Archway Roadmaster Online Demo’s – Integration of Traditional Sales and Online Savvy
The highways industry across the UK and Ireland is a traditional industry which is key to the efficient running of both countries’ economies. In this traditional industry, the face to face sales call has always been king and for good reason; a deep understanding and knowledge of each local road network is essential to provide intelligent, real and lasting solutions on our roads. This level of intelligence can only be provided by meaningful face to face discussion with the Engineers responsible for managing the networks and informed and reliable road maintenance suppliers. Never has this face to face engagement been more challenging or necessary than during the COVID-19 crisis. Local authorities and term maintenance contractors responsible for road maintenance are working remotely and many are taking on additional responsibilities to enable the councils to provide essential services to their communities. These key workers are time poor but keenly aware of the impact their job will have on the smooth functioning of the countries supply chain.
The Sales Team at Archway Roadmaster were quick to recognise and respond to these new challenges. They wanted to continue to make themselves available to their customers. The Roadmaster is uniquely positioned to perform efficient and safe essential road maintenance. The Roadmaster is fully computer calibrated and is controlled from a one touch panel enabling a single operator to maintain miles of roads all from the safety of the cab of their air conditioned Spray Injection Patching machine. Social distancing and other road hazards are not an issue for the Roadmaster workforce. The Roadmaster also offers real time data capture “Centaur Lite” which has become an invaluable tool for the Managing Engineers working remotely, real time information on the job site is provided direct to the team without the need to visit the site.
Understanding the need for face to face engagement with our customers, Archway Roadmaster launched our first Online Demo on the 5th June. Initially we planned to do one demo a month to allow our customers and potential customers to “Ask us Anything!”. The response from customers new and old has been impressive and three weeks from initial launch we have already ran three online demos. Integrating our traditional sales channels and digital promotions has created impressive results. We have identified new leads and increased our reach within existing customer organisations. The online offering has removed barriers not only those that are COVID related, but also those related to time and travel constraints. Maybe surprisingly, the warmth of the face to face sales call has been maintained, and this has strengthened the brand. The UK and Irish Sales teams have joined forces to offer the online demos, and this teamwork and positivity is reflected in the customers response to the sales effort. We believe the online demo will be a mainstay for Archway Roadmaster long after COVID 19 restrictions have been lifted.