Hardwood Floors August/September 2017

Wood Stock Revel-utionizing (Continued)

Elevating the Flooring Professional Revel Woods not only encourages its customers to use an NWFA Certified Installer, but it also provides NWFA Certified Installers with the opportunity to create a professional account through its website. “We know that a lot of times, if you’re a craftsman working out of your van or in the garage, you don’t have access to a lot of factory-finished samples. You simply can’t handle the sample inventory the way a retailer or sample showroom can,” says Dupra. “One of the other strategies for the site was to provide a simple resource for contractors to use when walking their customer through the selection process. We’ll sell them the samples, deliver the flooring, and have it all ready to go for them.” Individuals interested in a professional account can submit an application. NWFA members are immediately granted one. Once granted a professional account, the individual receives a code that can be provided to his or her customers. When the customer uses that code at checkout, he or she will receive a discount on the order. Then the owner of the code used will be given a small percentage commission on that sale as well. “They don’t have to do any work; they just need to recommend us for the product. Then they know that they are getting a high-quality, responsibly sourced material to work with, which is going to make their installation easier. Plus, we allow them to earn a bit of money on the materials as well,” says Dupra. “We wanted to make sure that we didn’t forget about the craftsman in this equation. We’re trying to bring them back into the supply chain, so there are more and more trained experts working with hardwood flooring.” “We’d love to see this concept transform the industry – if it does what we think it can, it would be a positive revolution. We’ve got the story, we’ve got the product, it’s a plant-based, carbon- neutral, renewable resource. The story is there; we just have to start telling it,” he concluded. Stacy Brown is the Editor/Publisher of Hardwood Floors Magazine, the official magazine of the National Wood Flooring Association. She can be reached at stacy.brown@nwfa.org.

Transparency in pricing is another key component of the overall experience. Through an application program interface (API) with Old Dominion, Revel Woods is able to immediately calculate the cost of shipping and build it into the square footage price. “Let’s say you’re decorating two different spaces, one in St. Louis and one in Portland. That same product will be different prices per square foot, even if you buy the same thing. The reason for that is because the price per square foot on the website is delivered,” says Dupra. “There are no hidden fees, there’s no, ‘Hey, this is only $4.99 a square foot,’ and then you go to check out and see that there is $10,000 in freight. What you see is what you get. There’s a lot of technical engineering going on in the background, but we strive to make it seamless for our customers.” Once the customer places his or her order, and the delivery date is set, roughly a week before the shipment is scheduled to arrive a welcome kit is sent to the customer’s home. That kit includes a branded hygrometer so the customer can start monitoring the RH in the home before the floor arrives and post installation, a cleaning kit designed for the specific floor, and an owner’s manual. “The manual provides everything the homeowner needs to know to ensure a successful installation, including delivery information, recommended job site conditions, and basic installation guidelines,” says Dupra. “It also is designed to cover the lifetime of the floor, similar to what you would have for most major appliances in your home, and includes care and maintenance tips, as well as warranty information.”

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