Building value for our members
10 March 2020
Christine Wall, BMF Marketing Manager, announces the launch of BMF’s Project Excellence
For years, the BMF has been the backbone of the building industry by
offering unrivalled support to builders’ merchants and related
businesses across the UK. Now, we’re excited to make our vital support
for members even more accessible and actionable with the launch of
Project Excellence.
The result of 18 months of research and strategic development, Project
Excellence is now about to be rolled out, making our member
communications even more personalised and relevant by addressing their
unique needs with exactly the right solutions to support their journey
to excellence.
Specialist support
Working closely with
sector experts CMDi, we developed our ‘Building
Excellence’ strategy. Project Excellence is a vital cornerstone of this,
delivering robust segmentation that will deepen engagement with, and
build value for, BMF membership.
John Newcomb, BMF CEO, says “Project Excellence represents considerable
investment by the BMF in a cutting-edge approach to member engagement
through a combination of research, strategy, communications and CRM
implementation.”
Excellence built on research
First, BMF data was used to identify different merchant engagement
patterns. Next, over 10% of all merchants were asked about the needs of
their business. From this research, six merchant member types were
identified, with service packages created to match their specific needs.
CMDi’s Managing Director, Dianne Lucas says “We’re proud to have been a
part of the team that has developed this transformational approach to
member closeness for the BMF. It supports the BMF’s commitment to
building excellence for each individual member and for the sector.”
No more ‘one size fits all’ membership
Different BMF members need different support. Plumbing & Heating
merchants need uniquely tailored services focused on supporting their
specific category. Unengaged merchants who don’t have time to wade
through everything need only core services. And even engaged members
need help identifying what we can do to drive their business (or sector)
forward, while national brands need personal management support for
their more complex needs.
Communications
Our new communication packages are tailored to each of our six
membership group types. Information about how BMF membership can grow
their business is clearer, more relevant, and more efficiently
delivered. Rich content is supported by motivational quotes from BMF
members and business leaders, all built on the truth that the more you
use your BMF membership the better it gets. Materials for Plumbing
& Heating merchants will be available first, followed by
communications specific to other groups.
Managing a more personal approach
CRM tools have been developed to ensure regional managers are better
able to individualise the services BMF provides and each Regional
Manager will be proactively working with members to help them build
excellence into every aspect of their business.
As BMF CEO John Newcomb observed, “The result will be a more robust BMF,
based on member closeness, and a future-proofed building materials
supply sector comprised of excellent merchants.”
This article first appeared in the Spring 2020 edition of One Voice