Finding aftermarket potential for PET is next frontier

by Matthew Spieler

San Diego—While members of the carpet industry had been working on ways to divert products from the landfill and recycle them into either new carpet or another end-use product since the early 1990s, it wasn’t until the Carpet America Recovery Effort (CARE) was created 10 years ago that things really began to happen.

by Matthew Spieler

Fajardo, Puerto Rico—Twenty years ago, changes were taking place that still reverberate today: In politics, Bill Clinton and the Democrats were taking office; in entertainment, Jay Leno replaced Johnny Carson on “The Tonight Show,” and in flooring, 12 flooring contractors got together to form what is today the Starnet Worldwide Commercial Flooring Cooperative.

There are many factors to consider when designing and developing a retail website. The list can seem endless, but in reality, if you look carefully, you’ll see there are certain elements more important than others—elements that are used consistently among the most successful retail websites.

Once you have completed the planning stages of your website, the rest of the elements fall into broad categories, ranging from user interface design to content creation to actual development. Of course, you also have to keep search engine optimization (SEO) in mind.

by Warren Tyler

My feeling has always been to listen to criticism, try to accept it and change for the better.

Anytime I find something I think that will make the industry more efficient, I write or speak about it. For instance, while I believe that our manufacturers make beautiful and practical flooring, I do see issues.

by David Fellman

“I can see right through you,” said the buyer to the salesperson. “I know exactly what you’re trying to do!”

Question: Is that a good thing or a bad thing?

Answer: I think it’s a very good thing. I believe the best selling is highly transparent—no tricks, no games and no subterfuge. The great salespeople don’t trick anyone into buying from them; they help their prospects and customers to reach an unmistakable conclusion. When a great salesperson makes a sale, there’s no buyer’s remorse, just the confidence that comes from making a good decision.

Selling Is A Game

I should probably clarify this point: The great salespeople don’t play games, but many great salespeople look at selling itself is a game.

I think that’s a healthy attitude, especially considering salespeople lose more frequently than people in most other job categories. The great salespeople probably lose less frequently, but you still can’t win ’em all, no matter what game you’re playing.

Floor Tech Group‘s sales associate and Green Operations author, Rick Gregory, discusses the ever-shrinking face weights of carpet and how to measure the phenomena. 

In 1989, Amory Lovins, Harvard and Oxford-educated experimental physicist, and CEO of the Rocky Mountain Institute coined the term “negawatt” in his keynote address to the Montreal Green Energy Conference. His value proposition here was that it is always cheaper to save electricity that might have been sold for use in less efficient consumption vehicles (lighting, motors, etc.) than to make new.

Jennifer Mendez Educates: Lobbyists Do More than Just Ask. CRI Group Tells Representatives Improved Economy Key to Carpet Industry Rebound

Last week I made my annual pilgrimage to Capitol Hill on behalf of the Carpet and Rug Institute (CRI). I’ve done it every year for the past ten years, and it’s always exciting -  lots of work, grueling on my feet – but nonetheless exciting. I travel to “the Hill” throughout the year for meetings on a variety of issues that are important to CRI’s members, but this organized effort, with my members in tow, is always an exciting experience. (Here is the link to CRI’s Newsline from March 14.)

75 of the Best B2B Facebook Marketing Tips

Watch this heartwarming video clip from the Today Show about the mailman, James Hundley,  from FLOR, Inc.

Mike Leonard: How a simple question revealed a remarkable story

It’s hardly news that young adults are the most digitally connected, but now Nielsen has come up with a new name for this group based on their common behaviors: “Generation C.”

The C stands for “connected,” and the group comprises Americans between 18 and 34 — who are defined by their digital connectivity, Nielsen and NM Incite’s U.S. Digital Consumer Report says. They consume media, socialize and share experiences through devices more than other age groups.

Dear friends and colleagues,

The recent, unexpected passing of Chris Davis has left us not only in shock but also with so much sorrow. As an integral part of the floor covering industry for 18 years as the president and CEO of the World Covering Association, Chris was the biggest advocate for the advancement of floor covering retailers through education and their protection through legislative efforts. He also took Surfaces to the next level, eventually selling the show for $40 million and endowing the WFCA’s future. He was the consummate professional.

Because of his larger–than-life personality and love of the industry and people, many regarded Chris as more than the president of WFCA. They considered him a friend.

As the entire industry mourns his loss, Floor Covering News is providing a forum on Facebook, the Chris Davis Memorial Page, where friends and colleagues can offer their thoughts, recollections, photos, condolences, etc. We encourage everyone to remember Chris in their own personal way on this page by visiting facebook.com/ChrisDavisMemorial.

Sincerely,

Steven Feldman

Publisher

Floor Covering News

Hackettstown, NJ — More than 350 National Kitchen & Bath Association member designers took part in the 2012 NKBA Design Trends Survey to cite the materials, product types, and styles that they’ve incorporated into their kitchen and bath designs over the final three months of 2011. While broad trends won’t be evident in every local market, the following are 10 overall trends for kitchens and baths across the United States and Canada.

