struggling flooring business

[boblet]

hello all i run a small carpet shop and at the moment times are very hard because of the credit crunch and price increases due to oil prices i have tried advertising in local papers and have of late seen a big drop in interest, any ideas as to what i can do to improve the situation and would it be an idea to operate another smaller business along side what i am doing now?

 

[2happy days]

You have a simalar problem to me Buisness is slow at the moment.. Dont forget many people will be spending money on the garden and holidays at the moment. Do you have a hard wood flooring section together with a supply and fit service?

 

[boblet]

yes i do but have had no joy with that i am always outpriced by the bigger stores

 

[2happy days]

I am about to take on a mail drop around my area hoping it would work! Maybe it could be worth a go I was quoted 45+vat for 10000 quite how they can do it that cheap I dont know but its all vetted and back checked. Dont forget if you have a shop front you could branch in to furniture. Lots of cheap stuff from china and the Nordics at the mo

 

[boblet]

we already do furniture bed's n sofa's which are all on sale at the mo,we have 3 other larger shop's surrounding us doin the same and they run full page spreads in the local papers!!!
We are currently setting up a web page n are considering doing a fly drop to with a discount for every return but not sure if its goin to be enough!!!
My wife advertises for us as she is amobile hairdresser aswell but just setting up so hopefully that will help bring some ppl through the door!

 

[OldWelshGuy]

if there are large stores near to you, then get your signs up near them leaflets are great for what you do.

 

[boblet]

where do you get ur leaflets done?
we've been doin our own but its easyer for someone else to do them and maybe cheaper...
I never thought of putting a sign up near to them lol might not go down to well tho but hey we gotta stay above water.
Thanks for ur advice hope things work out for u if it wasnt for the government no-one would be in this situation.....

 

[directmarketingadvice]

boblet,

What do you offer your prospects that your competitors don't?

i.e. why should someone buy from you rather than your competitors?

I'm asking because a lot of small shops don't have the economies of scale and buying power of larger stores and that means they can't match the price.

(or, if they match the price, they've nothing left to market with)

And, now that prices are increasing, they may be finding that more and more customers are price sensitive and going elsewhere.

So, it's more important than ever that you're offering an advantage to the customer.

Steve

 

[boblet]

We offer free fitting and fixings on stock carpet but we cannot beat them on cut lenghths as we wouldnt be making anything as we have not passed on the price increases to the customer where as they have!!!
I am open to sugestions which could help.

 

[Matt1959]

do you use fitters that could be deemed better than your competition? Its alright buying carpet cheap but if its badly fitted its money down the drain. Re. your free fitting - you must be in hell of a competitive location. Round our way, no one offers free fitting on anything! Where in UK are you out of interest?

 

[boblet]

were located in staffordshire,burton our fitter's are very skilled but its a position we have found our selves in,free fitting only apply's to stock carpet so its not on everything...
We have 4 other shop's directly in compotition with us n we are just tryin anything that brings the public to us n not them!!!

 

[Cornish Steve]

hello all i run a small carpet shop and at the moment times are very hard because of the credit crunch and price increases due to oil prices i have tried advertising in local papers and have of late seen a big drop in interest, any ideas as to what i can do to improve the situation and would it be an idea to operate another smaller business along side what i am doing now?

What is your strategy? How do you differentiate yourself from other companies? I'm guessing that your prices are higher than the big boys but that you offer personalised service.

If this is the case, are you focussing on the high-end market? Such people are willing to pay extra for personalised service. Plus, in an economic downturn, they usually continue to spend when others don't.

 

[garyk]

As Steve G said competing on price alone is a tricky position to be in.

Are you on the list of approved suppliers for insurance claims? We had some flood damage a few months ago and claimed on our house insurance and there were only 3 or 4 suppliers that we could go to for carpets/flooring, quite a decent size claim as well which is great additional business for those suppliers.

What are your best selling lines? Who are your best customers? Do you know these factors, if so you could use them to invigorate sales from your existing base. How do you currently get business now and in the past and which has been the most effective activity that brings in new business? Think about extremely low margin initial offers to attract customers, acquisition is always the hardest task for any business.

Gary