Capturing the Hearts and Wallets of Millennials The oldest of the Millennial Generation has just turned 41. This group, contrary to popular belief, is not debt ridden, unemployed and feeling entitled. The Wall Street Journal found that Millennials have fewer credit cards than the national average and the debt on cards that Millennials do have is 40% less than the national average. Another Millennial misnomer is that they don't want to own a home. According to the National Association of Realtors, Millennials now account for 43% of all homebuyers. By 2025 Millennials will represent 75% of working–age Americans. Millennials are the future market kitchen and bath showrooms, and their definition of luxury has less to do with conspicuous consumption than the quality of experience a product delivers. Millennials are redefining dining by championing farm-to-table restaurants and would rather take an experiential vacation than buy a car. The reason why Millennials are such as attractive market to kitchen and bath showrooms is the ability of showrooms to deliver customer and usage experiences that are not available from other sources. Millennials don't care about brand names. They are not going to be influenced by brands dictating what they should buy. They want and expect brands to be part of the life, to engage is meaningful conversations and to be involved in numerous touch points. Millennials view value different than their parents. They want brands to understand their needs and desires. To capture the hearts and wallets of the largest generation in U.S. history, showrooms need to focus on the health benefits of steam ovens, touchless faucets, microbial resistant countertops and other products that contribute to a healthier lifestyle. Showrooms can emphasize the physiological and psychological benefits of create a refuge in their own home where they can take time just for themselves to rejuvenate and relax in their dream kitchen or spa-inspired master bath. There is an untapped opportunity for showrooms to craft messages that tug at Millennial heartstrings. Not only will this enable kitchen and bath showrooms to stay relevant, but it will also enable them to thrive.

Show That You Care More Don’t you love companies that claim their customer service is better than the competitions? If you asked a sales professional in your showroom to explain how your customer service differs from the competitor down the street, what would he or she say? Competing on statements of just having better customer service usually is difficult to substantiate. Besides, who says their customer service stinks? You can set your showroom apart, however, by demonstrating that you care more about the customer, their project and achieving their goals. Start at the starting point, which is your web site. Every page should provide a place for customers to leave comments or ask questions. The key to demonstrating that you care more is to answer almost immediately and post the answers on the website. It’s not that difficult to do. On pages where you offer cabinets, offer to explain the difference between stock, semi-custom and customer. Better yet, offer a link to download a smart cabinet buying guide that BKBG will customize for you at no charge.  Think about the multibranch competitor that you battle daily. Does that company customize its sales approaches for each individual customer, or do they employ generic approaches that fit corporate mandates? David Meerman Scott writes in The New Rules of Sales and Service that “Understanding the individual buyer based on the content the buyer has viewed is a revolutionary concept…If you know how the process works, your salespeople can close more business by being less aggressive.” Scott explains that OPEN cycle, which sells bikes from $5,000 to $12,000 features on each of its web pages buttons where customers can email the two founders and ask questions. Only about 10% of the site visitors take them up on the offer, which makes the workload bearable and responses easier. Almost everyone who asks a question ends up buying a bike. Why can’t you make the same offer on your web site? This is how instant engagement can produce results. It’s a lot more effective than monitoring Twitter, Instagram, Yelp or Facebook for mentions. OPEN also encourages its customers to interact with the company after the sale. They have places on their web site where customers can share the custom specifications used to build their bikes and a public showcase where customers have uploaded photos of them using their bikes. Why not provide a gallery for your customers to post pictures of the new kitchens baths you helped to create. The gallery may ask the question, need guidance on caring for your new kitchen or bath? How do you really demonstrate that you care more and that your customer service is a true differentiator?

