Today's post is an article written by ProContractor Supply CEO Abhi Singh, and published on HBSDealer. We encourage you to check out the article on the HBSDealer website, in addition to reading it here.
In a consolidating world, a bit of comfort can go a long way.
Familiarity is a powerful thing. It pulls you back to a moment in time without
asking permission. A McDonald’s hamburger, the smell of salt air at the beach,
walking into your home after being gone for a few days. When it hits … it hits.
For me, it was opening a bag of Doritos.
Instantly, I was a tween back in the late 1980s in Youngstown, Ohio — sitting next to my dad, watching Browns playoff games. Our game-day routine was simple: a bag of Doritos and a bowl of fresh jalapeño peppers. That feeling came back immediately. Comfort. Nostalgia. Happiness. All from a bag of chips.
That’s what familiarity does.
And it’s exactly what your customers are looking for when they call you. In construction supply distribution, we like to think customers call us for price, product, or availability. They don’t. They call because it feels familiar. There’s comfort in hearing a known voice on the other end of the phone — someone who understands their job, knows how they work, and gets it right without a long explanation. No surprises. No babysitting. No cleanup required.
That familiarity gives them something most people overlook: mental space. They can move on to the next problem because they trust you already handled this one. And they’ll pay a little more for that familiarity and peace of mind.
And in our world, that’s everything.
But familiarity isn’t just a person. It’s a brand. A logo on a building, a name on a shirt, an invoice that looks the way it always has, a truck pulling onto a jobsite. All of it sends the same signal: we’ve got you. No missing items. No bad pricing. No games. Just simple, consistent execution.
Here’s the problem.
With consolidation happening across every part of our industry, familiarity is fading. Companies get acquired. Names change. Systems change. And while the people may still be the same, their attitude often shifts. They can’t do what they used to be able to do … either because they don’t know how, they’re not comfortable, or they’re simply not bought in. What used to be second nature now requires thought, and what used to be easy suddenly isn’t.
And that’s what kills familiarity.
That creates friction. Customers may not say it out loud, but they feel it. And when something feels unfamiliar in our business, it feels risky. So they slow down, double-check, and follow up. Every one of those moments chips away at trust.
So here’s the question: is your business still familiar?
Do your customers know exactly what they’re going to get every single time they deal with you? Do they trust the outcome before the order is even placed? Or do they have to think a little harder than they used to? Because the moment your customer has to second-guess, double-check, or follow up, you’re no longer easy to do business with. And in this business, if you’re not easy … you’ve lost your edge.
If your business still feels familiar from a customer perspective, protect it at all costs.
If it doesn’t … take a step back and look at your business through your customer’s eyes. Talk to them. Understand them. Find out what changed, why it changed … then fix it.
And if you’re not sure where to start … grab a bag of Doritos … and see what happens.
Just don’t fumble against Denver.
-Abhi Singh
