[Las Vegas] When it comes to sales management in the floor covering industry, there are a handful of software companies that have taken on the challenge of making every step of the sales chain — from marketing to order to invoice to payment — simpler. Here at The International Surface Event (TISE) 2017 earlier this year, we saw everything from sales tools to digital marketing kits, designed to augment and support flooring retailers.
Despite hesitation to embrace technology, the flooring industry is catching up with other industries, software suppliers reported. The latest example of this comes from QFloors, which is preparing to launch its QPro version. The new software is a much needed update to an already working system, with one significant change — they’re going beyond the “cloud.”
“The trend of software outside of the flooring industry is definitely focused on cloud-based solutions that are device independent, which refers to a web-based program that can easily be used on any type of platform and product,” said Chad Ogden, president of QFloors. “The problem is that to truly make a software program web-based, which means it is an independent program but accessed via a browser and not screen emulation programs, it requires a complete do over.”
QFloors already offers traditional cloud computing options, but has spent the past two years in a very focused effort to create a complete browser-based cloud product. Resulting in greater flexibility and adaptability, the 16-year-old current QFloors program has been scrapped and rewritten with more than a million lines of new code for QFloors Pro — unlike other browser-based software that exists in the industry, Ogden said. He likens other web-based programs to putting an old engine in a new car.
“Most companies are just trying to fix their existing software to mimic more mobile solutions,” Ogden said. “It may buy them some time, but in the end, it is just a temporary fix because as time goes on, the ability to interface and be compatible with third party software tools (for instance, email, credit card processing marketing tools, etc.) will decrease. We have been working on our software rebuild for a couple of years now, because in order to be truly browser-based and completely device independent, this huge retool involves programming things in a new way.”
QPro also features an updated fresh new look and interface, with the same user-friendly and intuitive processes that users have come to expect from QFloors. QPro POS+ is the first of several products to be released over time and offers added capabilities to be used to manage many different products in the home improvement industry, not just flooring.
For RFMS, innovation has taken the form of a new mobile app. Front and center for the company this year are two versions of their new mobile app “MOE” — standing for “measure order entry” and “mobile order entry.”
Screenshots from the RFMS mobile app.
Measure, aimed at retailers and property management professionals, allows anyone, including homeowners, to do up to five drawings to quantify how much flooring product they need, as well as create scene diagrams. If linked to core RMFS software, sales people can apply product from the scene diagrams, easily entering accurate quantities and pressing a single button to create a sales order.
“Today, you book your airline tickets and hotels on an app, so why can’t you buy flooring on an app?” said Dave Dumolin, director of sales, RFMS. “That’s what this product allows you to do.”
The second version, mobile order, is a direct pipeline to sales ordering without drawing capabilities that goes directly into RFMS’ core system. “If you’re a cash and carry store or you’re not doing drawings and layouts or you’re selling to installers, then this app is for you,” said Dumolin.
No matter what part of the floor purchasing journey a consumer is on, digital is transforming the way retailers can engage with them. From a marketing perspective, this goes beyond just having a great website — in 2017, content and paid search are king, according to John Weller, vice president of FloorForce.
“In 2010, when we started, only 30 percent of what you saw on Google search was paid,” Weller said. “Today, 100 percent of what you see is paid, until you scroll, making it harder to show up organically. So, in a world where all retailers are paying for advertising, how do you separate yourself? Content.”
Recognizing that retailers can often be overwhelmed trying to handle all digital channels to reach a consumer, FloorForce has created a platform allowing for automatic marketing for the retailer. This way, Weller explained, the consumer, no matter where they are in their journey, sees consistent messaging and the retailer is not trying to do it all.
This year FloorForce partnered with Mohawk to launch the digital automation platform Omnify. The commitment to content, including creating digital assets, such as photos and videos, enhanced room scenes enhanced product imagery, is key. But Weller warned, “All the digital marketing without great content doesn’t move the needle. Today’s consumer spends 75 percent of the time educating themselves online, getting comfortable with what they want to buy in the marketplace before they step into your store. Your online digital footprint is actually more important than just a website.”
Quick-Step knows this too, and has released a Digital Toolbox designed to empower retailers to succeed at social media with quality content that is both easy to share and engaging. Along with social media tips and best practices for those just starting out, the Toolbox also allows retailers to login to their social media accounts and post from within the Toolbox.
“Starting and maintaining a social program can be difficult for specialty flooring retailers, but the Digital Toolbox really simplifies the whole process,” said Paij Thorn-Brooks, vice president of brand marketing, Mohawk Flooring North America. “It makes creating and maintaining a social media program very doable for retailers.”
Beyond Digital Toolbox, Quick-Step also has a new Style My Floor app which lets consumers see exactly what any flooring product from the Quick-Step collection would look like installed in any specific room of their home, through the use of augmented reality technology.
Quick-Step's Style My Floor app.
“Only the most artistic among us could ever accurately visualize in their minds exactly what different flooring choices might look like when installed in a particular room of their home,” said Thorn-Brooks. “Style My Floor takes away the guess work usually involved in the process of selecting a new floor and also makes the consumer more confident in her final choice.”
The message from many technology companies is this isn’t the old flooring business anymore — and if you’re aiming to hire (or even sell to) Millennials, it’s time to accept the change.
“If you think technology has changed in the last ten years, wait for the next 10,” said RFMS’ Dumolin. “The longer we wait to embrace it, the more behind we’ll be.”