College task – help needed please - TilersForums.com

[Oli_Spencer]

I’ve been set a task at college that I would like some help with please?

The aim of the task is to persuade tilers to buy their tiles directly from the manufacturer rather than their local trade/tile store. So my question is what would make you switch from buying from a distributor to a manufacturer? Would it be things such as cash back on orders? Being part of a loyalty scheme that included exclusive offers and discounts etc?

The second part of my task is how would I (if I was the manufacturer) communicate this best with you? So my question is where do you take notice of offers? Emails, Facebook, Twitter, Blogs, Forums, other tiling websites?

 

[White Room]

Are you affiliated to any company even though you state your at college.

 

[Oli_Spencer]

No, I'm a student studying Marketing and this is the task that has been set in our online marketing module. I'm just keen on hearing feedback to go into my research.

 

[Spare Tool]

99% of jobs i do the customer has already chosen the tiles or has a very good idea what they want and we're just employed to fit them properly...being a tiler isn't about buying tiles.
You can advise a customer where to go for the best choice and advice but its really down to their personal preferences...

 

[White Room]

I doubt any manufacturer would entertain a tiler buying direct from them..distributers seems our contact for supply, I just point the customer in the right direction.

 

[Oli_Spencer]

Whitebeam, Andy thanks for your help, could be a tricky subject this

 

[Time's Ran Out]

No manufacturer would be interested in supplying a tiler direct.
They would try to supply tile shops if they can't get into the major retailers, but the quantities they'd need to supply could make it uneconomical .

 

[Spare Tool]

Any kitchen fitters out there....special offer on tree's freshly cut. Erm no thanks I'll go to Howdens.
There's got to be a middle man or the world would stop...

 

[gamma38]

Smells a tad fishy to me this. How or why would a manufacturer ever really deal with the end user. You will never buy the quantities and that's just one small part of it. I think my next shop i will miss out tesco and go directly to there suppliers. What a crock of @$%t

 

[WetSaw]

Unless it's a cottage industry artisan manufacturer the quantity that a tiler is likely to buy is not going to be of interest to a manufacturer. I doubt even a large contractor would buy enough.