new venture

[paully]

in about 3 weeks i am about to take on a new premises to sell wall and floor tiles to the trade and retail customers.I have been in the trade as a tiler for the last 17 years but i thought that selling the product would be a bit easier now that i am getting on a bit.I wondered if anyone here had some advice as in the best way to promote the showroom advertising etc.
thanks[/b]

[Eagle]

Hi Paully and welcome.

How about your transport - do you have a van? Maybe putting on some livery might get the word around (wherever you travel)?... :)

[Rob Holmes]

Hi Paully,

Just a quick note to say welcome to UKBF, do you have a business plan etc? What are your target markets? Do you have press releases written and waiting for release?

Hopefully you'll get some good ideas posted to help:)

Rob

[chris1317]

Do you have a website or is it a purely offline venture?

Chris.

[webit]

Welcome to the forums. Do you have a network of existing tilers you know you can flyier/cut a deal with, local showrooms. I'd say go for fewer larger purchasers rather than chasing a number of small companies. Sell your quality of service/supply rather than matching price.

[paully]

thanks for the advice but i have one more queery you might be able to help with.The premises is b1 usage ancillary to the business what does this mean, the guy i am renting from assures me this is o.k. to retail from what do you think ?????

[Twokids]

Hi Paully

Just wondered where you are based - can you give me an idea?

I believe there are significant gaps in the retail market for a service like yours if it marketd correctly. I can say this as someone who has recently purchased and had installed a new tiled kitchen floor. I always thought that there was is a huge gap between the 'hairy ars*d' builders supplier and the far too slick and expensive West end flooring showrooms.

If you could plug that you would have it made.

Two companies that have done that very succesfully are Pimlico Plumbers and Addison Lee.

The average middle class homeowner wilts at the mention of 'Plumber', fearing a rough tradesman turning up , dirtying the carpets, being sulky and taciturn, zero customer skills, treating the customer like morons, not cleaning up afterwards, full of 'Us' and 'Them' attitude etc etc. - Pimlico Plumbers changed all that, their plumbers wear a shirt and tie and uniform, they have an excellent call center where nothing is too much trouble and the customer feels they have had first class service - even though they pay 25% more!

Minicabs - to most people that means a grumpy, illiterate driver ( in London anyway ) in a stinking filthy 12 year old jalopy with no MOT, wearing a smelly tee shirt with last nights food stains on it ( and there is the gamble that they never turn up ) . Addison Lee however give a first class service , clean, under 3 year old cabs - all the same make and colour, clean respectable intelligent drivers in a shirt and tie - and you can (mostly) depend on them to be there when they say they will. Nobody seems to mind paying an extra 25% for that service either!

If you can establish yourself in that niche I reckon you will have it made - in London anyway. Think clean, respectable, shirt and tie, reliable, understanding and non-judgemental ( even when the customer really IS a twit!) , helpful, ready to please - you can easily charge 25% more for this service and have a 'word of mouth' response that will have your customers queing out of the door - in London anyway!

Regards

Jim

if you are in London and need advice / help on marketing yourself drop me a line.

Jim_power@hotmail.co.uk

[paully]

hello jim ,no iam not in london i am on the herts/cambs border just off a main A road but i agree with you i think people will pay a bit more for a1 service and that is the route i would like to take however if the stories about spending and the economic climate are correct it does make me a little aprehensive to be starting a new venture at this time

[fastfences]

The economic climate is always good for those prepared to have a go. There are always people prepared to spend money on improving their home. We respond to them and give them what they want better and faster, and 25% dearer is okay, when we've got it right!!

Go for it, Cheers, Nigel

[webit]

I never make a choice based on cost (within reason) I always value the qualty of service and communication to be worth much more.