October 2003
Aggregate producers evolve to value-added web sites to foster stronger relationships with customers.
By Rick Zettler
Web sites for Luck Stone (top) and Graniterock (bottom) contain helpful information for contractors and end-use customers that promotes various uses of aggregate and stone and provides technical advice to ensure better results with the companies’ products.
Less than a decade ago, many of us in the aggregate and construction industries were just learning about the Internet. Companies struggled with the new technology, trying to figure out if and how it could aid in doing business better. Companies debated where the Internet fit into the corporate structure. Was it a Management Information Systems (MIS) issue? Was it more of a tool for the marketing department to manage? Was it both? Was it that important?
From personal experience, the construction equipment manufacturer I worked for at the time discovered the importance of an Internet presence when a competitor registered our company’s brand name as their domain name. It took legal action to get the brand name back.
The last decade has been an age of discovery for just how important the Internet is to a company’s business and identity. Internet sales range from small trinkets to computers to even heavy equipment. Each day, companies create new ways to communicate with their customers via the web.
Throughout this time, web sites have evolved. Initial versions of many construction industry-related sites created six to eight years ago were static pages informing visitors of who the company is and what it does.
Today those sites are giving way to easy-to-navigate, interactive pages delivering a wealth of information. “Successful companies continually evolve their business practices to meet the customer’s needs and expectations,” says Rufus Phillips, vice president of marketing for Luck Stone Corp. This is true when it comes to a company’s Internet presence as well. Businesses must continually evolve their sites to include relevant and important information to keep visitors — and customers — returning.
Evolving Differences
Aggregate producers, like manufacturers of the equipment they use, have a product to sell. Consequently, the static sites of yesterday now have evolved to include much more product, press, and quarry-location information.
Larger, publicly-owned producers have found the Internet a valuable tool for connecting with investors. From financial web casts and stock prices to year-end reports and shareholder information, these larger companies are using their sites to provide value-added information to stock owners. But what about their customers…those contractors who buy their product?
This same evolutionary process seen in communicating with shareholders largely appears lacking when it comes to connecting with customers. Most sites are missing the valuable service information designed to help contractors do their jobs more efficiently.
With more than 75 percent of contracting companies having access to and using the Internet, according to a 2000 Internet Usage Study conducted by Construction Equipment magazine — which included highway and heavy, general building, and utility contractors — there is an opportunity for an aggregate producer to connect with its customer base. Producers can strengthen the connection by providing more value-added information that helps customers do their job better.
West Coast Theater
Producing numerous stone, sand, and gravel products for contractors and agencies in the Monterey Bay and San Francisco areas, privately-owned Graniterock (www.graniterock.com) has focused on satisfying its customers for more than a century. “We are constantly looking for ways to help grow the customer’s business,” comments Keith Severson, Graniterock’s marketing services manager.
Even the company’s first version of its web site, dating back to 1996, included a project calculator in addition to base company and product information. The calculator provides a quick way for contractors to get unit conversions and estimate the necessary amount of aggregate, concrete, or hot mix asphalt for completing a job. It is a simple way to make the contractor’s job a little easier.
The second generation of Graniterock’s site, unveiled last spring, has built significantly on the concept of offering more value to the customer. The new site includes not only detailed product spec sheets but also information on what product is offered at each quarry and the site’s location and operating hours.
Graniterock has also spent much effort in helping contractors solve problems encountered in the field. For contractors wanting to know how to minimize the effects of weather on concrete or how to prevent raveling on asphalt roads, they need only visit the site’s Research Technical Services section and read the appropriate Technical Notes page. These are just two examples of nearly 60 Technical Notes pages aimed at helping contractors do the job better. According to Severson, “By helping our customers do their jobs better, it will ultimately help our business grow.”
The site’s Graniterock Theater takes the definition of customer to a new level. The theater includes “how to” web videos for completing home improvement projects. Instructions on pond building, making a concrete countertop, and installing interlocking pavers exist on the site to help drive end-user demand to Graniterock’s customers, which is theorized to help Graniterock as well.
Future versions of the theater will be directed to aid contractors in doing their jobs. “We will soon be adding a segment on erosion control,” says Severson.
