Shaw is taking the time, guesswork—and in some instances, the stress—out of marketing and promotion for its Shaw Flooring Network (SFN) members. It’s a welcomed helping hand for flooring retailers who are focused on strengthening their businesses.

“You’re not marketing experts,” said Nicki Rayburn, director of marketing and brand strategy, Shaw. “Let us do that heavy lifting for you, so you can focus on your business.”

Rayburn directs SFN members to ShawNow, where they can find a marketing tab loaded with assets to help them leverage their businesses across Shaw brands, including:

• Retailer Playbook: Launched in April 2020, Shaw Industries online toolkit for retailers offers free access to marketing campaigns, suggested best practices, financial resources and more to help retailers navigate the changing retail landscape. “This is my favorite thing,” Rayburn said. “When the pandemic first hit and the shutdown first happened, we created this playbook to help ‘unstick’ our retail customers.” To remain in stride with changing business and consumer habits and preferences throughout 2021 and beyond, Rayburn says Shaw will build this evergreen content: “Make sure you access it and view it, but you also come back to it many times, because we are going to continue to update that tool.”
• Business Development Funds (BDF): Designed to help retailers earn money to help grow their business.
• Velocity Digital Marketing: An exclusive digital marketing program for SFN members. “Digital marketing is where it’s at right now,” said Katie Ford, director of brand strategy, Anderson Tuftex.
• A year-round promotional calendar and materials: Retailers can download seasonal graphics, marketing and promotional materials, and dress up their store, website and advertising.
• Promoboxx Retail Marketing Content: Streamlines social media content for retailers.

SFN members are putting these digital tools to work more than ever before. During the Illinois government-ordered shutdown of Staff Carpet, marketing director Bailie Lantz said she turned to the playbook to find ways to readjust existing business practices in order to best reach customers during the pandemic. Some of the suggestions outlined in the playbook that Staff Carpet put into action included delivering product samples to customers, conducting virtual consultations and offering curbside product pickup.

“Having the resources for us straight from Shaw was so helpful,” Lantz said.

Shaw’s resources have been a helpful guide for Lantz since she joined the Staff Carpet team and took on the responsibility of managing the retail operation’s social media platforms and presence. As the company grew, owner John Staff knew he needed to spend more time on the showroom floor, but he recognized that importance of strengthening the businesses’ social media presence as well. With the help of Shaw’s marketing and promotion materials, Lantz said she built on what Shaw has to offer its SFN members, creating custom content that best fit Staff Carpet and its Springfield, Illinois, market.  

“We co-brand the promotions so we are leveraging what Shaw has to offer us as a company, but we are also making it our own by using our own branding,” Lantz said. “My main goal has always been to make our content authentic and unique to Staff Carpet.”

Lantz says Staff Carpet’s commitment to social media has helped grow business.

“It shows that Shaw is here for us and it can up our engagement and our views on some of those posts.”

As for the in-store experience, Shaw will continue to ramp up promotions efforts for the spring and fall selling seasons.  

“Shaw is going to invest in the local market through a variety of tactics,” Ford said. “We will have beautiful marketing materials for these promotions for your store, social media, etc.”

For more information, visit shawfloors.com.