Flooring America/Flooring Canada, a division of CCA Global Partners the nation’s largest floor covering cooperative, announced the launch of its comprehensive digital marketing program that is designed to empower its more than 500 independent retailers to leverage technology which will influence consumers at the point of purchase.
 
A recent report from Nielsen shows that 90% of consumers say that recommendations from personal acquaintances or consumer opinions posted online influence their buying decisions. “People trust friends and online reviews from consumers. These recommendations are more important than what we have to say about ourselves,” said Keith Spano, President of Flooring America. “This represents a huge opportunity for Flooring America’s retailers to leverage the voice of their local community while leveling the playing field against the big box behemoths in the industry by capitalizing on the recommendations and referrals of friends.”
 
This program is designed to support the sales professional and enhance the customer experience simultaneously. This is achieved by using the latest technological tools to syndicate social media content for each participating Flooring America/ Flooring Canada store. As the content is spread out through multiple social mediums, it educates and engages local consumers, helping the sales professional recommend the right product once they enter the showroom. Also on the local level, it gives each store its unique voice, which is important when targeting a select demographic.
 
According to Frank Chiera, VP of Marketing at Flooring America, who spearheaded the new digital strategy, “our goal is to become the most recommended flooring store in every market that we serve. At the end of the day, it is about earned media not paid media.  By empowering our independent retail members with best-in-class technology -- from the FAST program to the My Floor Story app—we’re providing a way for members to build stronger relationships with customers on a local level, while simultaneously creating enormous awareness for the Flooring America brand nationally.”
 
The three major elements of the program include:
 
· FAST (Flooring America Social Tools): a turnkey, local social media management, monitoring and customer engagement platform that syndicates relevant content from Flooring America and Flooring Canada member stores to consumers.
· CASH (Customer Assessment Sales Helper):  a sales professional tool to help qualify customers and guide sales professionals to match customers with the right product.  CASH integrates with Flooring America’s CRM system to enhance customer satisfaction. It delivers real-time messaging, a budget builder and finance application.
· My Floor Story:a recommendation and review app available for consumers to rate their experience at FA/FC stores and to share with others across their social channels. The app is available through the Apple store and Android marketplace.
 
 “Hands down this is the most exciting program that has been launched in years,” said Brian Smith of Foulk’s Flooring America. “It has instantly transformed the way in which we engage with customers from start to finish, creating a better shopping experience, increasing referrals and recommendations and earning the trust of the local community.”
 
For more information on Flooring America, visit www.flooringamerica.com. Become a fan of Facebook and follow us @FlooringAmerica.