Customer Success Story: Diamond Valley Mitre 10
Diamond Valley Mitre 10 is an independent, locally-owned and operated timber, trade, hardware, and garden business that has been servicing the Diamond Valley area since 1979. It employs more than 80 members of the local community.
Summary
“The new print service lets us attract new customers that traditionally wouldn’t have come to Mitre 10, so we can engage with a wider part of the community.”
– Paige Hastings, operations manager, Diamond Valley Mitre 10
The Challenge
- Offer new service to increase customer loyalty
Diamond Valley Mitre 10 is constantly looking at ways to provide a better experience to its loyal customer base and community through valueadded services.
Because of its location, the team had to drive to the nearest supplier, 30 minutes away, for any in-store wide-format promotional posters, which was not an ideal use of time. However, it was during one of these trips, while standing in line, that operations manager Paige Hastings recognised an opportunity. It turned out that Diamond Valley Mitre 10’s own trade customers were in the same situation.
Paige Hastings, operations manager, Diamond Valley Mitre 10, said, “Many of our trade customers, particularly builders, would also have to make the trip for printing things like building plans. This is when I realised that, if our trade customers were coming to our store to pick up supplies, then there was an opportunity to give them a printing service at the same time.”
As the preferred print partner for Mitre 10 for more than eight years, Diamond Valley Mitre 10 reached out to Konica Minolta during a routine visit to discuss what might be possible.
The Solution
Konica Minolta shared Diamond Valley Mitre 10’s vision and recommended placing a HP Designjet T2530 PS printer in the store to make the printing service a reality. Konica Minolta also installed two new office printers, the bizhub C258 and the bizhub 4050, at the same time.
Paige Hastings said, “Initially I wasn’t sure how it would work. I was hesitant about the cost involved and what would happen if we couldn’t execute correctly, however Konica Minolta spent the time to set up the service so that we wouldn’t fail.”
Konica Minolta also provided a one-stop shop for service and consumable ordering as well as a five-year warranty to give Diamond Valley Mitre 10 extra peace of mind.
The print service was set up initially to offer trade customers a range of print offerings from A5 to A0 at a per-page rate based on size. Trade customers can submit their plans via email by 4:30pm for next-day collection. To compete with other companies offering a similar service, Diamond Valley Mitre 10 offers a discount to trade customers if the printing is charged directly to their Mitre 10 Trade Account. Building plan copying and scanning is also available.
Customer Benefits
- Additional revenue stream in tight margin industry
- Aligns with strategy of offering value to customers
- Attract new customers to increase community engagement
With the new print service, Diamond Valley Mitre 10 has a new revenue stream in a market that is traditionally squeezed on margins because of its competitive nature.
Paige Hastings said, “More than that, the new offering aligns with our strategy of being able to offer more to our local community through a value-added, convenient print service, which saves our customers time and money.”
The printing service also means Diamond Valley Mitre 10 can work with its trade customers to see what they have in the pipeline and ensure they have the stock on hand to meet their needs.
Paige Hastings said, “For example, when printing building plans we can collaborate and provide quotes for the materials needed to complete the job, which only strengthens our trade relationships further.”
Diamond Valley Mitre 10 has undertaken a range of marketing activities to promote the new offering including through its trade bulletin, SMS campaigns, Facebook posts, and store signage, which it can now print itself.
While initially set up to service trade customers, the local community has also embraced the service with schools, local businesses, and sports clubs using this local offering. Paige Hastings said, “The new print service lets us attract new customers that traditionally wouldn’t have come to Mitre 10, so we can engage with a wider part of the community.”
Konica Minolta’s quality of service has also been a big positive for Diamond Valley Mitre 10.
“Working with Konica Minolta has been fantastic. You can really notice the exceptional service levels provided by Konica Minolta. The team is on the ball in addressing any issues and even spends extra time on site to give us printing tips.”
– Paige Hastings, operations manager, Diamond Valley Mitre 10
