How FLOFORM Countertops Uses Social Media

There's nothing better than real life examples of how businesses use social media to connect with customers. Here's an article about FLOFORM Countertops:

Social Media in Action: FLOFORM Countertops Connects With Customers

I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Thanks for reading!

Best,

C.B.

Making Social Meaningful in Flooring

Here follows my article titled "How to make 'social' meaningful in flooring" from the January 3/10, 2011 issue of Floor Covering Weekly.

How to make ‘social’ meaningful in flooring

By Christine B. Whittemore

‘Social’ is happening in flooring and it’s leading to stronger relationships with customers. Imagine, though, making it even more meaningful…

A challenge associated with ‘social’ has to do with how easy it is to set up a basic presence. Creating profiles on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter or a basic blog are almost trivial.  And yet, as easy as the infrastructure is to set up, living, breathing and performing ‘social’ on an ongoing, consistent basis, in a way that truly strengthens ties with customers and delivers business benefits, can bring you to your knees if you don’t know what you’re doing.

The reality is that taking part in social networks takes time. Doing so without a defined business objective can fritter away resources you can’t afford to waste. Furthermore, if you don’t nurture your online content and keep it fresh, it can act against you, sending signals that your business isn’t all that sophisticated and not really serious about being social with customers.

There’s a better way – meaningful, deliberate and strategic – to use social media tools.  One that embraces a well-thought out, sustainable – as in something you can commit to long term – content based strategy that readers and potential customers gravitate towards and respond to. The kind that allows you to establish expertise and demonstrate relevant value, and represents the building blocks for building meaningful trust with potential customers.

Here’s why.

Picture this 50+ year old McGraw-Hill advertisement of acurmudgeon sitting in a chair, looking out at us skeptically saying: I don’tknow who you are, what you do, what your products are, whether you are relevantto me in any way. And you expect me to buy from you?

Customers today ask themselves the same questions. The best way to respond is by engaging that potential customer with meaningful content, in person as well as online, and consistently, deliberately and strategically establishing credibility and building trust BEFORE it’s time for her to make her purchase decision.

Establishing trust is why you do ‘social’. Credibility comes from showing up and engaging consistently over time, not just in-store, but also online via social channels where you can be yourself, demonstrate your passion and knowledge, be solution-oriented, approachable, willing to engage in conversation, answer questions, listen intensely and be genuinely interested. Online allows you do to so 24/7, when your customer is searching and your store is closed. Doing so with high quality content means that your content can work for you while you’re off duty. It ensures that the last person a customer interacts with isn’t always ‘at the bottom’ to quote Tom Jennings in his 9/6-13/10 column.  It enables you to make more effective your existing marketing assets.

Casual and superficial social activity – i.e., random tweets, irrelevant Facebook updates, inconsistent blog posts that promote only yourself – doesn’t build trust; quite the opposite. It puts people on guard. It makes them suspicious and unwilling to do business with you.

Better to build trust through a well-thought out, deliberate content marketing strategy based on internalizing what you learn from customers and the marketplace. It demonstrates that you understand the issues they face with your product and category, and enables you to respond with content – information, education, advice – that answers questions, resolves problems, offers advice and provides solutions that existing and potential customers consider relevant and valuable.

Once your content marketing strategy solidly developed, you can easily decide which social tool to use for which message and how frequently to update whether the platform be Facebook, Twitter or your and others’ blogs. You are able to maintain consistency of purpose and presence, able to build off of content created by others in your space – thereby enhancing your and their credibility – and able to do so indefinitely into the future.

As a result of those meaningful social efforts, you are more likely to become a destination that existing and potential customers consider relevant, gravitate towards, and willingly spend money with over time.

The alternative – superficial social interaction – guarantees that you operate in a lonely void, pushing endless messages about yourself that customers consistently shun and mark as spam.

Wouldn’t it be better to make your social efforts meaningful?

'Happy To Bed' From IKEA, an Online Retail Experience

In the spirit of A Fun Digital Retail Experience: HEMA, I share with you the IKEA Happy To Bed campaign from the UK. Have you come across it yet?

If not, check it out.

Go to IKEA on YouTube UK [p.s., if you scroll down on the YouTube page, you'll come across a video of a pillow fight - also part of the campaign].

Next, you can connect to your Facebook profile, select personas for your room and watch a fun virtual interpretation of what 'happy to bed' would look like for you.

IKEA's press release describes the result as the "first ever personalised 3D showroom on YouTube. Drawing on information from Facebook, IKEA’s tool creates a bespoke 3D bedroom that can then be explored and tailored by users to create their perfect bedroom."

First, I chose to focus on a room for a partner and me, dialed how long we had been together and ... voila! Note the oval on the left: that is where this application selected pictures from my Facebook profile and included them in pictures frames in my virtual bedroom. Very clever.

Next, I decided to focus selfishly just on myself.

I found those results much more interesting, with lots more photos relevant to me: a photo above the headboard, on my laptop screen and on the wall.

For all selections, your perfect IKEA room visualizer comes with items in the room identified. Per the release, you have "the ability to see detailed product information and to click through to IKEA.co.uk to purchase any home furnishings featured within the bedroom."

Furthermore, "The personalised 3D showroom forms part of a wider bedrooms campaign by IKEA and follows a UK wide study of over 2million people into how Britons live life at home. The 3D showroom creates bedroom experiences based on insight drawn from the study including:

• Creating bedrooms that support TV and internet for those most likely to use it.
• Incorporating workspace to reflect the growing trend of working in the bedroom.
• Smart storage solutions to address the decline in living space across the United Kingdom.
• Helping customers see the potential to create a happier space in their bedrooms for a better night’s sleep.

IKEA have used the results as part of a £2.5million investment into redesigning the bedroom roomsets in stores across the country. The redesigns will ensure all IKEA bedroom roomsets are locally relevant, specifically reflect the way people live their life at home and showcase the solutions that help people go to bed happy."

I found the "Happy To Bed" IKEA online retail experience absolutely fascinating and enjoyed interacting with it.

The personal touches, in particular, are brilliant! So much so that I wanted to spend more time with them. The flash video format allows you to watch the video, but not to rewind or go back or slow down the viewing. The only way to repeat the viewing is by starting all over again and rebuilding one's room. Couldn't this be a rewindable video?

I love that IKEA has taken research about consumer trends to develop rooms relevant to local preferences and would love to know how the program is affecting sales of these various bedroom products.

