Please welcome Debi Binder, Flooring America’s vice president for marketing, who contributed the following post:Many thanks to C.B.Whittemore for the invitation to “guest blog” on the new Flooring The Consumer site. I feel like I’ve officially entered the interactive Digital Age, although now the pressure’s on to come up with a catchy blog handle.
This is a great idea: a new site devoted to enhancing the floor covering shopping experience. I love it! There’s no question that offering a comfortable, worry-free shopping experience with sales professionals who are knowledgeable and trustworthy can be the difference-maker for the consumer –which as Christine has already pointed out, is usually a woman.
In fact, it’s much more than usually. Eighty percent of retail flooring customers are women between the ages of 35 and 65. That is a huge number. If we’re not connecting with this demographic group, we won’t be long for this business.
In recent years, there’s been a substantial shift in the industry to better meet the interests and expectations of women by trending more towards color and design, full room aesthetics, and personalized attention. Women are shopping for value, but they’re also “values” shoppers, meaning they want a shopping environment that is trustworthy, comfortable, and more focused on lifestyle and design consultation.
All of us in the industry have a profound interest in working toward elevating the shopping experience for our customers and creating stores that are inviting, and speak to the twin desires of value and trust. Listening to the consumer will be key to our mutual success, and sites like Flooring The Consumer are welcome additions to the conversation.
In many ways, a blog is a lot like our cooperative and other buying groups. We’re all built on harnessing the vast experience, insight, and entrepreneurial spirit of our members. Everyone has a voice, and together, we improve our ability to serve the customer. In turn, we earn the consumer’s trust and respect, which is Step One toward building a strong record of accomplishment and success.
Editor's Note: You can learn more about Flooring America at www.flooringamerica.com and also check out www.flooringknowledge.com/.
Tags: Flooring America, marketing, consumer experience, shopping experience, marketing to women
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