When NIBCO wanted to increase awareness of their products among new and existing customers, they partnered with Trimble to integrate NIBCO’s products and details into the Trimble database. The partnership also provides NIBCO with insights to help them better serve their customers. Both companies are MCAA members. NIBCO is an MCAA major sponsor and Trimble is a benefactor sponsor.
Building and Enhancing Customer Relationships
For NIBCO, the customer relationship is key, but identifying the right decision makers and connecting with them on a daily basis was a challenge. Because NIBCO sells through a distributor channel rather than directly to customers, the company needed ways to target specific customer bases in major markets, create demand for their products and add value by connecting with them on a regular basis.
According to David Lazear, National Commercial Manager at NIBCO, getting the company’s products in front of engineers and designers would increase the likelihood that contractors would select those products for their projects. “If an engineer specifies it, or a designer draws it, a contractor will buy it and a distributor will stock it,” he said.
Enter the Trimble Partnership
With the new partnership in place, Trimble integrated NIBCO’s products and details into its database, which can be accessed electronically in real-time, for up-to-date modeling information. NIBCO can now reach between 100 – 1000 (or more) detailers, fabricators, engineers and designers daily with their building product data found in Trimble MEP software.
About the Trimble Analytics solution, Lazear said, “It helps to know who is making decisions about the product; is it the detailer, is it the job site person, is it purchasing? I also like to understand which systems our individual products are going into, insights that help us create a better customer experience for our customers.”
Partnership Results in Benefits for NIBCO & its Customers
The ability to have up-to-date product content available from Trimble helps NIBCO with constructability in the field. Using Trimble, NIBCO is able to get its large portfolio of commercial and specified products in front of 1000s of end users, and the placement of its content within Trimble workflows also benefits customers by providing this information at their fingertips. The speed of connection and access to accurate information further enhances NIBCOs relationships with its customers.
“A majority of U.S. contractors use some type of Trimble product, which helps when NIBCO goes in to talk to them,” said Lazear. “The value for our customers is having pricing, dimensional information, cut sheet data and any product specific information they want on a vast array of products available through Trimble Trade Service. It helps us stay very tuned in to our customers’ needs.”
