Here's How SupplyHouse.com is Using Content Marketing to Create an Award Winning B2B Strategy
Content marketing is the cornerstone of any modern company's strategy, and SupplyHouse.com is plumbing new depths with theirs.
PlumbingGoods.com was started by New Yorker Josh Meyerowitz in 2004. The online plumbers merchant was successful, and went through several name changes over the next ten years, before eventually settling on SupplyHouse.com in 2014. The following year the company opened a distribution center in Columbus, Ohio, and was even given a tax incentive by the city council to do so in anticipation of the extra jobs which would be created.
Today, SupplyHouse.com is one of the biggest suppliers of plumbing materials in the United States. Earlier this year, the company added another string to its bow by offering same day delivery, in line with digital super-retailer Amazon. However, it's SupplyHouse.com's content marketing strategy which really sets it apart from the crowd.
YouTube
One of the ways in which SupplyHouse.com has gained a reputation for innovative content marketing is through its use of a multi-channel approach. Like many others, the company has a regular blog which it uses to share news, product releases, the company's charity work, and other items which may be of interest to its audience of tradespeople. However, SupplyHouse.com really excels at using video to take its content marketing to another level.
(video source: youtube.com)
SupplyHouse.com creates a regular stream of high-quality and well-produced video content which is designed to inform and educate its customers in an accessible and entertaining way. On the company's official YouTube channel, customers can find content promoting certain product lines, complete with in-depth discussions on their pros and cons. How-to guides instruct customers in the best ways to use and operate unfamiliar items. The How It Works series give lessons on the physics of regularly used plumbing equipment, designed to educate those tradespeople who may be newer to the profession. And company information videos humanize the SupplyHouse.com brand with behind-the-scenes footage, designed to reinforce the company's culture and values.
"Our unique culture here at SupplyHouse, is largely due to the fact that we all share the same values," said SupplyHouse.com HR Associate, Julie Costello. "While we each represent these values in our own unique ways, our core values give us an opportunity to embrace them together as a team and remember what makes SupplyHouse such a special place to work."
TradeLife
However, one of the most interesting aspects of SupplyHouse.com's marketing strategy comes in the form of the TradeLife video series.
(Video source: youtube.com)
TradeLife is a documentary series which focusses on SupplyHouse.com's B2B customers. Each episode puts the spotlight on a tradesperson or company and tells the audience why they deserve to be celebrated. Whether it's championing diversity with an episode on female engineers, or looking at the process of passing the torch between several generations of a family of plumbers, TradeLife looks to celebrate the real people who are out there continuing the traditions of the industry.
(Images source: blog.supplyhouse.com)
A SupplyHouse.com marketer named Nick B penned a blog post about meeting the Carter family - long-time SupplyHouse.com customers - for the series. "We like to make these in person connections, and this truly was a cool experience to do so. The Carters were kind people and great hosts and I genuinely enjoyed my limited time with them. We talked with all three generations - Bob the grandfather, Jamie the dad, Kelson the son, Lisa who is Jamie's wife, and several other employees of the company. My personal favorite employees were their dogs, Max and Bella. As a dog person, these two won me over the second I walked in the door and they ran up to greet me."
Final Thoughts
It's hard to imagine any better way of using digital technology to better connect with a B2B audience than by making them the stars of their own documentary series. Both the TradeLife series and the PVC fittings video featured in this article were nominated for Internet Retailer Excellence Awards 2017. The PVC fittings video won the award for Best Product Video of the Year, and SupplyHouse.com also won the coveted B2B Ecommerce Marketer of the Year award.
It's clear SupplyHouse.com is getting a lot right when it comes to its content marketing efforts, and it's great to see the company being recognized for it by their industry peers. The final word goes to SupplyHouse.com marketer, Nick B.
"We are humbled to even be considered for these awards and to be among these great companies, so to end up leading the pack in both nominations and win is a great privilege. Thank you to everyone who has supported us getting here!"
You can hear SupplyHouse.com's President and Founder, Josh Meyerowitz, speak at B2B Online 2018 in May, at the Chicago Marriot Downtown.
Download the agenda today for more information and insights.