Here are a few other perspectives on IKEA's "Happy To Bed" YouTube social experience. You'll notice some issues linking the detailed product information to the purchase process:

• From Digital Buzz Blog: IKEA Happy To Bed: YouTube Social Experience
• From Great Ads Blog: Ikea Happy To Bed Advert
• From We Are Magnetic Blog: IKEA Happy To Bed

What is your reaction to 'Happy To Bed'? As a consumer as well as a retailer? What do you like and not like?

Let me know in the comments!

P.S.: 'Happy To Bed' is best viewed in Firefox. It has issues in Chrome.

Simple Marketing Now Update - June 2011

I have lots to update you on in this June 2011 update from Simple Marketing Now.

First, I'm in the midst of a three-part social media marketing presentation series at my local public library. The first session was the most formal with an overview of social media and the major tools available. The next two will be interactive workshops. If you are interested, you can view the presentation and read a summary that one marvelous participant [and blog subscriber] wrote - just click on the link.

Second, I'm hard at work on the Simple Marketing Now website so it supports my business better. I'll start including those blogposts here.

[If you are new to Flooring The Consumer, I also write the Simple Marketing Blog where I discuss marketing strategy and creative, practical, simple marketing approaches and share best practices - many of which may be relevant to you and your business as you consider what's possible.]

Simple Marketing News for June 2011

Here is the introduction to the new blog on the Simple Marketing Now website: Welcome to the Content Talks Business Blog!

And very exciting news: 25 Flooring Women To Reckon With! FCN Anniversary Issue [I'm only just getting to creating a press release about this. You'll see that in the next Simple Marketing Now update.]

Social Media Marketing Resources:

I attended and presented at the MarketingProfs B2B Forum 2011. As usual, the learnings from that event were intense and plentiful! I'm not finished, but here is what I've summarized so far:

• Generating Leads With Social Media
• How To Build WOM From Complaining Customers - Marketing Profs B2B Forum 2011
• Unhappy Customers, Lead Generation, Guy Winch, MarketingProfs B2B Forum 2011
• Human Behavior & Marketing Response: 13 Choice Drivers to Consider
• Storytelling in Business: Ardath Albee & Contagious Marketing

Two very practical blog articles that focus on what matters most in business: How Do I Get More Business? 13 Tips and The Business of SEO: Get Found.

Finally, here are the latest links to articles and news about practical marketing on Twitter, coded #PracticalMktr:

• Practical Simple Marketing in the News - 6/3/11
• Practical Simple Marketing in the News - 6/10/11
• Practical Simple Marketing in the News - 6/17/11
• Practical Simple Marketing in the News - 6/24/11

As always, Thank You for reading and for sharing your feedback.

If you enjoyed this article, consider subscribing to Flooring The Consumer via email or RSS.

Have a wonderful July.

Best,
C.B.

Urban Outfitters at Fashion140: Dmitri Siegel on Social Media Strategy

Urban Outfitters' Dmitri Siegel described UO's social media strategy at  Fashion140, my first 140conf, which took place on 5/4/11 at Alice Tully Hall in Lincoln Center, the new home of Fashion Week [remember Fashion Week in Bryant Park for those of us who worked close by?].

For the record, 140confs are intense affairs! Speakers have 10 minutes in which to tell their story. Fashion140 boasted 60 leading speakers, 1,000 attendees at the hall and 17,000 more online...  I'm still sifting through my notes and appreciate that so many others captured highlights online!

I admire Urban Outfitters and routinely bring them up when I talk retail experience.  I've written about them, too! See Retail Innovation and Urban Outfitters, and Urban Outfitters: Be Where Customers Are.

You can imagine how delighted I was to hear Dmitri Siegel, executive director of marketing for Urban Outfitters, speak.

The photo above captures Urban Outfitters' social media strategy: Think. Connect. Listen. Party. Measure.

Urban Outfitters' goal is to form a bond with customers that's deeper than shopping, that sustains them in between transactions; everything else flows from that. Social media is a pillar of Urban Outfitters' retention strategy.

Think intensely.

Connect customers to people who represent the brand [e.g., emerging talent in music and style --> free music on #MusicMondays. Connect customers to each other [e.g., Facebook, Ask/Answer, ratings/reviews]. Connect with your customer.

Listen: most brands only talk about themselves all the time! For a fashion brand, it's a different kind of listening. Lots of subjective insight. Get to core insights.

Party = wildcard! Does the social media presence capture the essence of the brand? Has to feel like who you are otherwise you won't get the right fans and have the right interaction.

Measurement: align measures to objective.  His master, killer KPI is total interactions, not sales.  It shapes how he creates content. Also, measure what you can measure. Focus dollars on customer experience rather than elusive measures.

Succinct, simple and intensely focused on the customer retail experience.  Check out the Urban Outfitters Community Page to see it all in action.

Can you think of other organizations that are similarly focused?

--
Here are links to several recaps of the Fashion140 conference which refer to Dmitri Siegel's comments about Urban Outfitters and social media:

• FASHION140 Recap!! in photos
• Fashion140 Conference
• Liveblog #Fashion140 Part One: Branding and Engagement
• Social Media in Vogue at Fashion140 Conference

You can watch Dmitri Siegel's presentation from the Fashion Lincoln Center recording of the event. Click on the first purple button [for the morning video feed] on the right hand side in the middle. His talk starts at approx. 17 minutes.

--
If you enjoyed this article, consider subscribing to Flooring The Consumer via email or
RSS.

Help for a Survey on Lead Generation!

I need your help for a survey on Lead Generation! Could I impose on you for a few minutes?  This is to find out how you generate leads for your business.  I'm hoping you'll share with me insights on and experiences with what has worked best for you in generating leads. Also, have you seen successes in integrating social media into your lead generation process?

I'm conducting this research for a presentation that I'm putting together [more on that in a separate post] and expect that this will also lead to a blogpost or two... I will definitely share with you what I learn on the Simple Marketing Blog [and here via my monthly update].

To participate, please click here to take the "How Do You Generate Leads?" survey.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me. Responses due ASAP or by Friday 5/13/11.

Feel free to share this link with others, too.

Many thanks!

Best,

C.B.

Customer Loyalty & Social Media: Customers Rock Video Series

Becky Carroll from Customers Rock! and author of the forthcoming book The Hidden Power of Your Customers: 4 Keys to Grow Your Business Through Existing Customers invited me to participate in a video series back in 2008 about customer loyalty and social media.

