By Louis Iannaco
With so many retailers counting on Mohawk for quality products and service, it only stands to reason that brand and marketing support are a big part of the equation. Whether it be advertising, research, credit services or more, Mohawk has made customer satisfaction its primary focus.

Retail advertising

Mohawk is on a mission to connect the dots, noted Lisa Ownbey, director of marketing services. “We are committed to developing retailer advertising that supports our flooring business. The key here is to drive more traffic. Our retailer advertising team is dedicated to meeting with our brand managers to ensure every retailer advertising tool we develop is congruent with the look, feel and merchandising of the products we deliver to our retailers.”

Ownbey added that if the retailers use Mohawk’s advertising, then the consumer sees the same message whether the advertising comes from Mohawk corporate or a Mohawk retailer. “The overriding look and feel of our national advertising will be an ongoing factor in the process as well. I believe these small steps will lead to large returns as the brand will begin to look and feel the same every time the consumer sees Mohawk. That, in turn, will create more brand recognition.”

Credit is critical

According to Ownbey, Mohawk Marketing Services is also committed to delivering greater value in the Mohawk Consumer Finance Program. “This is our key initiative in 2008. I’ve spoken to several retailers who feel they do not need to offer their customers credit because they live in an affluent neighborhood and are concerned that offering credit to people who ‘may not need credit’ may be insulting.

[However], most research supports the fact that the customer who is most likely to use credit is the most affluent customer. The financially savvy customer is the one who would prefer to use other people’s money rather than their own, and they are the most likely to pay off the balance before the interest begins.

In addition, we have found the average purchase is higher when retailers use our consumer finance program. In the flooring industry, on average, a consumer will spend $500 per transaction when using cash or $750 with a traditional bank card; however, the customer will spend an average of $2,600 per transaction when given the option to finance using a private label credit card.”