Through the use of Technical Notes, project calculators, and instructional videos, Graniterock is expanding its relationship with its core customers. However, they are not the only producer cornering the market by offering such unique and valuable web-based services.
East Coast Luck
Across the country, Virginia-based Luck Stone Corp. (www.luckstone.com) uses the Internet as part of an integrated marketing approach to reach its Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina core customer base. “Whether it is our literature, product ads, or the web site, each piece mirrors the other to create a consistent company image,” says Brian Winterhoff, Luck Stone’s web manager.
The company is not only making its site more useful and easier to navigate, but the site includes many value-added benefits for its customer base and the end user. Rufus Phillips suggests that Luck Stone’s customer focus dates back to the company’s origin, 80 years ago.
The company’s founder, Charles Luck, Jr., started producing aggregate for the road building segment of the family business because suppliers of that time could not deliver aggregate that met his standards. According to Phillips, “We started from day one seeing the business through the eyes of the customer.”
Therefore, says Phillips, the bottom line for the company’s web site is that it must meet the customer’s needs and expectations. Luck Stone spends a great deal of time and effort anticipating and providing what the contractor needs to do the job more efficiently.
One example of this commitment can be seen in the company’s Architectural Stone Division site, where Luck Stone provides value to two customer segments. First it gives information to assist end users select the best building products for the application. An extensive photo gallery, application information, and a “Do it Yourself” section that includes step-by-step instructions for several home-improvement projects all converge to make the end user feel as comfortable throughout the process as possible and confident that the correct product decisions are made.
Then Luck Stone takes this process one step further with its Contractor Referral program. This service provides end users with a recommended contractor to complete a home project, based on job size, time frame, and specific project details. After the end user submits a few necessary details, Luck Stone evaluates the needs and supplies this customer with several contractor choices best suited to complete the job.
“As a supplier, the end user views Luck Stone as an authority on stone,” comments Phillips, so the Contractor Referral program is a natural evolution to fit the need of the end user as well as support the company’s contracting customers.
Perhaps the most cutting edge value-added Internet service evolving from Luck Stone’s customer focus is its Advantage program. Designed for contractors purchasing the company’s crushed stone, sand, and gravel products, Advantage allows the customer to view virtually all transactional information online, 24 hours a day.
A password-protected, extranet web-based program, Advantage is designed to make Luck Stone’s customers who sign up for the program more profitable. The service allows members to access invoice and ticket information, get purchase order and job details, track job shipments, review purchase history, and view account status. All of this information can be downloaded to a computer. According to the company’s web site, Advantage helps customers by streamlining their processes, improving cash flow, and allowing them to make better decisions.
Stay the Course
Value-added web services are proving to be successful new ways of building the relationship between producer and customer. Graniterock’s Severson reports, “Feedback has been very positive, and the traffic to our site has been steadily increasing (since installing the updated version of the site last spring).”
Winterhoff echoes similar results with Luck Stone’s site. “After redesigning and launching our Architectural Stone and Construction Aggregates sites, traffic increased by 335 percent and 402 percent respectively within the first two months.”
However, these customer-focused services aren’t for the faint of heart or non-committed. It takes a concerted effort, a dedicated team, and consistent updates to make these value-added sites successful. And yes, it takes an ample budget as well.
Winterhoff’s sole responsibility is to manage Luck Stone’s web site activities and direction, but he does not do it alone. He works with the marketing department, product division heads, internal information technologies personnel, and outside agencies to build the sites and make systematic updates.
Graniterock also spends a good amount of time and money to keep its site running smoothly and looking fresh. “We hold regular meetings twice a month and contact the designer on a daily basis if need be to make updates,” says Severson.
Through these concerted efforts, Graniterock and Luck Stone are building and strengthening the relationships with their customers, delivering a positive return on investment in the long run. By helping the customer to be more successful, these producers are more successful. And ultimately, both producer and contractor are advancing the industry through delivering a better product and service to the end user.
Rick Zettler is president of Z-Comm, a company specializing in construction equipment marketing, public relations and freelance writing. Contact: 319-265-0052; zcomm@mchsi.com.