I only recently [re]discovered the series and have been blown away with how relevant the comments are. When I think how much has happened since October 2008 [note: that's before Simple Marketing Now for me], the perspectives below make me appreciate  how timeless the topic is and how particularly suited the tools of social media are to building relationships and developing loyalty with customers.

That's why I'm sharing with you all eight of the video clips in Becky's series and hope you will watch each one. Most are under a minute in length; the longest  is 1:25 minutes. Speaking to Becky and answering the question "how does social media impact customer loyalty?" are some of the finest social media practitioners, all equally passionate about customer service, customer experience and what the tools of social media make possible for connecting with customers. All that's missing is Becky answering the question!

Frank Eliason, then with Comcast as @ComcastCares on Twitter; now with Citi


John Bernier from Best Buy and co-creator of @Twelpforce


Logic + Emotion's David Armano now with Edelman Digital


Connie Reece from Every Dot Connects


Mack Collier from Viral Garden and MackCollier.com


C.B. Whittemore [yes ;-)]


Chris Brogan from ChrisBrogan.com


Brian Solis from @BrianSolis.com 


Gary Vaynerchuk from garyvaynerchuk


Thanks, Becky, for creating this video series about customer loyalty and social media and for inviting me to be part of it. It's timeless!

What's your take on social media and customer loyalty?


P.S.: Happy Valentine's Day!

Renee LeCroy, Don's Carpet One, VP Sales and Marketing

Meet Renee LeCroy, VP Sales and Marketing with Don's Carpet One in Birmingham, AL, flooring fairy godmother and marketer extraordinaire.  She's also a serious Woman in Flooring.

You'll find this interview with Renee valuable not just because she offers terrific perspective on the retail experience, but also because she has successfully integrated social media marketing into her flooring business, going so far as to participate in Bathroom Blogfest 2010!

C.B.: Renee, please tell me about yourself. 

You’re going to have trouble believing this given my youthful appearance, but I’ve been in the flooring business for 18 years. I am now the vice president of sales and marketing at Don’s Carpet One. I’m married with 2 kids—a high schooler and a college girl. On the side, I love to sing in the church choir, play on the lake and dominate my Bunko group.

C.B.:  How did you get started in flooring?

In college, I never really thought about working in flooring. I was all about sales and marketing. I was working in television when a friend referred me to Don’s. I came in on the marketing side and my role there has evolved over the years. In that time I’ve truly been in the trenches, getting to know flooring from every angle.

C.B.: What do you like least and most about the flooring industry? 

I love that the flooring industry is ever-changing. It’s a fashion industry, and because of that there are constantly new products and new developments. I love exploring them and educating customers about the latest and the greatest.

With that said, you are dealing with a product that customers are only buying 2-3 time in their life. Because they have been inundated with misinformation, they sometimes come in with unrealistic expectations. Every manufacturer and retailer has their own language. It’s a challenge to override that and get us all on the same page.

C.B. What 5 things would you do differently to improve the retail flooring experience?

1. Each showroom should be equipped with Internet capability. The customer needs to show us what she’s seen.

2. The sales experience should start at home. A dentist doesn’t give you a root canal without looking in your mouth! We need to get inside and see the space so we can make good recommendations.

3. Customers should be better educated about installation. What should she expect pre- and post- installation?

4. Warranties need explanation. The customer should know her end of the bargain on floor maintenance to get maximum life out of her purchase.

5. Quotes should be detailed proposals, complete with options, so she can make an informed decision.

C.B.:  Amen to all that, Renee!  What got you started in social media? 

I have a dear friend (a Bunko buddy none-the-less) who had delved into social media and had great success for her business. She was convinced I had a story to tell. And here we are...

C.B.: How do you use Twitter, Facebook and your blog? What are your favorite topics of discussion online?

Social media starts with a blog. Mine is Your Fifth Wall. It’s a place to lay all your thoughts out and open the channels for discussion. I use Twitter and Facebook as touch points, but Your Fifth Wall is certainly the hub or the anchor of my online presence. I love to talk about floor maintenance, new product entries and installation. But truly I like discuss just about anything!

C.B.: How has that affected your in-store business?

We see the blog as more of a foundation. We use it to distribute information and gain trust. While we have seen an increase in business, we see more value in the relationships we are building for the long-term.

C.B.: How do you balance the time it takes to participate in social media with your other obligations? Do others in your organization participate with you? 

I wear a ton of hats at work. Finding the time to blog is definitely a challenge. I wouldn’t pretend to do it by myself. While the concepts and information are all mine, we keep a retainer with an advertising agency to help with the writing and the fine print. I couldn’t do it without them.

C.B: What are the biggest surprises you’ve experienced as a result of participating in social media?

TIME! I had no idea how much effort it would take to keep the blog posts coming. It’s also intriguing that I can now see blog potential in almost everything I do. We have so much information to share. It’s overwhelming!

C.B.: Renee, any words of advice for retailers? 

Do not launch a “stop and start” or “drop and drag” philosophy social media campaign. What on earth do I mean? Don’t start social media by just opening a Facebook or a Twitter account and then leaving it unattended. And for heaven’s sake, don’t use homogeneous, regurgitated information. One size does not fit all! Readers want to see the real you and hear the valuable information you have to offer. Create a dialogue online. I can promise you won’t be sorry.

Thanks, Renee, for sharing such terrific advice and perspective!  I've heard so many good things about your store and retail experience, and hope to come visit soon.

Here's how to contact Renee:

• Email: renee@yourfifthwall.com
• Her blog: My Fifth Wall
• Like her on Facebook
• Follow her on Twitter
• Visit her Flickr photostream with photos taken during installations.
• Watch her YouTube channel.
  

Comments, questions, reactions? Have you implemented any of the suggestions Renee shares about improving the retail experience in flooring?  What about her advice on implementing social media? What has your experience been?

Retailers Doing Social Media Right

Have you read the NRF Retail's BIG Blog post titled Trendspotting: 11 retailers who do social media right?

It's a fascinating glimpse into how eleven retailers - more specifically, Best Buy, Amazon, Zappos, Dell, Nordstrom, Threadless, Starbucks, Dunkin' Donuts, Burberry, Walmart and Loblaw - have not only "embraced ratings and reviews as a proven (online) moneymaker, but ... have taken social applications and outreach further" per Empowered's Josh Bernoff.

