Terry, a younger guy, is excited after buying his first home. It’s an older place, well overdue for a renovation, so he pops down to his local flooring store to check out some options. He decides to place an order and is told the materials will arrive in the next shipment. A couple of months later, after paying his hefty 75% deposit, he’s still walking on those chipped brown tiles, waiting to hear back from a store he swears is ghosting him after not returning the last 2 calls. Terry’s dream flooring renovation has turned into a flooring nightmare!
It’s pretty easy to see Terry’s poor customer experience but it’s all too common in our industry. Don’t let that be your customer, in your store! Here's how to keep customers happy with a personalised experience so they'll choose you over and over again, instead of another flooring store nearby.
Best Practice #1: Keep your pricing SIMPLE and remove all hidden fees.
Imagine your customer's delight at seeing their flooring renovation taking shape in their mind while in your store, perfectly on budget. Then, BAM! When it’s time for a full quote, they get hit with additional fees at the cash register. Excitement shattered, they’re second-guessing whether now is the right time to go ahead with the renovation or pause it for a few months (which means they’ll never come back.)
Surprise fees make customers feel cheated by the salesperson, destroying your reputation and customers' trust. They expect to know what they’re paying for and why, so having an easy to calculate, competitive pricing strategy is crucial. Simple pricing is one of the best ways to remove friction for the buyer and build your community of loyal customers.
Being upfront with your customer on the cost of your flooring products and flooring installation services builds their trust and prevents negative reviews later on. Remember that those reviews, whether posted on google or unofficially shared to friends and family, are an essential (and free) marketing tool for any local business. Just one bad review can spread like wildfire, scaring away your potential customers.
So instead of surprising them with hidden charges in the end, let them know what to expect from the very beginning. Make sure they factor in installation costs while browsing for materials in their budget. If they’re looking at higher delivery fees because they live further away, inform them while they’re still shopping for that tile design they’re going to use. Transparency in your pricing and invoicing will ensure they’ll get a positive customer experience with you.
Avoiding a misleading pricing strategy, even when unintended, prevents those awkward conversations (otherwise known as arguments), with the customer refusing to pay, or worse, the customer walking away as the job has suddenly surpassed their budget without them realising.
Best Practice #2: Offer add-on services.
A truly personalised customer experience goes beyond choosing their materials and arranging installation for them. It’s about exceeding expectations. So those little things that the customer experiences – right from the time he first steps inside your flooring shop, to the moment that his flooring renovation is complete and invoices have been paid – matter dearly.
Aim for a personalised experience by enhancing your offers with add-on services. For example, your design-conscious customer will love a 3D floor visualizer (perhaps at an extra charge) so they can see a digital rendering of their chosen flooring design in their actual home - there is software that can do this using photos of their home. Or if your customer is a busy professional working Mondays to Fridays nonstop, they will appreciate a convenient weekend tile installation, an add-on service of moving furniture, and maybe a full house clean after installation for a pristine, stress-free experience. Partner with a local cleaner and you’ve got a full service package customers will love. In fact, having the carpets cleaned periodically is usually a condition of the manufacturer's warranty, creating a clear use-case for your added service. A customer who's concerned about the long-term wear and tear will be interested in buying extended warranty on flooring materials, extra protective sealants or other services which add to their peace of mind.
No matter the extra services you offer, remember that your customers' perception of value is the key. Communicate clearly the benefits of each add-on service. You can also consider offering them as complete packages, combining popular add-on services at a discounted price compared to individual charges to increase value. Aside from it being a great way to cater to diverse needs of your customers, you're also adding to their overall customer experience, even if they decide against the services themselves. Plus, it generates additional revenue streams for your flooring business when structured the right way.
Best Practice #3: Accept the lowest possible deposit.
Securing a deposit prior to the actual start of the project is highly recommended to keep your flooring business cash flow positive. You’ll use it to secure the flooring construction materials needed, store overheads and to pay other upfront costs. Plus, it also serves as your protection against last-minute cancellations and project changes. 100% agree with that.
