Retention marketing is the key to long-term success

In flooring retail, winning a new customer feels great. All your work in promoting your company, the brands you sell and the services you offer have helped you land a client. But what are your plans to keep them? That’s where the real profit lives. Customer retention—the ability to hold onto the clients you already have—is not just a buzzword. It’s a business strategy that drives referrals, repeat purchases and long-term growth.

Retention isn’t the responsibility of a single salesperson, marketing manager or owner. It’s everyone’s job. Salespeople initiate the relationship, installers interact directly with customers in their homes and office staff handle follow-ups. Everyone in your company touches the customer experience, and everyone can influence retention. In short, every touchpoint matters. Everyone in your store has the power to influence customer loyalty.

In order to appreciate why customer retention is so important, you need to fully understand why customers leave in the first place. Customers leave for simple reasons: they feel forgotten, neglected or undervalued. Sometimes, it’s as small as a lack of follow-up after installation. Other times, it’s poor communication or an absence of ongoing engagement. The truth is, once a sale closes, many flooring businesses stop communicating.

If your goal is to retain clients, you must actively reach out. If you do it right, your satisfied customers will come back.

Following are a few helpful tips to better retention:

1. Collect relevant contact information. Ask for emails at the point of sale or during installation scheduling. Incentivize it with a small gift certificate or discount. The key is to have a direct line with your customers.
2. Engage online. Social media is where customers spend time. Ask if they follow your profiles and offer to connect. Share photos of recent jobs and encourage them to post their own pictures. Make posting testimonials easy by showing them step-by-step instructions.
3. Monitor feedback. Check reviews daily. Use Google Alerts or social media notifications to see what people are saying. Respond promptly, thank customers for positive feedback and address complaints immediately. Unsatisfied customers leave and share their experiences — often loudly.
4. Leverage your installers. Flooring mechanics see the finished product firsthand. Have them take high-quality photos during installations. Share these images on your website and social media (with permission) and ask customers if they want their completed project featured.
5. Stay visible. Retention marketing works when you actively engage, rather than waiting for customers to remember you. Remember, retention marketing is not a one-off task but a continuous effort. Every email, social media post, follow-up call, and personal interaction builds loyalty.

If you want repeat business, you must go after it. Make retention marketing part of everyone’s responsibility, connect with customers where they are and make it easy for them to share their positive experiences. When done correctly, retention marketing turns buyers into long-term advocates, fueling sustainable growth for your flooring store.

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Lisbeth Calandrino has been promoting retail strategies for the last 20 years. To have her speak at your business or to schedule a consultation, contact her at lcalandrino@nycap.rr.com.

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