I wasn't surprised to see most of the retailers listed. I was curious, though, to see how each promoted its social media activity on its website.

Several retailer websites share a similar format - with social media presence listed via a link in a footer reference section sometimes above the fold - see Nordstrom, Best Buy, Dell - but also below the fold - see Zappos, Walmart and Threadless.

Starbucks prominently features its social media presence, including its last 3 blogposts, on its home page, as you can see from the screen shot above - the only one from this list to do so.

Nordstrom "Connect With Us"

Threadless displays its Facebook icon at the top of the page [it now uses Facebook for customer service] as well as in a footer below the fold with Twitter and RSS feeds. A link to its blog is listed under "Info".

It took me some effort to locate Dunkin' Donuts' social links.  Nothing on the home page. I had to go to "About Us" and then to "Press Room" to finally find sign of Twitter, Facebook and news. [By the way, same goes for Baskin Robbins.]

Burberry offers no sign of its very engaging flash-based Art of the Trench on its website [Note that music plays on both sites.]  You'll enjoy spending time there exploring, learning all about the trench and sharing it all with your Facebook friends.

I was surprised to discover that Nordstrom has so many Twitter and Facebook accounts and delighted to notice YouTube videos. To reach this page, you need to click on a cryptic 'connect with us' on the home page. I found no mention of the "popular blog 'threads' referred to in the Trendspotting post, although I did come across a broken RSS feed. Perhaps the missing blog? See Nordstrom: Connect With Us.

Walmart's social media icons all connect to a page "Values, Tips & Tidbits" listing several Twitter, Facebook and RSS options focused on saving. I was surprised, though, not to see the elevenmoms.com site featured anywhere on the Walmart site despite being an official Walmart Moms' site.

Amazon and Loblaw are included in the list because of their ratings and reviews.

I applaud what these 11 retailers are doing right with social media.

At the same time, I'd love to understand why all retailers - especially those doing social media right - don't visibly flaunt their social media presence. Don't you like what Starbucks does?

After all, "if you got it, flaunt it!" - even with discrete placements of those recognizable social media icons...

Don't you think?

Age of Conversation 3 Available For Purchase!

The third book in the Age of Conversation series is now available for purchase!

Subtitled "It's Time To Get Busy," Age of Conversation 3 captures the shift from 'outlier... to strategic pillar' for social media in the marketing mix.

Age of Conversation 3 once again represents a global collaboration with contributions from 171 bloggers from around the world organized into 10 sections:

At the Coalface; Identities, Friends and Trusted Strangers; Conversational Branding; Measurement; Corporate Conversations; In the Boardroom; Innovation and Execution; Influence; Getting to Work; and Pitching Social Media.

Proceeds from the sale of the book Age of Conversation 3 will benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Read the press release: Age of Conversation 3 Highlights Social Media Best Practices.

Click on these Amazon links to buy Age of Conversation 3: in hardcover, paperback edition, or for the Kindle.

You can also check out the authors of Age of Conversation 3 and read my chapter from the original Age of Conversation, titled "The Conversation Age Enabled." [I'll publish my chapter from Age of Conversation 2 in the not-too-distant-future!]

Thank you and please let me know what you think!

Just Updated: Social Flooring Index!

That's right! The Social Flooring Index has been updated for early 2010...

More specifically:

The Social Flooring Twitter Index

The Social Flooring Facebook Index

The Social Flooring Blog Index

I'd love to hear your reactions...


Note: Graphic above is Social Flooring Index Wordle from Flooring The Consumer

Meet Troy Aeby, Duralum Carpets Inc.

Meet Troy Aeby. He is president of Duralum Carpets Inc., located in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, and has been busy repositioning his business to better connect with customers.

Not only has he been modifying his in-store retail experience to make it more engaging for women customers, but he has also established a stronger online presence via an updated website and through participation in social media.

More specifically, Duralum Carpets can be found on Facebook, as well as on Twitter, and Troy launched the Duralum Carpets Blog on October 27, 2009.

Troy has been a faithful subscriber and commenter to this blog. I recently caught up with Troy and asked him a few questions.

C.B.: Troy, tell me about yourself and your company.

I own and operate Duralum Carpets Inc, a 3rd generation [see photo above with all 3 generations: from left to right, Lance Aeby (my son), James Aeby (my dad) and Troy Aeby (me)] floorcovering retail business since 1962 in Stevens Point, WI. We provide both full service (materials & professional installation) and cash & carry. Our product selection includes: Carpeting (residential & commercial), Hardwood flooring, Ceramic & Glass tiles, Cork flooring, Bamboo flooring, Laminate flooring, Carpet & Vinyl remnants, Vinyl flooring, and Area Rugs.

C.B.: How did you get involved in flooring?

I remember many times at the kitchen table my dad would talk about his day and the various aspects of the floorcovering business. I got a lot of training at that table that I found would really come in handy later in my life... little did I know it at the time. The great thing about my dad was that he encouraged me to be in the business but never made me feel that I had to do it if it was not right for me. I was introduced to floorcovering professionals who further aided my knowledge of how a successful business should be run. My main focus now is to apply the best of the past with the best of the present.

C.B.: So, how did you get involved in social media?

We have made some major changes to our website thanks to John Simonson of Webstream Dynamics. He has been a trusted vendor for many years and when we spoke of upgrading websites, adding a blog, Facebook etc., he mentioned your name as someone who has a great grasp of social media and how it can help any business. I checked your blog out and really liked the way you present the rather complex issue of social media in an understandable way. Your views on looking at your business presentation from a female perspective have really helped.

C.B.: How do you personally and your organization use social media for business?

We currently interact via social media in a variety of ways: Facebook updates via pictures and videos, our weekly blog that deals with a variety of topics, our website that combines various media forms and also serves as a link to our Facebook Fan page and Blog, and just recently I have gotten involved with LinkedIn for business contacts.

C.B.: What have you found most effective?

Currently our website and Facebook presence have yielded the most response.

C.B.: What do you like most and least about flooring?

I truly love working with customers and the social media aspects of the floorcovering business. I would have to say that the managerial aspect of business payroll, taxes and the like are my least favorite part.

C.B.: What suggestions do you have for improving the flooring retail experience?

Go out and see what others are doing in your industry and other related industries. I make it a point to visit other stores when I'm on vacation to see how others do things. It's amazing when I stop in. I'll introduce myself to the owner and tell them why I'm there. Truly successful people are more than willing to share insights and ideas to those who are truly interested, and because we're not in direct competition, we can help each other out.

