Two of the ways the San Marco Group succeeds in maintaining strong relationships with our customers, guaranteeing their loyalty - an important objective for the entire Group, both for customers/end users and for distributors and resellers - are technical assistance, which covers all of Italy and vaunts a growing network of qualified technicians also in foreign countries where the San Marco Group has a strategic presence; and highly efficient logistics, thanks also to effective forecasting of volumes and products, and consequently of incoming raw material requirements. The growth of turnover - and therefore of the San Marco Group's presence in Italy and abroad - is matched with the care of human relations with our customers: not only the network of CAPs and loyal resellers in Italy, but also our foreign partners, with a clear and constant commitment on the part of the sales team to get to know, study and understand product strategies and cultural differences. The ability to be widespread is a sales lever as it allows us also to enrich our human capital.
Innovation through digitalisation is one of the main drivers of the San Marco Group. We work as trend-setters, bringing innovative and bold digital projects to the market, frequently as the first in our sector, to anticipate our customers' demand and worldwide trends. We design websites with custom design and features for each of our brands, and support their positioning on search engines by following SEO and SEM best practices; we structure advertising campaigns to promote products and constantly improve the brand awareness of our brands; we created the first Marketplace linked to the world of resale in the building sector; we are present in all App Stores with two mobile apps dedicated to the world of painting, varnishing and decorating; we integrate Augmented Reality experiences into the components that identify our sales outlets; and we are the first to have developed Virtual Reality systems for an immersive experience and a more informed choice of product that meets needs. We work for a world that speaks everyone's language, a world which knows how to involve and which is all about determination, willpower and us.
Marketing is a function of fundamental importance for us at strategic and operational level, as it acts as a connector between the value offered by the San Marco Group and the perception of this value by our customers. Marketing is entrusted with strategic, creative and engagement activities, advertising and training for its internal and external stakeholders. Significant investments are assigned annually to marketing initiatives, both online and offline, with the aim of developing the most efficient and effective strategies to support commercial activities, maximise the quality of customer services, and make the new digital technologies usable, including through the traditional retail experience, where the physical and the digital come together.
Professional training remains a key part of the all-round services. We provide a wide range of professional training courses aimed at operators and professionals in the sector and a well-structured Training Centre with offices in Italy and abroad. The San Marco Group also provides experiential training by promoting training campuses in external locations to facilitate learning and make it enjoyable, as well as to encourage team-building and a sense of belonging. The ultimate goal is to acquire shared working models, and to generate thinking and emotional freedom in a space that fosters team spirit.
The San Marco Group R&D Department's mission is summed up as "Transforming intuitions, needs and demands expressed by the market, creativity and innovation, into successful products, creating a minimal impact on the environment, reducing the use of traditional raw materials in favour of biomass and recycled materials." The design of new products in R&D starts with transforming ideas into paints and coatings with an important set of technological and aesthetic characteristics. We employ about 20 researchers to study systems in the building sector, take part in trade fairs and conventions, visit suppliers, and travel to gain knowledge, and contribute to the transformation we consider a priority on the product: from a mere consumer good to a necessity perceived by the end customer.
Logistics is one of our strongest business levers, thanks to automated warehouses and a proven, highly efficient management system based on the just-in-time method. All this allows us to ensure timely and precise services, drastically reducing order-processing times. A dynamic and functional logistics department guarantees delivery accuracy, reduced error margins and a high quality service. Every action within the production department is guided by the propensity for continuous improvement: more efficient facilities to increase the production quality, and new warehouses to increase the availability of products ready for fast distribution worldwide. Since 2013, the Group has been improving organisational processes with Lean Production, an innovative approach based on the organisation of production phases and constant training of people in order to eliminate waste of resources and adapt response times to customers' needs.
We consider technical assistance to be a real competitive advantage. Our pre- and after-sales service lets our customers to deal efficiently with all site issues: initial analysis, definition of the most suitable application cycles in the appropriate colours/effects, assistance with works commencement, intervention in the event of application problems, etc. Following all the work carried out, a specific (and 100% free) technical report is drawn up for the benefit of customers. The San Marco Group's Technical Support Team also makes technical recommendations, and issues insurance policies upon works completion. A Help Desk is also always available by telephone for professional and private customers who need any kind of information on our products.
San Marco Group provides its customers with a Service team with the dual objective of setting up a multi-channel contact centre (telephone, e-mail, telegram) for all requests for support in colorimetry and product assistance, and to collect all customer reports on the subject of products and logistics through an advanced ticketing platform. In this way all inquiries are processed and satisfactory responses and solutions provided to customers regarding any complaints. The whole process is monitored by measuring specific indicators, for each of which we set an annual target and monitoring KPIs. All customer reports are used to draw up plans for continuous improvement in service and product quality.