Story at a Glance

Amenities create new market .remodeling continues strong .more Shoulder trade. .quali ty materials for custom hous. ing, commercial construction.

even the most experienced retailers amonS us.

How does a company achieve the balance desired? Where better to start than with the consumers who have an impact on that bottom line. ln 1985 companies who will thrive will have to establish better means of communicating with their consumers. Our customers have become more intelligent about analyzing their needs in the home center market. They will be even more aggressive in 1985 in their quest for knowledge.

In order to succeed, companies must be just as aggressive in satisfying their customers' expanded needs. I predict home centers will become better at listening to customers. lf appropriate customer feedback is not planned for, and meticulously derived with increased perception, companies will place themselves in a position to fail in the long run.

Greater attention will be given to our respective work forces. By this, I mean there will be a dramatic effort to increase the product knowledge of our sales associates. In order to satisfy our consumer's need forinformation about our products and how to use them, our industry will be forced to take constructive steps. We will have to "put our money where our mouth is" -sales education and training will be increased with concomitant budgets to facilitate this necessary change.

Companies will be forcedto develop greater interest in what brings customers back into selling units, be they home centers or warehouse outlets. Again, this translates into increased emphasis on paying good salaries and offering improved fringe benefits designed to enhance the welfare of our industry's sales personnel. Companies which will succeed in our sales markets will have to develop even better programs for recognition and promotion of deserving people into management levels. The increased training and support of management programs will necessitate increased monetary support based upon clear company policy decisions designed to attract and retain topnotch management personnel neces-