We have been using the Nov, Dec, Jan months which are typically slower to revamp and retool our showroom and make it more interactive for our clients. We've added a walk in shower, whirlpool and backsplash displays to further enhance the experience. We always try to involve trusted vendors in our showroom and displays. Our new website has been getting a lot more views and has been yielding more home measurement requests.

C.B.: What do you like most and least about social media?

I like being able to reach persons that I may never have been able to otherwise and give them a view inside my business. On the down side, there is a lot of information overload out there.

C.B.: Is everyone in your business involved on social networks?

Currently I manage the social media at Duralum Carpets Inc.

C.B.: How do you manage all of the different channels?

I set aside a small amount of time daily to manage social media. Once you get your ground work done, maintenance is easy.

C.B.: What advice do you have for others wanting to get involved with social media for their business?

Follow sites like yours to get great advice on how to proceed. Follow industry leaders and model their progress.

Thank you, Troy!

Comments, questions, feedback?

How might you rethink your business and add social elements to better connect with customers?

MarketingProfs B2B Forum 2010: Boston, May 3-5

Save the date for the MarketingProfs B2B Forum 2010! It's happening in Boston from May 3rd through 5th, 2010.

I've been invited to attend as a guest blogger to help share the wisdom I experience.

I'm also able to offer you a $200 discount if you use Code "BLOG" when you register. To register click on this B2B Forum 2010 link.

Here's what you can expect from this year's B2B Forum.

First, look over the schedule-at-a-glance. It will help put into perspective the overall program of events.

New for this B2B Forum is a Pre-Conference Training Day on May 3rd with two intense sessions to choose from:

+Lead Generation Workshop with Ruth P. Stevens from e-Marketing Strategy
+ Integrating Social Media Into Your Marketing Plan To Improve ROI with Christina "CK" Kerley from ckEpiphany

The full conference program takes place May 4th and 5th. It focuses on integrating social media into your marketing - a most relevant topic if you want my opinion.

I always enjoy MarketingProfs keynote presentations. In 2009, we had Steven Berlin Johnson and Barry Schwartz.

For 2010, we will have B2B Forum Keynote Presentations from David Weinberger [The Cluetrain Manifesto co-author, senior researcher at Harvard's prestigious Berkman Center for Internet & Society, a Franklin Fellow helping the State Department use Web 2.0 in innovative ways, and a senior consultant to the Harvard Law Library] and Mitch Joel [author of Six Pixels of Separation and president of Twist Image]. I'm psyched!

[In 2009, I really enjoyed hearing Sandy Carter who had us thinking intensely about effective marketing.]

I'm looking forward to similar inspiration, reconnecting with old friends and meeting new ones. Will you join me?

I hope so.

Stephanie Weaver on Bridging New & Old: Social Media Series

My latest guest for Flooring The Consumer's Social Media Marketing series: Bridging New & Old is Stephanie Weaver.

Although Stephanie Weaver is passionate about the customer experience, she focuses on a specific type of experience. That of the museum visitor experience, a subject she addresses in the Experienceology Blog [e.g., this post about museums using social media], in her Experienceology podcast series and via her Experienceology website.

You see her pictured here with a few tools of the trade: an assortment of toys she uses during live training sessions to make workshops more fun and remind participants that social media is fun!

Stephanie is among the first bloggers I connected with back in 2006 when she and Susan Abbott, the founders of the Bathroom Blogfest [which will celebrate its fifth year in 2010!], invited me to take part.

I'm delighted to share her perspective on Bridging New & Old!

You can also reach Stephanie via Twitter @Experienceology and on Facebook/Experienceology.

C.B.: Stephanie, how/why did you get involved in social media?

SW: I first got involved through blogging, then podcasting, then Facebook, then most recently Twitter, YouTube, and Linked In. Last year I began offering (paid) webinars as a way of affordably serving customers. The funny thing is, I don't think of myself as a techie at all. I've just learned as I went along.

Blogging seemed like a great way to reach potential B2B customers, as I could explain in detail my approach to visitor experiences, show photographs, and link to other resources. My goal was to provide as much value as I could to the nonprofit cultural attraction sector.

I got involved in Facebook because of the Bathroom Blogfest, as we were exploring whether it was a good tool for co-creating an online event. While it didn't prove to be effective for that originally, we did attract some new bloggers using FB.

I starting Tweeting this year, right before a conference I was attending, to see whether that provided an avenue for colleagues to get value from the conference through my tweets. I always have things linked, to get the maximum bang out of the effort. So when I'm at a conference I have my tweets automatically update my Facebook page, etc.

I have found that FB is best for connecting with people you know, while Twitter helps you connect with people you don't know. I've been on LinkedIn for a while, originally for the SEO potential. After they improved the functionality of LinkedIn in the summer of 2009, it has become a much more valuable tool. I have even gotten one actual consulting job out of it.

C.B.: What do you like most about social media?

S.W.: It's a quick and fun way to stay connected to people; people whom I know in real life, as well as meeting people virtually who I might eventually meet in person. I learn about new things every day with very little effort. It allows nonprofits (especially) to reach new audiences and create conversations with them. It challenges me to use new technologies, as well as help my clients use them effectively. It also allows you to send what I call digital assets (podcasts, vodcasts, blog posts) far and wide with just a little extra effort.

C.B.: What do you like least about social media?

S.W.: It can feel very difficult to keep up. I find I've needed to scale back the blogging, and take breaks from it so that I don't get burned out. It's also frustrating when they change the interface like they did on Facebook today, as then it feels like you have to learn it all over again.

C.B.: How has social media changed how you interact with the marketplace as a consumer or customer?

S.W.: I enjoy reading about places I haven't been (museums), and know that I will visit those places when I visit those cities. I don't follow consumer brands on social media; I use it only for my work. I do sometimes see restaurant recommendations or similar items from friends that make a bit of an impact. I do like being able to post a comment about a TV show on their Facebook page and have a reasonable belief that someone will actually read it.

Just last week a local museum was in danger of being closed by the city because of budget issues the city was having; a public outcry was vastly easier and organized through FB and Twitter, and so far, it looks like it's been spared. I've also been interested to see how the White House has used social media all along to help people stay connected. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, but I give them a lot of credit for trying to be as transparent as possible.

