Getting Found Online: a Floor Covering Imperative!

Christine B. Whittemore: Getting Found Online, a new FloorCovering Imperative

This shouldn't come as a surprise to you, but I consider Getting Found Online a Floor Covering Imperative!

I made a case for it in my last blog article - Getting Started: Social Media For Floor Covering Businesses. In this post, I want to call your attention to an ebook from Google titled ZMOT: Winning the Zero Moment of Truth, by Jim Lecinski. Have you read it? It details what goes on for consumers between the moment they realize they have a want/need [i.e., stimulus] and when they make a purchase decision [aka the first moment of truth].

Here's a link to the blog article I wrote on the subject, titled Inbound Marketing and ZMOT: Perfect Together?

Although not a surprise - we are living through the implications of traditional advertising not delivering the results it used to whereas digital marketing, including social media, is becoming more effective - I was impressed that "84% of shoppers said that ZMOT shapes their decisions. It's now just as important as stimulus and FMOT in moving consumers from undecided to decided" [ZMOT, page 20].

Furthermore, it's happening all around us, including in our stores and on mobile devices, and not always in ways that we are comfortable with [see Customers, Digital Devices, The Retail Experience].

As you read through these resources, I'd love to hear what you've observed in your marketplace. How have your floor covering customers changed? How are they engaging in ZMOT activities? How are they finding you online? What are you doing that is helping you get found online? Which programs are generating the most traffic for you and which, the most leads?

By the way, if you're considering new approaches online, you might want to download my Getting Found Online: Inbound Marketing 101 guide.

Thank you for reading. I welcome your comments.

Best,

Christine B. Whittemore

Chief Simplifier
Simple Marketing Now

Comments

Concrete Moisture Leading to Flooring Failures - Is this an Epidemic?

Sheet vinyl lifting off concrete substrates that looks like blistered skin from a burn, wood flooring turning up at the edges, carpet tiles emitting foul odors from reactions with “wet” slabs. All of these failures in floor covering occur daily around the country plaguing flooring contractors and end users. Is this a flooring conspiracy or something more sinister? Well, it’s not a conspiracy, nothing so colorful as that, and it’s not sinister unless you consider that moisture lurking in the substrates is skulking around waiting to pounce.

What are the reasons for this outbreak of flooring failures? Have adhesives changed? Is flooring material different? Hasn’t concrete been the same for years? Why is this all happening now?

Adhesives have changed from when solvent carriers were used but adhesives are actually better now. Flooring products have changed with the onslaught of non-permeable backings which can trap moisture vapor emissions coming from concrete. Concrete hasn’t ch…

Intelligent merchandising in the floor covering showroom

In a ceramic tile and stone showroom the two biggest challenges for customers are visualizing how the tile or combination of tiles will look installed in the home and determining which tiles are suitable for their intended application. Figuring out how to address these two challenges should be a priority for every showroom.

Along with that, conveying the features, benefits and limitations of the products is the next challenge. And perhaps the most important piece of the showroom puzzle, is to train sales people so they are knowledgeable and competent showroom consultants (I wrote about this previously on the blog in, How Training and E-learning Can Improve ROI).

Years ago, when I was an importer and distributor with several showrooms I coined the term Intelligent Merchandising to represent the approach we developed to help our customers make selections and our sales people more effective in assisting our customers during the selection process. The challenges we faced back then …

Will Chinese Drywall VOC Issue Affect Flooring?

Chinese drywall shares commonalities with flooring, particularly as it relates to VOCs.

If you’re new to the flooring industry you may be surprised to learn that last decade it was necessary for the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to anoint carpet as a safe product. The proclamation was due to flawed tests perpetrated against the carpet industry by Anderson Laboratories.

But the issue isn’t dead if you search the Internet. There are still sites that support Anderson Labs. Even a "green" industry site writes “A rash of alleged health problems with carpet have yet to be properly explained, suggesting that all carpets, and especially the less expensive synthetics, should be used with great caution.”
The drywall industry is going through a similar experience.

Two major differences:
1. They’ve pinpointed it to some drywall made in China.
2. It’s true and real, and no one is suggested it isn’t destroying homes and people’s lives.

Th…

The Floor Covering Institute Blog

Search This Blog