KITCHENS

Cherry Wood in Decline

Cherry wood has consistently been the first or second most popular type of wood for cabinetry, jockeying for the top spot with maple each year. However, designers are slowly shifting away from it. While 80% of NKBA member kitchen designers had recently specified cherry cabinetry as 2010 approached, that figure dropped to 72% last year and fell again to 69% heading into 2012.

No one other wood species is taking that market share on its own, as even maple dropped in popularity this year, falling from 77% last year to 70% now. Instead, a number of lesser-used woods are being specified more often, including oak, which is specified by twice as many designers now (22%) versus two years ago (11%); walnut, which has increased from 3% in 2010 to 9% in 2011 to 13% today; birch, which is now specified by three times as many kitchen designers as it was a year ago (15% vs. 5%), and bamboo, which has doubled from 5% last year to 10% now. While alder is currently specified by 27% of kitchen designers, that figure is down from 30% last year and from 40% two years ago.

Photo courtesy of Wellborn Cabinet, Inc.

From Hollywood Connections PR account executive, Ashely Swanda, on the Dos and Don’ts of online etiquette…

Social Media And Email Etiquette 101: Don’t Commit Career Suicide

Social Media has become a mainstay in our lives. Many of us are on Facebook or LinkedIn several times a day, and we send so many emails we don’t even bother to count anymore. The instant access and communication is a blessing, but used it the wrong way and it will become a black flag that follows you to every job and lingers in all facets of your life.

Anthony Minite, President, Bentley Prince Street, Inc.

After reflecting on our first big trade show of the year, I think we all need to come clean about sustainability. It seems every manufacturer is claiming to be the leader in sustainability and backing it up with huge advertising and marketing campaigns. It’s time to talk about making an honest commitment to sustainability. You can talk all you want and blast it on the biggest billboards and in the glossiest magazines, but without proof, it’s all just talk.

Since Bentley Prince Street is committed to responsible manufacturing, we have nothing to hide and see no need to confuse the marketplace with an inundation of green claims and labels.  For this reason, we provide third-party verification of our sustainability claims with Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs).

Here is a useful nugget we found from Marketing Profs:

Marketers have a tough job! No juggler’s job has ever been as tough. With 13 or so online marketing channels (and just as many offline), the job of cross-channel marketing is difficult. But creating a successful cross-channel marketing organization is possible.

Building a strategy and organization to implement cross-channel marketing usually requires changes in the following:

Tips to help you save time and headaches

Business travelers are the best when it comes to getting through airport security. These savvy sleuths have figured out the loopholes and corners to cut that expedite the jaunt from check-in to airline seat. No doubt those in the flooring business are well traveled, to say the least. FCNews has a few travel experts on hand, as well. If you’re heading to Las Vegas to attend Surfaces this year, you might want to cross reference your travel regime with ours to make sure you’re getting through the security line with as little fuss (and pat-downs) as possible:

by Heather McCune via O’Reilly/DePalma, a building and architectural brand offering a decidedly modern set of marketing communications services.

Does design translate into improved sales and profitability? Next time you venture into one of its fast-food eateries, be prepared for a very different McDonald’s—a redesign that may just inspire you to rethink your order and your own approach to business.

In honor of Marketing Monday, I found a great blog by Susan Peyton of smallbiztrends.com. Enjoy!

So many of my company’s clients want to brand themselves–to be known in a sea of competitors as the best. And while this is certainly possible, it takes deep pockets and lots of time — something most small businesses don’t have.

And so I say that branding is a luxury.

St. Louis — Moms today believe social media marketing impacts their retail purchasing, according to the results of a national survey of nearly 700 mothers. The study, executed by Fleishman-Hillard in partnership with ModernMom.com, took place September 2011. The results were debuted by Fleishman-Hillard’s marketing-to-moms practice in partnership with ModernMom.com at the 7th Annual M2Moms – The Marketing to Moms Conference, Oct. 19, 2011, in Chicago. The study uncovered ways marketers should modernize their communications to bridge the gaps that exist between their brands and today’s mom consumers.

Most moms surveyed said social media is changing the in-store customer experience, and the top-ranked reason is because they use social media to get information about sales and coupons. Additionally, 63% of moms surveyed said blogger reviews are influential to their purchase decisions, whereas 56% of moms said they tend to avoid online ads because they are not viewed as trustworthy. Facebook was noted by moms as the most trusted space online to receive brand communication.

At the recent NAFCD conference in Nashville, Fox Business News personality Stuart Varney gave his take on something we hear few, if any, people ever talking about, something that could affect us all: a declining global birth rate.

Birth rates have fallen very sharply throughout the developed world. It’s significant because it has fallen below replacement population levels. A 2.1 birth rate is required to keep the population stable. That means 2.1 live births per 1,000 women of child-bearing age. In many countries, it is as low as 1.2 or 1.3. In Scandinavia, the number is 1.5 or less. In the Iron Curtain it is 1.4. It’s worse in Asia: Japan, 1.3; Singapore, 1.1 and China, 0.9.

This means a significant swatch of the developed world–about 45 countries–is losing population as you read this. Hundreds of millions of people are deciding to have far fewer children. Germany will lose a quarter of its population in one generation. It’s also extreme in Japan where there are many older people and fewer babies.

