I have to say that wood floor contracting is a nice business to market. It is simple because you educate the customer honestly and then deliver a product accordingly. Being competitive, if your company is composed of true craftsmen, only requires good salesmanship and consistent marketing efforts. Retail brands do not have as much of an advantage, so they rely more on crafty marketing strategy to differentiate.
Recently I read a New York Times article about brands pushing the envelope in order to "go viral". To be memorable in something like the cola market you have to come up with ads that border on stupid or offensive to keep your brand on people's mind. It's not really marketing with a target audience at that point, but blind advertising hoping to gain traction. Hardwood floor contractors like us, however, can go so many directions with our business, from high-end commercial installations to doing modest refinishes in the residential market. We can specialize and grow a powerful name within a niche based on our service. If you like Dr. Pepper, then go to Wal-Mart and you can also get Dr. Thunder. Pretty much tastes the same at a 50% discount. Knocking off quality in sanding and finishing or installations is not as simple as mimicking the ingredients of a cola (especially if listing the ingredients to make the product is an FDA requirement).
Importantly success these days requires contractors and manufacturers in our business have to work both smarter AND harder and throw out traditional approaches to business. It is no longer enough to say "I work by referral only" or "we have the BEST product in the market" if someone comes into your market and gets good at marketing and has a quality product. Before you know it, they'll be knocking off your customers left and right, and you'll be the one closing your business. I have witnessed this and heard stories from colleagues in different states of this happening.
That leaves a business with two choices: innovate or perish. Look at WD Flooring and how they developed a new custom line of flooring and they've done quite well with the brand. That becomes a new revenue stream and allows them to use the additional revenue for increased marketing efforts, product development, etc⌠WD is just one example of what innovation can do for a business in our industry, but is a good model for always trying a new approach.
Here is my million-dollar question for my industry colleagues: Do you prefer prosperity or comfort? It is more comfortable to keep using the same finish, the same sander, and the same strategy of letting people remember to call you when they need a floor? It is more comfortable to not reach out your hand and make a friend at the distributor if you always see people as competition?
I want to default to this YouTube video of Byron Pitts:
He is now an international reporter for CBS and was illiterate until age twelve and stuttered until his junior year in college. To become an esteemed journalist he had to overcome these problems and do something really uncomfortable: fix a problem by communicating and asking for help. What if you met three new experts in the next month just by doing a little research on LinkedIn? Instead of just hitting the button to link to them, what if you just picked up a phone for a five-minute phone call or sent a personal e-mail introducing yourself? It's not as comfortable as simply clicking a button, but it just may be that spark that puts a wind in your sails, and that is how innovation starts.
Scott Avery operates Modern Tech Floors in Portland, Ore.
