Best Practices - March 2009
By Sonya Jennings
Kevin Hames, owner of five Big Bob’s Flooring Outlets in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area, began his adventure in the flooring business back in 1986 when he began “New to You Carpets.” Hames and his wife, Barbie, salvaged lightly used carpet and then resold and installed it in various rental properties around town. In 1992, he opened his first store, Big Bob’s New and Used Carpet, in the Dallas suburb of Duncanville.
Today, Hames owns and operates five Big Bob’s Flooring Outlets, focusing on the discount market. His stores offer carpet, laminate, hardwood, ceramic and porcelain tile, vinyl and area rugs. His average ticket is $750, and his stores sell approximately 60% carpet, 40% other surfaces.
Hames says that what makes his business successful is offering the warranty and customer service of an upper end store with discount pricing. For his customers, it’s the best of both worlds. Typically, when shopping at a discount outlet, the customer sacrifices the warranty or guarantee to get a lower price, but not at Hames’ Big Bob’s outlets. His stores offer a 100% customer satisfaction guarantee above and beyond the manufacturer guarantee. If a customer isn’t happy with an installation or product, the job will be corrected or replaced at no cost to the customer.
By offering the guarantee, Hames believes he attracts customers who wouldn’t typically shop at discount stores. His products have warranties exactly like first quality goods. There have been instances where a customer has taken advantage of the guarantee in order to get something for free, but those cases have been very few. As a matter of fact, Hames could only remember one specific instance. “Ninety-nine percent of people are reasonable and just want to be treated fairly. If a customer is not happy, and you treat them right, not only have you done the right thing, you have done the best thing for your business.”
Hames sees every customer as the tip of an iceberg—beneath the surface, there’s a mass of opportunity when considering referrals, and the referrals of referrals.
Last September, Hames began to see sales numbers dropping because of the recession, so he gathered his management staff and made plans to aggressively gain marketshare in a down economy. In a time when many stores were cutting back or even closing their doors, Big Bob’s was positioning itself to win new customers. According to Hames, “People may postpone, but they typically do not cancel a flooring purchase. So, if we gain marketshare now, when the economy recovers, we will see an incredible buying boom.” Several creative ideas came out of these “get creative in the recession” meetings. One idea that has taken off is the “mobile showroom.” The company is putting vans on the road that contain a mini-showroom of samples. “Bringing the store to the customer” makes it easier on clients who don’t have time to go shopping. With RFMS software, the salesperson can pull up inventory and take payment right from the van. Also, the vans are like billboards on wheels, so free advertising is an added benefit.
To promote his stores, Hames has moved his advertising dollars to what he calls “targeted relationship marketing.” Basically, this means that he pursues specific people who speak to his customers and he offers them a referral fee for sending customers to his store. He also pays fees to get on vendor lists of various businesses in related fields such as real estate. This effort has been very successful. He also speaks at property management companies, apartment complexes, property investor groups, title companies, mortgage brokers, home inspection businesses, termite inspection companies, and insurance companies. He has even begun to put brochure stands in various places where people have to sit and wait, like hair salons, oil change locations, and doctor and dentist offices. He assigns each business a number, then gives the business a referral fee anytime a customer comes in with a coupon from their location. This promotional method has proven to be very effective.
When a customer purchases a product from one of Hames’ Big Bob’s flooring outlets, the store sends a letter that explains the 100% satisfaction guarantee and gives Hames’ cell phone number. The letter explains that if a manager cannot handle any situation to the customer’s satisfaction, Hames is available at anytime to take care of it. Hames comments, “My management staff is incredible, so basically my phone doesn’t ring with angry customers on the other end.” Even though the phone number isn’t necessarily needed, it sends a very clear message to the customer that Big Bob’s will do anything to create a positive buying experience.
Hames and his staff at Big Bob’s Flooring Outlets are creating new ways to gain marketshare in a down economy, and setting themselves up for even greater success when the economy recovers.
Copyright 2009 Floor Focus