There is a surprising fact about strategies that most organisations, large and small, have in common: they don’t have one. The sharper your strategy, the more difference you will see – especially to your profits.

When you think of a builders’ merchants, you probably don’t think of an advanced eCommerce website and digital marketing strategy. But why not? Everyone else in retail is using them.

Ironically, even people who work in branding often struggle to answer this question. That’s why, at CMDi, we have created a useful metaphor to help everyone in the built environment sector understand what is mean by a “brand”.

In its simplest form, your brand is your company’s reputation: the way it is perceived by people; specifically, by your target audience. Yet perception is anything but simple.

Builders’ merchants depend on one constant to survive: that their business continues to be the go-to supplier for builders in their area. Obvious? Yes. Easy? No.