C.B.: What 5 suggestions do you have for companies to implement so they can more effectively bridge old media with new media and connect with end users?

S.W.:

1. Begin with a strategy (read Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies if you haven't already).

2. Don't join a platform if you can't maintain your presence there long-term.

3. Amplify your efforts; use social media to get your digital assets out there so that they reach as many eyes as possible.

4. You don't own your brand; your customers do. So don't be afraid to let go of control and get them involved in telling your story. It's already happening anyway!

5. For cultural attractions, check out the Brooklyn Museum for cutting-edge use of social media. They are constantly trying new things, sometimes failing, and always moving on. They're also a beacon of transparency as well.

Thank you, Stephanie!

Comments, questions, observations?

I love how Stephanie is using the tools of social media to educate museums about the visitor experience. How might you adopt a similar experience for your customers?

If you are immersed in social media, what differences have you observed in your interactions between Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn?

How else are you experimenting to improve the customer experience?


[Note: Stephanie's comments reminded me of Museum Innovation To Connect With Customers.]


For additional insights from other participants in the Social Media Series: Bridging New & Old, please visit the Entire Bridging New & Old series, which includes a link to the e-book based on the first 26 interviews in the series.

McKay Flooring Ltd Director Richard McKay

Are you familiar with McKay Flooring Ltd and its Director, Richard McKay?

McKay Flooring Ltd is a UK based hardwood flooring company. Established in 1973 in Glasgow, Scotland, it is now one of the largest UK companies of its kind and has recently opened a showroom in London. Its Director is Richard McKay.

If you spend time on the McKay Flooring website, you'll notice many customer-centric elements: sharing/bookmarking tools, contact us options that include Twitter and Facebook in addition to phone and email, and the McKay Flooring Blog - a visual feast for the eyes, although the newly launched posterous blog Floorcrunch is even moreso! McKay Flooring Ltd. features prominently in the Social Flooring Index.

Definitely not your typical flooring retail experience! You can understand why I consider McKay Flooring to be Flooring It Differently.

Richard McKay shares his insights in the following interview.

C.B.: Richard, tell me about yourself and your company.

R.M.: McKay Flooring were formed in 1973 by my father Archie McKay. The company were originally a general floor coverings contractor for soft floor finishes and wood flooring. Over time the company concentrated on the wood flooring side of the business especially Junckers sports flooring installation and renovation.

We now have two retail showrooms and supply, install, refinish wood floors on both domestic and commercial contracts. Our commercial division undertakes work across the UK and have been involved in projects for Microsoft, Turnberry Hotel and Golf Club (where the Open was held this year), McDonald's European HQ (to be completed in Feb 2010) and numerous schools, sports centres across the nation. Our online store was launched in November 2009 and has already made an impact on our sales.

I graduated with a degree in Quantity Surveying and worked for two construction companies before starting my career with the family business in 1998. I now run the company on a day to day basis.

Whilst studying for my degree I had a feeling that I may end up working for the family business but wanted more experience doing my own thing first. My degree helped me with the commercial contract side of the business but now I'm learning new skills to help us build up the online and retail divisions.

C.B.: How did you get involved in social media?

R.M.: Back in 2008 my friend recommended that I look at blogging, Facebook, Flickr, YouTube,Twitter etc. to help our online marketing efforts. We were keen to organically increase hits to our website and decided to jump right in and see what worked for us. We were also inspired by BuildDirect who are leading the way in leveraging the web to market their business using blogs and video.

C.B.: How do you personally and your organization use social media for business?

R.M.: My personal Twitter account (http://twitter.com/richardmckay) is used for sharing both work and non-work related links. When I first started tweeting I thought of Twitter as a broadcast medium like TV where we could pump out flooring deals, company news and other promotional tweets.

However as I started using it I soon realised that this wasn't the way to leverage Twitter - it is much more powerful for building up relationships and awareness of yourself and/or your company and for listening in to the conversation. Having direct access to industry thought leaders via Twitter and blog commenting is a great way to foster meaningful relationships.

My personal tweets are usually shared tech links that I find interesting, local Scottish news, retweets of people I follow, updates from my Posterous blog and news snippets about my soccer team (Celtic FC). I'm also on Facebook which is primarily for people I know in 'real life'. LinkedIn is becoming another important online destination although I need to spend more time there and work out a way of using it more effectively.

One of my most enjoyable daily tasks is reading through Google Reader to catch up on all the blogs I follow in feed format. In the last 18 months I've learned more about social media, flooring news and our competitors than I could have ever imagined. It's my killer app!

McKay Flooring's use of social media revolves around our blog. We auto update our Twitter and Facebook accounts every time we post on the blog. This increases the exposure of each post with minimal effort. We also track industry keywords being used on Twitter using CoTweet and Tweetdeck. Another social media site we are using more is Flickr where we are building up a library of flooring photos. In 2010 we have also launched a new Posterous blog - Floorcrunch - for flooring products we discover online and which we'd like to share. Another area we need to develop is our online video presence which we'll tackle in a few months time.

C.B.: What do you like most and least about flooring?

R.M.: I like the ever changing range of products in the flooring business and also the effect a new floor can have on someone's living or work space.

I don't really have a dislike but I suppose that flooring is harder to sell online than other products. We see this as a challenge rather than a problem.

C.B.: What suggestions do you have for improving the flooring retail experience?

R.M.: I think it's always important to be improving all aspects of the customer experience from properly trained and knowledgeable staff, an easy to navigate and informative website and a well lit showroom which is continuously being updated with new products.

C.B.: What do you like most about social media?

R.M.: From a personal viewpoint I like the direct access social media gives you to people. On a business level it's an effective yet inexpensive way to build your brand online.

C.B.: Is everyone in your business involved on social networks?

R.M.: Not yet! We'll be working on this during the first quarter of 2010. Power to the tweets!

C.B.: How do you manage all of the different channels?

R.M.: We use auto updates so that an status update on one service will automatically update our other social media channels. There's also a few staff who are now primed in social media and here to lend a hand.

C.B.: What advice do you have for others wanting to get involved with social media for their business?

R.M.: Allocate an hour per day and open up a Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn account to start with. If you've not got a blog then get one started using Wordpress or Blogger and schedule a weekly update on any business news, views or case studies. Start linking your blog posts on your social media accounts. Search for interesting people in your industry and follow them and get chatting. Use a feed reader (I recommend Google Reader) and subscribe to blogs, news, Google alerts to discover what's going on in your industry.

