• Shop first: A new marketing program called Flooring America/ Flooring Canada First has been developed. The initiative targets past customers but also analyzes them to identify the best future customers. “We’re looking for households that look like our customer,” Binder said. “Past customers are the best future customers, but past customers don’t automatically come back. They, too, need cultivating.”

How it works: A profile of a member’s existing customer base is created. That would include age, income, number of children, car make, age of home, etc. After the profile is developed, it is analyzed and an additional target list of look-alikes that live in the same neighborhood is created. Flooring America will do the mailing. A full rollout is anticipated by summer convention;

• Warranty expansion: The group has integrated its Five-Star Selection System across its entire hard surface product line. Every hard surface product will now have a star rating tied to a specific warranty. This will further ease the many performance considerations consumers face when shopping for hard surface floors, Vinnie Virga said. Each star gives customers five years of warranty protection. The more stars, the more protection. As well, all Five-Star products carry the group’s Confidence Plus guarantee, which allows any hard surface floor to be exchanged for any reason within 60 days after installation. All material and labor costs will be paid by the manufacturer. “It’s a great differentiator for our members. It also makes for a good trade-up story,” and

• Building builder business: The Commercial Connection program is designed to teach members how to grow the high-profit “negotiated bids” side of the business, which are often larger jobs built on relationships with trade professionals. They will also learn how to maximize Main Street opportunities. Commercial Connection topics will include best practices, prospecting and negotiating.

“There’s a lot of opportunity on the commercial side of the flooring business, and it’s a great way to diversify an operation and guard against fluctuations in the economy,” said Jim Duff, president of Flooring Canada.