Headlines
Online with Jonathan Burrage
16 October 2020
4walls was keen to get the views of Larson-Juhl managing director Jonathan Burrage on how the business is adapting in the evolving digital world.
Larson-Juhl recently conducted a customer survey. What did it tell you about how customers are embracing the digital world?
Our industry has been slow to embrace technology but we are now seeing more and more customers see the advantages of digitising parts of their operations. Whilst the skill and creativity of a bespoke framer will forever be a human interaction, smart phones and tablets enable customers to focus more time on the consumer and less on the back office processes. Whether it’s an integrated POS system, accounting software or simply online diaries, customers are finding ways to free up time spent on activities that do not drive sales.
To what extent is Larson-Juhl now a digital business?
We have made significant investment to accelerate the digitisation of our business over the past 12 months. We have listened to what our customers need and adapted many of our systems and services to ensure we meet, if not exceed, their expectations. Does this mean we have developed everything requested from our customers? Absolutely not. Does this mean the digitisation process is complete? Quite the opposite. This is an evolving, never ending process of improvement for us and there is so much more to come in the coming months. This is just the start of our journey.
Our ability to deliver great quality products and services at competitive prices requires a highly committed team of individuals across all parts of our business. For us, like our customers, digitisation means we spend less time on back office processes and more time focussed on the needs of our customers.
Please can you take us through what this covers?
The majority of our customers have a simple need from Larson-Juhl. Great quality product at a competitive price available when they want it. Furthermore, they want to know that they don’t have to wait for a ‘milk round’ delivery that only delivers to them once a week on a predefined day. The majority of our customers wait less than 36 hours to receive an order. In many cases, it’s less than 24 hours. That’s a service that the average consumer expects from Amazon! (I appreciate that delivery times have been significantly longer during the coronavirus lockdown but I would hope our customers understand the reasons for this).
Our website is the most visible example to our customers of the improvements we have made over the past year. This is the easiest and quickest way to place an order with Larson-Juhl. Our customers can access live information on all the products they need at their fingertips. Favourite lists can be set up making it easier to find those items that are ordered week in and week out. Furthermore, for those ordering a long list of items, there is an ‘Instant Order Upload’ enabling users to import a single CSV file in a matter of seconds.
Behind the scenes, we have streamlined the way web orders reach our warehouse. Arriving quicker than any other orders, we have a dedicated team picking goods within seconds of the customer clicking the “PAY” button on our website.
Beyond ordering online, our website provides a hub for customers to review all aspects of their financials with Larson-Juhl. Statements, invoices, receipts, credit notes (to name a few) can be accessed and downloaded within a matter of seconds. It’s complete account control at your fingertips.
And also the reasons for the decision to move to totally digital communications?
Our primary goal has been to deliver a frictionless experience for our customers. That doesn’t mean we aren’t available to see people face-to-face or talk over the phone. It means that customers have access to systems that streamline their operations. It is up to each customer to determine the extent to which they want to move in this direction. All I would say is that for those that have already started that journey, they tell us that their businesses are easier to manage and more profitable too.
The Coronavirus has also accelerated our desire to move away from paper-driven communications and rely on digital. Anything that we can do to reduce the movement of people will help to cope with any second wave of infection. Every time we post an invoice, a statement, details of a new product launch or a 4Walls magazine it increases the risk to our colleagues and the wider public. The activities required to print, post and deliver all require human interaction and we are committed to limit any risk.
Some customers may find moving to digital systems a bit of a challenge. Is Larson-Juhl able to offer any assistance in this area and what form will this take?
Absolutely! Whether it is help to set up an online account or greater guidance in how to create a consumer website or use social media to promote their business, we are developing the tools required to help our customers. As I said before, we pride ourselves in delivering the best in customer service. How we define customer service is changing and we need to ensure we continue to be best in class. Many of our colleagues are also undertaking training to ensure they too understand the opportunities of a more digital world.
What excites you most about the digital transition?
There is a huge amount of creativity and talent across the framing community. Digitisation enables all of us to focus more on our customer-facing activities, moving faster and more efficiently for the good of our customers. This is what truly excites me about becoming more digital.
How do you see the new normal emerging?
This will depend on the speed at which our customers want to move. We want to take everyone on the same journey but, if some find the journey more difficult than others, we are committed to adapt our operations to ensure we take everyone with us. At the same time, we will continue to encourage our customers to challenge our pace and direction, seeking out further improvements to the way we service this wonderful industry.
What are you most optimistic about as the country moves forward out of lockdown?
From adversity comes opportunity. We have an incredibly resilient industry and I am confident that we will all benefit from the impact that lockdown has had on other aspects of our lives. Many of us have either had holidays cancelled or decided not to book holidays until next year. I expect to see a spike in home improvement projects over the coming months and an opportunity for us all to be a part of that consumer spending.
Looking more long term, it’s going to be a tough few years as we deal with the financial impact of 2020. We have been around for a long time and we have lived through economic downturns in the past. We were there for our framing partners then and we will be there for each and every one of them as we navigate our way out of lockdown and in to the future.