Thank you, Richard!

Comments? Questions? Reactions?

What do you think about McKay's online presence? What about how they use images to bring the wood flooring category to life?

How would you apply these insights to your flooring or other business?


Follow me on http://twitter.com/cbwhittemore.
Become a Facebook Fan of Simple Marketing Now.

Surfaces 2010 Social Media Education Sessions

Will you be at Surfaces 2010? If yes, consider attending one or both of the sessions I'm leading on social media marketing best practices.

I just published a press release with details: Whittemore Addresses Social Media Marketing Best Practices During Surfaces 2010.

Two Surfaces 2010 education sessions:

• Marketing in a Recession 101
• Social Media 101

Register via this Surfaces link.

By the way, Surfaces has recently launched a blog - the Surfaces Blog. Paul Friederichsen, one of my workshop co-presenters and president of BrandBiz, wrote the inaugural post titled "you're as good as the company you keep."

His post gives you an overview of our Marketing in a Recession 101 workshop and the world we immersed ourselves in as we prepared.

Paul also says some really nice things about me:

"Our session wouldn’t be complete without the third member of our trio: Christine. She’s everybody’s favorite expert on the Internet on how to utilize Social Marketing. It’s fascinating and ever so important nowadays to business success. Christine is one of my favorite people in this business – pure class. How she’s learned all this technical stuff, I’ll never know. But she also practices what she preaches, and she’ll show you how at our session."

Thank you, Paul!

I hope you'll be able to attend one or both sessions.

And, if you can't but are at Surfaces, please do find me to say Hi!

Hide, Seek, Be Found And Connect: Your Retail Experience

This article about the retail experience appeared in the May 18/25, 2009 issue of Floor Covering Weekly.

Hide, Seek, Be Found & Connect

By Christine B. Whittemore

Consider your brick-and-mortar store. It’s solid, three-dimensional, and occupies physical space. You probably have a sign over it stating your company name and purpose. Your store windows may draw visitors in. The entire effect may even stop people in their tracks.

Or, maybe despite your store being so clearly obvious [to you] and physically present, you can’t be found. You blend in and appear to hide. Visitors can’t find you and don’t generate business for you. Perhaps the same is true of your website presence.

Consider that in 2009 not only does your store need to be found in the physical brick-and-mortar world – with a memorable retail experience that exudes strong customer commitment – but you must also be found in the digital virtual world with an online experience that educates, communicates trustworthiness and customer commitment and also reinforces your store experience.

That means that, in either place, you want your customers to have that same good and consistent experience. Online or in your store, you don’t ‘scream’ at visitors and repel them with poor customer service, messy and disorganized store displays, dirty bathrooms or loud and interruptive noisy, flashy website distractions. Perhaps you consider them engaging, but to your website visitors those mind-numbing jingles or video clips of TV ad campaigns literally attack them as they browse through your site, possibly late at night with children finally asleep, a cup of soothing mint tea close by… They can’t find that mute button fast enough! [you do have a mute button?]

Put yourself in your customers’ or visitors’ shoes. How would you react? Is that what you expect and appreciate? Is that what makes you want to return, for more of the same?

What if, instead, both brick-and-mortar and digital experiences showcased how focused you are on the needs of your local customer base? You listen intensely both online and offline – so much so that you anticipate and respond to customer needs. You truly connect with your customers – capturing critical information about them, their lives and their product interests, sharing relevant information about yourself in the process. You truly care about them and how to offer them meaningful and relevant value.

What about beyond that first interaction? Are you connecting beyond your store or website? Gaining permission to contact them with news? Asking them how best to connect? By phone, mail, e-mail or even IM? And, asking them how frequently you might reach out? That gives them a reason to return, to check out what’s new. It invites them to be part of the energy and enthusiasm you generate – about your category, your employees, your community, your customers.

Asking permission is powerful. It sets expectations. Following up demonstrates how seriously you take your commitments and customers as well as your trustworthiness and authenticity.

Asking permission opens doors. It allows you to explain why you want to stay in touch. Perhaps you have an in-store event on how to care for what they’ve purchased, or design experts or fun facts to share or some community involvement. It’s only natural that you would want to talk about those events and programs and get the word out. After all, these events offer value to those interested.

Asking permission takes place not just in-store, but also online. Both physical and virtual experiences must be consistent and reflect the same concern for courtesy. That’s how you set the stage for meaningful connections that lead to a community. Communities are vibrant: members talk to and about one another, share ideas and create new value for one another as you deliver more value to them.

Here’s the beautiful aspect of all of these connections. If you’re truly passionate about your business and customers, and truly committed to forging connections and establishing community, not only will you connect with others, but you’ll also easily be found by future like-minded customers when they start to seek out information about your products, and your brand.

Not only is it more fun, but it’s more profitable. That’s why I say: Hide no more! Be found and connect.

BuildDirect, President & CEO Jeff Booth

Are you familiar with BuildDirect and BuildDirect President & CEO Jeff Booth?

He and co-founder Rob Banks, launched BuildDirect in 1999, building it into "the world's leading online manufacturer-wholesaler of flooring & building materials." Not only have they satisfied customers in Canada, but also in every state in the U.S. plus over 60 countries around the globe.

How? With a different flooring business model and a strong commitment to customer service, transparency, authenticity and integrity.

You'll notice BuildDirect prominently featured in the Social Flooring Index. They actively participate in social media marketing tools with Twitter, Facebook and blogs and have integrated the tools into their overall business. In other words, they are Flooring It Differently with social media!

Jeff Booth, BuildDirect President & CEO, shares his insights in the following interview.

C.B.: Jeff, tell me about yourself and your company, BuildDirect.

BuildDirect is an online building materials firm, founded in 1999 by myself and my friend and business partner Rob Banks. We’re both interested in how technology impacts business, so we looked at the Internet as the best way to make the traditional international building materials supply chain more efficient, since the Internet is international by its very nature. Coupled with traditional business values of good communications and customer service, we’ve achieved a good balance between efficiency, and customer relationship management.

C.B.: How did you get involved in flooring?

I was involved in the construction industry before I started the company and had many contacts in the field. The thing that tipped me off about flooring was how much markup there was on these items, along with other building materials used in construction projects. I wanted to devise a way to get flooring products into the customer’s hands without those markups. And with my understanding the potential of Internet technology, and by developing a system to manage the logistics side of things, that really made the difference in my approach to marketing our flooring products

C.B.: How did you get involved in social media?