HOWEVER, while charging deposits is good for your flooring shop, charging a 60% to 75% deposit is not great for Terry, and all of your other customers. It creates a huge financial burden, especially for budget-conscious customers looking for the most affordable flooring solutions. With a lower initial deposit compared to other flooring retailers in your area, you position yourself as the best and cheapest flooring retailer without actually giving a discount for the flooring renovation cost!
Check your numbers, and see how low you can go. Cutting the initial deposit to 50% or even less (provided your flooring shop can afford it) already makes you a winner in the eyes of your customer. Even a deposit just 10% lower than your local competition could be all the difference you need to secure twice as many customers as you have today, stealing them away from the shop on the other side of town. By bringing down your initial deposit rate, you remove the hesitation from their buying decision, making the purchase FAR more enjoyable for them. They’re likely to continue the purchase on the spot, rather than exploring other flooring retailers to compare against you.
Offering lower deposit rates compared to other flooring retailers can be a daunting idea, particularly if you are a smaller retail business. So for the risk-adverse, run your numbers first to make sure you can still survive and pay your overheads, and at least break-even if you get a late cancellation.
Best Practice #4: Give your customers a heads up.
Set clear expectations with your customers regarding wait times, delivery times, anything that occurs before the actual start of the installation to avoid surprises to ensure they have a seamless flooring installation experience with you.
During that waiting period, keep them informed with a quick email or SMS update and build the excitement by counting down with them. 1 month away, 2 weeks to go, 1 week away, your installation is just around the corner!
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Logistics and Scheduling
A day or two before the flooring installation date, inform your customer of the installer’s expected time of arrival and the expected install duration. Make life easier for your installers by confirming whether parking is available or if they need to find street parking, and think of the smaller details like caring for their pets during the span of installation if needed.
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Flooring Space Preparations
Tell your customers beforehand whether the installers will move the furniture or if they have to do it themselves. Provide an estimate of the furniture removal cost if the installers are doing it as an add-on service. Advise the customer to clear the area of any clutter, rugs, wall hangings for clear access, and if the installers need access to specific utilities during the process (like easy access to water for tile cutting, etc.)
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Post-installation Activities
Clarify if the customers were to remove the debris and leftover materials after the installation, or if the installers will do that for free or with an extra charge. Provide them the details of your offered warranty (if any), including the coverage and the processing of claims should they need it.
Pro Tip #5: Keep communication channels open (i.e answer the bloody phone!)
Building trust with your customer starts with easy communication from the material purchase, waiting for delivery and right throughout the flooring installation process.
Always provide installation timeframes upfront, at the time of purchase. Depending on several factors like flooring material lead times, project size and scope, and installer availability, provide realistic timelines (e.g., 4 to 6 months due to X and Y). No sugarcoating, no overpromising – realistic expectations lead to happier and more satisfied customers.
Now this is important: As that time passes, keep regular communication with them! Don’t leave your customers in the dark; stay connected with a minimum of monthly updates on the estimated installation date. If they do get left in the dark by accident, when they call, take the time to check on the job and give them a real update - don’t just fob them off.
A natural trigger for the check-ins are material delivery updates and as mentioned above, periodic count-downs as their installation date approaches.
Inform the customer promptly about delays caused by material shortages, scheduling conflicts, or unforeseen circumstances. If the delay is significant, explore alternative solutions with the customer, like partial installation if possible, or offer discounts to compensate for the inconvenience. A small hit to profit to keep them happy, will pay off when they tell everyone they know how awesome you were despite the troubles they faced.
Streamline your communications by assigning a dedicated contact person within your flooring store to handle the customer. Each customer could be serviced by the person who closed the sale, or if you’re large enough, a dedicated customer specialist. This will help build trust and avoid confusion over who they spoke to last.
For more streamlined communication without any extra effort from you, consider using all-in-one job management software like Clockit. It can automate and customise SMS and email reminders throughout the duration of the flooring project. Clockit will handle all the demanding communication legwork in the background, freeing you to focus on delivering exceptional flooring solutions to your customers. Clockit has been designed just for the flooring industry, making the entire job-management process a breeze and saving you hours and hours of administration every single week.
There you have it. Start implementing these ideas and before you know it, you’ll be stealing customers from flooring retailers all over town because you’re just so darn easy to deal with.
