The Door Post

Perhaps one of the most difficult issues to deal with when selecting a traffic door is which one to pick.  With the different types and options available, the task can be daunting.

Asking a few questions will provide a great deal of direction.  For example, if the door is going to be installed in a temperature controlled environment an insulated panel with gasketing is highly recommended.  Other factors including the size of the opening, the traffic passing through and the customer’s expectation are all helpful bits of information.

Environment

As I mentioned above, environment plays a big part in selecting a traffic door.  Environmental control can mean many things.  In a food processing facility, environmental control usually means maintaining temperature difference, but could also mean acting as a barrier to insects, dust and dirt and germs.  Poultry plants have barriers between “cooked” and “un-cooked” products to prevent the spread of salmonella.  Doors for environmental control are normally gasketed, and usually insulated.

Visual

The next time you visit your local grocery store, make a point to look for the doors that act as a barrier between the store and the back of the store.  While these are sometimes environmental barriers, their primary purpose is to act as a visual barrier.  Retailers spend a lot of money to keep the customer looking at “products” as they walk the store.  Back areas are used as storage areas, and are dark (and sometimes a bit messy) compared to the store area.  The doors that are used in stores act as a visual barrier, and may or may not be gasketed.  They tend to look less “industrial” and should blend into the area.  The best door for this application is one that the customer never notices.  Again, the goal of the retailer is to keep the customer’s eye on the product.

Door Use

Another very critical factor when selecting a door is the type and frequency of the load that is passing through.  For example, an opening that gets fork lift traffic all day will be very different from one that sees personnel and an occasional light cart.  The size of the load in relation to the opening is also an important factor.  If the load is very large in relation to the opening, you may want to consider a flexible traffic door.  This product has no lower hinge, reducing potential damage from traffic.

Options

Regardless of the type of door, options are a very important factor.  Some options are for aesthetic reasons, and others for function.  An optional high pressure laminate makes a door match the décor of a store.  A teardrop bumper allows a door to accept impact without damage.  Special hinge options allow the door to swing beyond 90 degrees or remain in the open position.  

Price

Last but not least, the price that the customer is willing to pay is a major consideration.  The customer always wants to pay “less” for a door.  This makes sense.  That being said, “less” should be thought in terms of the life cycle of a door vs. the purchase price.  I can sell a customer a sheet door for much less than a Durulite door.  If the traffic passing through the opening includes fork lifts, the sheet door will not only cost less, it will be in the opening for less……….much less than the Durulite.  The life cycle cost of a Durulite door in an abusive opening is much less than the life cycle cost of a sheet door in the same opening.

Becoming educated on the application, and educating the customer on the product that best suits their needs is the winning combination.

If you have ever purchased anything online from a website you are likely familiar with the title of this blog post. Very often when you add an item to your “shopping cart” and “checkout”  you are prompted to purchase other items. The premise being other customers who bought the same item also purchased these other suggested items. Likely  after the purchase you also have been bombarded, via email, regularly informing you of the company’s latest promotions. While these tactics may be irritating, they work! Whether you are a large or small business, selling in person or online, it is this practice that will add incremental sales and boost your bottom line in lean economic times. It’s Sales 101; sell more to your existing customers! But, not just any customers, your most profitable and repeat ones. For most businesses, core customers comprise 20% of their customer base but represent 80% of their profits.

Conventional wisdom says it costs six times more for a business to acquire a new customer than it does to sell to an existing customer. My personal experience certainly supports this statistic! Why then do we pursue new accounts with vigor while often neglecting or failing to recognize significant opportunities with existing customers? Maybe it is the thrill of the chase, (no pun intended) maybe we feel like there is more accomplishment in this endeavor. Regardless the reason, it happens everyday, in every business!

In my recent visits with our customers there has been one obvious, dominant and overwhelming theme. Our customers’ core businesses are down. Overhead Door distributorships are suffering from the decline in construction. They are no longer “covered up” with work installing rolling steel or sectional overhead doors. One visit to a large Material Handling dealer revealed that forklift sales are down by 50%. The decline in construction has forced a shift to service and repair. With this shift it is important that we expand our and our customer’s horizons. As a manufacturer it is important that we make our distributor base aware of the opportunity for them to sell more Chase products that compliment what they already do. For many it is simply a matter of taking the focus off of the exterior or perimeter of the building, to a shift inside to look for repair and replacement opportunities. I have also noticed people have more, or are willing to give you more time, time that they did not have during better economic times! They are looking for opportunities to replace lost sales!

Do you know who your profitable customers are? Do you know why they buy from you? Do you understand their business well enough to know what challenges they are facing in our current economic situation? Are these customers fully aware of Chase Doors product portfolio? If you have satisfied these customers on an ongoing basis you have established yourself, your product and your company as a credible resource. Why wouldn’t these customers listen to you? We must “mine” our most profitable and repeat customer’s sales data and use this data to create a customized sales approach that results in increased sales without forcing these customers to re-invent themselves.

While we cannot control the economy, good or bad, we can certainly control our response to difficult economic times. By increasing our focus on our existing, profitable customers we broaden our opportunities for increased sales. Chase Doors is in a unique position to accomplish this. We are a “one stop specialty door shop”. Regardless the industry our customers serve, we have a complimentary product for them to market and sell to their existing and profitable customers. Do your best customers know everything you have to offer them?