If you haven’t connected your business through Twitter yet, there is no time like the present. Originally featured in our Guide to using Social Media in Business, this post will outline the steps to creating your Twitter account in a little more detail than originally featured.

Step 1

For this sample, we’ve entered a generic name but when you create yours, be sure to use your real name. Twitter will generate username suggestions based on this information.

In honor of our forthcoming second edition of the Guide to using Social Media in Business, we’ve decided to share some statistics that didn’t make it into the update:

We all know websites are the cornerstone of any integrated business. But did you know that:

•There were 255 million websites at end of 2010

•21.4 million websites wereadded in 2010

•16.91 billion web pages exist

•There are 2 billion Internet users worldwide

•There are 273 million Internet users in the U.S.

•1.1 billion Web searches per month in U.S.

•1.7 billion terabytes of information created and stored on Web each year

One social site that didn’t make it into the guide but really should have: Are you familiar with StumbleUpon?

•2.2 million web pages added every month

•51 pages added every minute

•50.34% of U.S. social media traffic driven through StumbleUpon

•Average session on StumbleUpon is 69 minutes

Can you believe this?

•186 online videos average Internet user in U.S. watches per month

•2,232 online videos average Internet user in U.S. watches annually

•53% of employees research potential job candidates on social networks

•17% of time spent online devoted to a social network

•20% of couples now meet online

•20% of divorces are blamed on Facebook

•37 million people watched VW’s Super Bowl Darth Vader ad on YouTube

•Groupon will reach $1 billion in sales faster than any company in history

•1.5 million real farmers, compared with 80 million Farmville farmers

•90% of consumers trust peer recommendations; 14% trust ads

•Babies in Egypt have been named Facebook

•If users were citizens, Facebook would be the 3^rd largest country in the world behind China and India. Combined with Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube they would be the largest country in the world. Yet, Facebook, and Twitter are technically not allowed in China so they do not count any users from the world’s most populous country, and both YouTube and LinkedIn users have had services cut off now and again.

• Google+ has 26 million users, 72% of which are are male

•Most users will click shared content within the first 2 minutes. If each page view generated a second of attention we would see 90 years of attention daily

Each October, Milliken associate Holly Lester does a poster/information drop off at design firms for breast cancer awareness month. Holly partnered with an associate from Antron this year to hand-make 150 baked goods, and a Milliken designer helped create the posters. The one day campaign touched more than 100 people! FCNews caught up with Holly to ask her about her efforts and what makes her think pink.

The 6th annual Bathroom Blogfest, taking place from Oct. 24 to 28, brings more than 33 bloggers and 34 blogs from various industries together to write about this year’s theme, “Climbing Out.” It focuses on improving the overall bathroom experience for end-users by bringing attention to the various aspects of a bathroom, including the floors, fixtures, design, and the retail experience. See the list of participating bloggers at the end of this post.

Bathroom Blogfest couldn’t have come at a better time this year. When I read the theme, “Climbing Out,” it was like an omen. The stars and planets aligned and I got the go ahead to literally climb out my apartment of the last two years and move somewhere where I can stretch my legs. On a couch because the new place has room for one of those.

LEBANON, PA.—Kids at the Nicetown Boys & Girls Club will soon enjoy a completely renovated facility, thanks to the efforts of the Shane Victorino Foundation and community partners including Regupol America, Robbins Flooring, Abacus Sports Installations, Ltd., and several others.

The Shane Victorino Foundation (SVF) is dedicated to promoting opportunities for underserved youth in Philadelphia and Hawaii, engaging in projects that provide children with educational, recreational and wellness programs. The renovation of the Nicetown Boys & Girls Club is the organization’s major endeavor in Philadelphia. The nonprofit pledged nearly $1 million to renovate the 105-year-old building. The club recently celebrated a grand reopening ceremony on Sept. 22.

If your store is doing any kind of Halloween decorations, promotions or even acknowledging the holiday, you may want to set the mood with a little more than carved pumpkins and fake spider webs. Other than playing Charlie Brown’s “The Great Pumpkin” on repeat, music is a great way to add to the ambience. We’ve come up with a list of 25 songs to fill the air with spooky, fun Halloween spirit for which your employees will thank you. It will spare them from the canned howls and screams CD you found in the bargain bin at Target.

Happy (almost) Columbus Day! For children across the U.S. the upcoming Monday holiday is a welcome “get out of school free” card, and that goes for a few lucky offices with grown-ups in it too.

Established as federal holiday in 1937, the celebration of patriotism has come to include a prominent American pastime: Shopping! A Google search of “2011 Columbus Day sales,” yields 82,700,000 results. Add “flooring” into the search bar and the number of results almost doubles to 148,000,000.

Carpet One in Maryland is one of the top results with a video on YouTube:

Continuing with last week’s theme of flooring-related references in pop culture, we’re adding the opening credits of 2007′s Juno to the list, with a great opening song; Barry Louis Polisar’s “All I Want Is You.” Sure, it’s a little bit of a stretch but it’s a great song. Listen all the way through to see if you can catch the reference: