By Steven Feldman
Houston—Do you know Karen? You should. She’s the woman of your dreams. In fact, everything you do should be geared toward making Karen happy. And that’s the message with which Carpet One Floor & Home members came away at their recent convention here.

So just who is Karen? Karen is every floor covering retailer’s target customer. She is between 35 and 70, but the sweet spot is between 45 and 60. Her average household income is around $75,000. As a baby boomer, she has the highest household income of any generational group. She controls 77% of the nation’s household wealth. She controls 55% of the nation’s discretionary income. She is a mom, a wife, a professional, an empty nester. She is smart and does her research. She knows what she likes. She wants a fair price for the right product. Her home is the cornerstone of her social world. Her home is also her investment. She has high expectations and values the opinions of those she trusts.

With that in mind, Eric Demaree, Carpet One Floor & Home’s new COO, told members everything they do needs to focus on the customer. But not just any customer—the right customer. And that is Karen. “Instead of advertising to the world, we need to market to the target customer. We will have the ability through our marketing and new technology to focus on the consumer who is most likely to buy from Carpet One at the appropriate time with an offering that’s appropriate to her.”

Knowing what Karen wants is the first step. The next step is understanding how to cater to her needs, which is something Carpet One already offers, according to Theresa Fisher, vice president of merchandising. “The ease she desires is delivered through SelectaFloor. She seeks inspiration, which is offered through our selection of product and top-level sales professionals. She wants flawless execution, and we deliver the ultimate level of satisfaction.”

Demaree added that the relationship with Karen must be sustainable and built on trust. “She will reward us with her loyalty and referrals,” he said. “We need to get our customer to rave about her experience. We want customers to be cheerleaders for life.”

‘We Know Floors’

Carpet One recently undertook a comprehensive brand survey to determine who exactly it is. “Because the most important thing a brand has to do is match who we are,” said Evan Hackel, president. “Now that we have defined who we are, we need to take the next step and set ourselves apart in a way no one else can duplicate.”

Carpet One believes the one thing it offers better than any retailer is expertise. And now it is putting its money where its mouth is. Hence, the Beautiful Guarantee, which takes hold this spring.

If any Carpet One customer is not satisfied with her floor in any way, it will be replaced at no cost—everything included, which is an industry first.

“This will be the cornerstone of how we define ourselves,” Hackel said. “We believe our stores have the expertise to deliver to the customer a simply beautiful floor.” The program is designed to illustrate to consumers that Carpet One stands by its products and provides them with confidence and security in their purchases that are unmatched in the floor covering industry. The offer is available on all SelectAFloor Gold, Platinum and Titanium products with the goal of upgrading consumers from bronze and silver.

Research shows the guarantee resonates with consumers:

• 97% said a guarantee such as this was important to them in their decision-making process.

• 55% said they would choose one store over another based on Carpet One’s Beautiful Guarantee.

Hackel implored members to get the word out. “For this to work, we have to tell Karen. We have to put it in our advertising so people come into the store. We have to put it in the store graphics so those who come in see it. Sales professionals must tell every customer about the guarantee. This is our unique statement: We are so confident we can help you pick the right floor. It is not about replacing floors; it is about conveying confidence in our expertise.”

The Beautiful Guarantee will be the focus of Carpet One’s spring advertising campaign. “Simply put, you are going to love the way your floor looks. We guarantee it,” said Stan Langer, vice president of advertising and marketing. The campaign takes a position of expertise, supported by brand attributes of ease, inspiration, flawless execution and legacy of local markets.

Part two of the advertising campaign was finding a spokesperson who would connect with Karen, someone with the requisite credibility factor within our category. Carpet One believes it found the ideal spokesperson in home design and remodeling—expert Amy Wynn Pastor, star of TLC reality shows “Trading Spaces” and “Trading Spaces: Family Edition.” Pastor will be featured in Carpet One Floor & Home’s new marketing campaign that will include a range of media, including television, print, direct mail and interactive online platforms. “Although she is a DIY guru, she is stating loud and clear that if you want floor covering and a beautiful floor in your home, you need to rely on the experts at Carpet One,” Langer said.

Next up was enacting an advertising system with the flexibility to support local needs. Carpet One developed a modular communications platform as part of MarketRight 3.0 that would work for everyone regardless of size, market position, etc. The advertising starts with Pastor, continues with the local member standing behind the Beautiful Guarantee, then is customizable with store name, location, etc. The spring campaign includes TV, radio, circulars, direct mail, Internet, newspapers, magazines, etc.

Customer First

Making the customer the number one priority is how you become the best, Hackel said. How do Carpet One retailers convince the customer they are the best? It’s simply a matter of getting the ‘hows’ right, Hackel said. “As an example, with most retailers, for every three people who walk through the door, typically one buys and two leave. Then you install; maybe you follow up, maybe you don’t. The customer goes away, she forgets about her purchase, and when she needs flooring again she thinks of you but others as well.

“However, in the Customer First world, they come in, but your store is different. You treat the customer like you care. They love the Beautiful Guarantee and they have confidence. Then you handle the installation professionally. Then you follow up. Then you keep in constant communication. Instead of being satisfied, they become wowed. And they tell everyone. You get word of mouth advertising. They are excited and positive. Remember, 65% to 70% of all our customers are generated from repeat and referred customers.”

To support Customer First, Carpet One has created exclusive technologies like Market-Right 3.0 and the Customer Experience Management (CEM) system that allows retailers and their salespeople to communicate with its customers at the appropriate time.

The CEM system gives salespeople an easy way to communicate with customers on a very personalized and timely basis. At the root of Customer First is a culture that says Carpet One is going to provide an exceptional and far superior customer experience that is highly personalized to every consumer that comes through its door.

“CEM gives us the ability to manage that process and communicate to that customer at times when she is most likely to be in the market to buy our products,” Langer said. “It also allows sales professionals to put in a centralized data bank containing everything that’s important to personalizing that customer experience. They will also have the option to send on-demand marketing pieces to non-buyers to quickly re-engage those customers and invite them back.” CEM is supported with training—in store, webinars and field training.

One of the interesting components of Market-Right 3.0 is Merlin, an engine for lead generation. “Merlin will drive traffic via integrated lead generation and will provide an advantage over competitors,” said Dean Marcarelli, vice president of marketing.

Merlin uses technology to market a message to a very well-defined target audience with offers that are not only relevant but timely. It reconfigures where a retailer’s most likely customers are located.

“Merlin can narrow down my wife’s particular tastes and habits, which can be different than the neighbor across the street,” Demaree said. “We can actively market to both prospects with personalized and relevant messages, and they can be totally different.” Carpet One achieves this through its ability to capture and scrub multiple data bases that have never been used for flooring. “The best thing is targeting your dollars to people who are in the moment to buy,” Hackel said. “It is neither a shotgun nor mass media approach. No one else can duplicate this because we tied up the right data bases.”