It’s a new year––time to work on your resolutions. If improving your floor contracting business is on your list, we have a few suggestions that can make a positive impact on your business this year.

1. Improve your social media presence.

Do you have a Facebook Business page for your company? What about Instagram? Social media is no longer something people just use to keep in touch with friends and family. They are powerful tools that you can use to connect with potential customers. Homeowners who are thinking about home renovations often turn to social media to find out about the latest trends and get ideas for their projects. The average person spends up to two hours per day on social media. This gives you a huge opportunity to capture the attention of homeowners in your area who may need your services for a current or upcoming home renovation.

A great thing about social media is that you don’t need any special cameras or equipment to take pictures––just use your smartphone to capture what’s happening in the moment. You can post pictures of your finished projects, before and after pictures, pictures of yourself and your team working, and anything else that showcases your expertise!

It’s also a good idea to consider running Facebook and Instagram ads to promote your business because you can get very specific with the people you target in your ads, serving them only to those who are most likely to take action.

2. Diversify your offerings.

In order to grow your business, sometimes you have to step outside of your comfort zone and venture into uncharted territory. This is especially true in the wood floor contracting business, which is closely linked to the interior design industry––one field where the standards and consumer demands are constantly changing.

Could you freshen up your offerings? One way to find out is to take a look at what’s currently popular in the market. Find out which services and products your competitors are offering, and decide which ones you can begin offering to your clients as well.

A few services and products to consider offering include:

“Dustless”/less dust sanding methods. Offering sanding options with as minimal dust creation as possible is important because people are increasingly concerned about their health and the air quality in their homes during renovations. You want to protect your customers as well as yourself and the health of your team. Some of the equipment you can use to achieve less dust on your job sites include the ProTeam MegaVac, the American Sanders RS-16 DC buffer, and the American Sanders AVAC 26 vacuum. 

Wide plank floors. If you haven’t worked with wide plank floors, consider incorporating them into your repertoire so you can appeal to a broader range of clients. Wide planks are only getting more popular with time.

Try out different techniques. Have you been using the same sanding technique the entire time you’ve been in business? There might be a different, possibly better way to do things. Maybe there’s a finish pulling technique which you’ve never encountered before, or a new edging technique to learn. 

Different treatments. Try experimenting with new finishes, stains, and floor treatments in general. Distressed floors, for example, can be created with ease using a buffer attachment like this Bona wire brush kit.

An important part of this process is getting educated, which leads us to our third point.

3. Stay on top of trends and get educated.

As a professional, it’s important to continue learning about new techniques and trends in your industry. 

Read industry magazines like Wood Floor Business and Interior Design Magazine. Learn about what homeowners are looking for so that you can offer it to your customers. Figure out if there are any new, improved techniques you can utilize, and acquire new certifications to set yourself apart from your competition.  

This is such an important point that we hold education events each year to help contractors learn about new techniques and new products. It’s also why we run our YouTube channel and publish these blogs––we want to help contractors be more successful at what they do, and education is a major component of that.

4. Create a website, or revamp your current website.

To have a successful presence on the internet, your website has to attract the right kind of traffic, be up-to-date, and convince people who visit the site to actually contact you. There are a few things that go into this, including effective SEO, good design, and establishing trust.

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is the process of incorporating content and keywords into your website so that people who are searching for businesses like yours can actually find you. You can also invest in search engine ads such as Google AdWords to generate traffic to your site, which can give you results much more quickly than building the content into your site organically. These campaigns can become pricey but are worth it if they convert a good amount of people.

Your website should also be responsive so it looks good on all types of devices. If your design is not up to date, consider hiring someone to redesign it for you.

Another important part of having an effective website is establishing trust with the people who visit your site to convince them to contact you. Part of this can come from creating a photo gallery full of pictures of your work. Consider hiring a photographer to take these pictures––a picture is worth 1,000 words especially when it comes to wood flooring. You can also establish trust with your website visitors by featuring positive reviews of past customers.

5. Provide excellent customer service.

In a profession that’s known for people showing up late or not at all, set yourself apart by striving to provide an excellent customer service experience. Return calls and emails promptly, and if you are having trouble with this, consider hiring a secretary to keep on top of communications with your customers.

Show up to your estimates, meetings, and projects on time. Make sure your team members act professionally and wear company uniforms. It’s important to maintain a polished image to retain your customers’ trust and secure referrals.

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Are you going to focus on improving your business this year? What changes would you like to make?