We want to be an industry leader in our area, and aside from having the technical skills, we’ve found that also entails finding ways to connect with our community. Here are some ways we engage with our community as a wood flooring retailer.
1) Be active on social media
We’ve found that maintaining an active social media presence is worth the time and is a great way for people to get to know us and our brand. Instagram is one of the most integral pieces of our company. We create fun and relevant stories and Reels dedicated to our brand. We continually upgrade our website and work with a local photographer for professional photos of our work. We’re a close-knit crew, and we’ve also started highlighting our employees on social media so our community can get to know them, too.
2) Find ways to give back
We love what we do and enjoy giving back to our community. We also wanted to find a way to be industry-specific, so we partnered with Tree Canada. Now, for every solid or engineered hardwood floor we supply and install, 25 trees are planted by Tree Canada in beautiful British Columbia. This deepens that sense of community for our clients and for ourselves, as well.
3) Meet people where they’re at
We aim to be as flexible as possible when it comes to meeting with our customers to begin fostering relationships. We offer free in-house consultations, one-on-one meetings in our showroom and, if a remote meeting is required, we offer consultations through Zoom. We recently brought our stair, refinishing, installation, sales and management services all under one roof, becoming our area’s largest flooring location, and we offer “Flooring After Hours” events to connect with our peers, mentors and homeowners.
4) Sponsor a local sports team
Sponsoring a local sports team is a great way to get involved in your area. A Saturday spent with our teeny kids soccer team—the Samurai Flooriers—is a Saturday well spent. We donate whatever we can. We also donate to the 4-H program and host little barbecues.
5) Authentic listening
Whether it’s one client or your community, if you want to connect and find out what they need, you need to practice authentic listening, just really listening to what they want. Before joining the flooring industry, I taught hairdressing, where I learned that forming relationships with your clients and meeting their needs is all about good communication.
All Things Wood Floor, created by Wood Floor Business magazine, talks to interesting wood flooring pros to share knowledge, stories and tips on everything to do with wood flooring, from installation, sanding and finishing to business management.