We’re always looking to make deeper connections with customers, to identify what their needs are and how we as a company can meet them. Early on, we incorporated unedited customer product reviews on our site, and began developing a blogging presence, too. It seemed to me at the time that we as a company needed to do more to connect with site visitors, and with our peers in the construction industry.

And in closely following how Barack Obama connected with the American people directly while using social media platforms during his Presidential campaign last year, I was inspired to follow in the spirit of that. I did so by approaching social media as a means of connecting with and learning from other people, and responding authentically. My team and I started to build a vision of success in social media based on that kind direct interaction. After that, we started a Twitter account for the company; I started my own Twitter account, and we expanded our social media presence on Facebook, on YouTube, and in many other social arenas. The results have been encouraging, and we’ve made a lot of friends, and sales, that perhaps we wouldn’t have made otherwise.

C.B.: How do you personally and your organization use social media for business?

Two key precepts with social media are transparency and authenticity. It’s about adding value, and providing practical information to an audience with these precepts at the forefront. Since many of these principles have been a part of our core values as a company since we started, getting involved in developing a social media presence along these same lines just seemed to make sense to me, and to many of our staff, too. And another aspect has been that old idea of ‘word of mouth’, which had served us very well before many of these social media platforms came along. But, with Twitter and Facebook, for instance, the potential word of mouth equity is increased exponentially.

And where we do use social media as a means of directly promoting products, we also use it as a way of forming community with our peers. This also includes some of our competitors, some of whom also do great work in providing practical value. To the customer’s benefit, it makes sense for us to get involved in that, in sharing information even if it doesn’t come from us. Many people then begin to know who we are and what we’re about on a level that wasn’t possible before. So, when it comes time to talk about buying floors from us, it’s just a natural progression that comes out of a growing relationship with them, based on how helpful we’ve been in the past without expecting a sale.

C.B.: What do you like most and least about flooring?

Quality flooring represents a range of products that I believe adds value to the lives of pretty much everyone. In this, developing a way of getting the best of it to customers for less money is very rewarding. Getting that feedback from customers who tell us about how pleased they are with their orders, both in terms of the high quality and the lower price is a definite signpost that we’re doing good work.

I suppose the thing about it which is the most challenging is changing people’s perceptions about quality against price. Because there are so many factors that affect product quality across multiple product lines, it has been historically difficult for customers to get a real apples-to-apples comparison industry-wide. When customers see a ticket price, there are often a lot of hidden factors there that affect it which is kept from them, in many cases. And this can lead to rash purchases that cost them later on. The real challenge for us is to bring our customers and buyers in general into a place where they’re getting a true picture of how flooring and other building materials should be compared before a purchase is made. This is another arena where transparency is so important. In some ways, making the sale is much like conducting oneself in social media; it should be an honest dialogue about what is the best way for customers to make an investment in their flooring project that saves them money in the short term, but also leads to a good return on their investment in the long term.

C.B.: What suggestions do you have for improving the flooring retail experience?

I think vendors who really know their stuff, and who are interested in taking the time to educate their customers when needed are the real superstars in our industry. Flooring is a long-term purchase. Making sure that the customer has all of the facts, and in turn increasing the chances that the customer is going to be happy with their purchases for years to come, is the best way of proving credibility for those vendors. By extension, it proves credibility for the industry too.

C.B.: What do you like most and least about social media?

Our purpose as a company is to transform our industry, by making the products more accessible, more affordable, and with a higher standard of quality across the board. The best way to do that is direct engagement with partners and peers, with influencers in the media, and with customers and industry professionals. Social media in this respect is invaluable. It helps us to focus our purpose on creating community, dialogue, and learning opportunities in order to bring about a vision for ourselves and our industry that we set in place since we began the company. This is the kind of potential that excites me the most about the possibilities that social media platforms present.

I suppose the drawback to social media is that everyone is invited to the party, some of whom aren’t as transparent as others. Information and motives therefore must always be questioned. Yet, at the same time this is true of traditional media too, although without the chance to talk back. It’s a question of discernment. Exercising that skill is pretty important anyway, and there are many opportunities to do so in social media spaces.

C.B.: Is everyone in your business involved on social networks?

Many are, yes. Some aren’t. The real value in social media comes out of honesty and personal passion. It’s always best when people embrace social media in their own time. In our case, involvement has definitely risen over the last year, with some really getting into it, while others are just dipping their toes in the water. Both approaches are valid, as long as what is put out there remains true to personal and company values. Luckily, everyone involved understands that pretty well.

C.B.: How do you manage all of the different channels?

In some ways, the channels are really secondary to the approach. Managing them is a question of providing useful information and by engaging with others on a daily basis. A part of social media is about telling the story of our company, about how we’re getting better everyday, and about how our interactions with others affects how that story goes. And it’s about being prepared to transparently deal with situations when we don’t do a good job, or when people get upset even when we’ve done our best. In this respect, staying true to our core values of respect for others is the key tool in managing our presence online, regardless of which channel it happens to be.

C.B.: What advice do you have for others wanting to get involved with social media for their business?

I have lots of advice!

1. Be prepared to listen more than talk. After you’ve finished listening, always add value in some way – be helpful.

2. Ask questions of the experts, once you’ve used your powers of discernment to find out who those experts are (there are a lot of would-be ‘gurus’ out there).

3. Start a social media presence because you want to build relationships, not sell to customers. The relationships you foster today may result in the customers you sell to tomorrow, but it rarely works the other way around in a social media space.

4. Find out who in your organization is passionate about social media, and empower them to get involved without trying to control every little aspect of how they do it.

5. Take risks; show yourself as a person or group of people, not as a brand. Relinquish control over your brand so that your customers have a voice in determining what your brand means based on how you interact with them.

6. And above all – KEEP IT UP! Social media is a slow road to success, with no silver bullets that you can design or expect. Just stick to your ethics, your values, and to those things which are true to your personality, including passions and interests that may have nothing to do with what you’re trying to sell. Your audience will decide how successful you’ll be based on these factors, not you. That’s the scary part, and the rewarding part at the same time.

Thank you, Jeff!

Comments? Questions? Reactions?

How would you apply these insights to your flooring business?


Follow me on http://twitter.com/cbwhittemore.
Become a Facebook Fan of Simple Marketing Now.
Subscribe to my Simple News & Insights eNewsletter.