model to the U.S. — or even whether the company is confident it can work. But it’s trying experiments in a number of areas. One is the USAWoodDoor.com commercial and architectural site where users can configure and order doors much like Door-Stop.
The end goal for all manufactures and contractors? To make complex categories such as doors and windows as simple as possible for consumers to navigate — and make it easier for contractors to make the sale, Hair said. He pointed to the automotive industry, which now allows customers to configure their cars and even order them online as an example. “It’s not, they have 40 cars I can choose from, it’s do they have the one I want?” he said. “We’re getting there, but there’s a lot of room for improvement.”
Meanwhile, Hair and others say contractors need to avail themselves of existing technology that helps customers make decisions, such as online quizzes that define their style, or apps that show different glass options. “Those are the tools that remodelers need to recognize are available to them to improve the opportunity and increase the sales dollar at any one house,” Hair said.
Contractors who don’t follow that advice, may get left behind, Door-Stop’s Dean warned. “This type of technology is being driven by consumer demand, and those contractors who embrace it will have an advantage in a competitive marketplace.”
