tler-Squamish corridor, as far south as the US border, and as far out in the valley as Chilliwack and Hope – we’ve even done deliveries into the interior. If it makes sense for us, if it fits our shipping schedule, we’ll use our trucks. Outside of that area, we’re doing more and more deliveries with either third party couriers or carriers. We’re into Alberta in places like Calgary and even as far as Ontario, which we really owe to the reach of our website. We’ve invested a lot in search engine optimization and it’s been worth it.” Pocobuildingsupplies.com is nothing short of indus- try-leading. It is easy on the eyes and, more importantly, easy-to-use. “Even though our website is on-top, we’re in the process right now of building a new one, which is set to roll out in either the fourth quarter this year or the first quarter next year. We’re going for a better feel, something that encour- ages retail customers to come check us out. The online side of things is down to a science for us. If a customer submits a quote request, we usually have it back to them within a couple of hours – guaranteed within 24 hours. We want the website to show that we have everything here that the Big-box stores have and that we’re much more competitive- ly priced on most items. We love when a customer comes in and asks us to match a price with one of our major compet-
itors; we take their list and match it all the way. It’s often the case that we’re well below where the Big-box stores are.” “Our website really gives the customers a great impres- sion of the products we have on-hand and the service they can expect,” Chris continued. “While we do have a very large contractor base in the yard – mostly because of our positioning geographically – we do get a lot of walk-in retail traffic, particularly a lot of female walk-in traffic. We’ve really tried to ensure that our inventory reflects the walk-in traffic and the feedback we’re getting shows that our products and our friendly and informed approach are creating more loyal customers every day. Every customer who walks through the door has an equal opportunity for product research online and that just keeps us on our toes that much more. We’ll never come across as condescend- ing because we know that anyone has the potential to be an expert already.” “That’s really the origin of the company you see today.” As much as POCO Building Supplies has expanded the products and services they offer to meet the demands of an ever-expanding and diversifying consumer base, Chris explained that the more things change, the more they
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SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE • NOVEMBER 2018
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