Toolstation, the Travis Perkins-owned builders merchants that supplies both the trade and DIY market, has appointed Havas Helia as its first dedicated customer engagement agency to revamp the retailer’s data and CRM strategy without a pitch.
The move comes on the back of a major surge in DIY business during lockdown and also follows the appointment of Krow back in March to devise a new brand positioning and communications strategy.
The agency, which is part of the recently launched Havas CX network, has been briefed to develop Toolstation’s overarching customer engagement proposition. This will include devising the strategy and implementation underpinning it, and cover database and technology development, data analysis and planning, business and communications strategy and creative execution.
The account was awarded following an initial data analysis project; the vast majority of Toolstation’s CRM activity was previously handled in-house.
The first initiative from the new partnership will launch later this month and aims to help the retailer’s trade customers manage their cashflow, seen as crucial in the current pandemic.
Toolstation director of digital and CRM said: “Like many businesses, we have found both consumer behaviour and our customer database have evolved significantly since the start of the pandemic.
“As such, the ability to understand both our trade and DIY customers and their needs and to target them much more effectively has become an increasingly high priority and a considerable opportunity for growth.
“That’s why the time is ripe to invest in our overarching customer engagement vision, strategy and implementation, and we’re excited to partner with the leading agency in this space to do so.”
Havas Helia London head of strategy Lucy Halley added: “As people adapt to spending more time in their homes, home improvement has captured the collective consciousness in a major way. For a brand such as Toolstation, which makes such DIY or larger projects possible, that’s a powerful and meaningful opportunity, particularly in an otherwise challenging climate.
“Together, we have the chance to speak to both trade and DIY customers – two very distinct audiences with distinct sets of needs – through a unified suite of communications and tools that are genuinely useful and help improve people’s day-to-day lives. Our ambition is to convert that initial enthusiasm into an engaged and loyal customer base.”
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