 February 3, 2022 by Julia Weaver The kitchen is the heart of the home, a place for entertaining, making memories, and cooking meals for you and your loved ones. As one of the most used rooms in a home, the kitchen plays a crucial role in day-to-day life – from the first cup of coffee in the morning to creating a dish that brings everyone together at the end of the day. It’s no wonder why a modernized kitchen is a must-have for millions of homeowners all across the housing market . No matter where you live, perhaps Minneapolis, MN or Boise, ID , remodeling a kitchen will not only improve lifestyle and convenience for current homeowners, it will also add value and appeal to homebuyers if you’re looking to sell in the near future. We asked kitchen experts to share their best tips and tricks for a kitchen remodel. From better design and appearance, to additional space, improved technology, and increased functionality – check out what they had to say. Update cabinetry to improve overall appearance The kitchen is a great room to target in order to increase the overall value of your home. There are a few simple and inexpensive ways of remodeling a kitchen, including repainting the cabinets with a high-quality finish, replacing the drawer and cabinet handles with larger, sleeker designs, and converting your drawers to soft-close cabinet hardware. – S&R Development , serving Dallas, TX and surrounding areas Consider frameless cabinets to maximize storage space Small kitchens benefit from frameless cabinet remodel by adding precious storage access. The absence of a frame opens up a visual four feet of space to a typical base cabinet, and the clean lines of the door front provide a contemporary aesthetic for the modern home. – Prodigy Cabinetry , serving Greenville, SC and surrounding areas If new cabinets exceeds your budget, consider getting them professionally painted When it comes to remodeling a kitchen, you can change your cabinets, your backsplash, your floor and your fixtures. As you prepare your budget, many homeowners find that one easy way to save money is to have your cabinets professionally painted. If you like the style of your cabinets and their structure is still solid, this option will save you thousands compared to purchasing and installing new cabinets. When you hire a professional who does the right prep, they will leave your cabinets cured to a hard, chip-free, factory-quality fresh finish. They will be modern, durable, washable, and can be painted in any new color that you like. – Cabinet Painting Guru , serving Princeton, NJ and surrounding areas Go clean and classic to increase home value In my kitchen remodels, I like to use a clean and classic look and accessorize nicely with hardware and splashes of color. For me, nothing is more important than good ‘wood’ drawers with nice under-mounted hardware. – Cabinet Refresh , serving Los Angeles, CA and surrounding areas Upgrade your countertops to quartz or granite A kitchen remodel is a chance to not only modernize your space, but a chance to add beauty and functionality to your home. We take pride in helping our customers upgrade their kitchens with beautiful quartz and granite countertops. – Kitchen & Bath by Design , serving Denver, CO and surrounding areas Custom cabinets can improve convenience Custom cabinets are a great way to improve functionality, reduce clutter, and create more counter space. Appliance garages, blind corner clouds, utensil pull-outs, and roll-out shelves are all popular upgrades. The options are endless when going custom. – Eastside Kitchen & Bath , serving Kirkland, WA and surrounding areas Improve functionality with a proper kitchen layout An important item to keep in mind when remodeling a kitchen is the layout. A properly done layout will improve the flow and functionality of the kitchen. These details can include things ranging from where the spice rack goes to a built-in trash can. Planning the layout will help your enjoyment of the kitchen. – Utah Home Remodel Experts , serving Salt Lake City, UT and surrounding areas Define what’s driving your kitchen remodel While designing the kitchen island, its function should be considered first. If you want to cook and eat on kitchen islands, allow ample space to separate the cooktop from the dining area. Consider installing a swing-out tap, also known as a pot filler, near the cooktop. Avoid heavy blocks of doors and drawers by adding interesting details such as glass doors, windows, wine storage, a refreshment refrigerator, or display shelving. – Gary Remodeling Professionals , serving Grapevine, TX and surrounding areas Customize your kitchen island One of my favorite features of remodeling a kitchen is a customized kitchen island. Here in Florida, we thrive in our “Great Rooms” where we basically combine at least three spaces into one: kitchen, family room, and dining area. So, wrapping the island with decorative moldings or adding an accent tile inset to the front can make it feel more like a unique piece of functional furniture, rather than just a cold, sterile food prep space. Choosing a calming, neutral countertop will allow you the option to paint the base with a pop of contrasting color (I suggest black or navy) then finish it off with fun light fixtures and counter stools, and you have a showstopper on your hands. – Abide Design Interiors , serving Lakewood Ranch, FL and surrounding areas Create an open layout Let’s face it, we all love to eat, it relieves stress and generally puts us in a good mood. Open up your kitchen to the living room, add a bar top for extra seating and get the family involved. If cooking is a hassle, make it easier on yourself by adding more storage to reduce cluttered countertops and consider installing features for convenience. – Reliance Cabinetry , serving Richmond Hill, GA and surrounding areas Utilize vertical space to add function and beauty to your kitchen There was a time when upper cabinets were built short and boxy, making kitchens feel stunted and ultimately less functional. Upper cabinets that extend all the way to the ceiling are not only practical (providing so much storage for the rarely used kitchen gadgets, etc), but also create a cleaner, more cohesive look. – Traditional Cabinetry , serving Brainerd, MN and surrounding areas Avoid splatters and stains with full-height backsplash Are you done spending precious time scrubbing grease stains and food splatters from the grout of your tile backsplash? If you’re planning on installing new quartz, granite, or porcelain countertops – consider a full-height backsplash. A full-height backsplash not only adds a striking statement to your kitchen but provides a smooth surface with minimal grout, saving you plenty of elbow grease when post-dinner cleanup rolls around. – Lakeside Surfaces , serving Kentwood, MI and surrounding areas Consider working with a professional to avoid unnecessary spending Remodeling a kitchen is a great time to make changes to the space. Adding a new sink and replacing old appliances will make the space feel bigger and more functional, but it can be a costly project if you don’t know what to look for. To avoid unnecessary spending, consider hiring a professional to do the work for you. While this option is a good choice for a large kitchen, it can also be expensive – KRLA Remodeling , serving Los Angeles, CA and surrounding areas The ceiling is not the limit When considering a kitchen remodel, most of us see the ceiling as the limit of our vertical space. But, that’s not necessarily true. In many bungalows, there is an opportunity to remove the ceiling, open up your kitchen, benefit from new cathedral ceilings, and get more vertical space for your custom kitchen cabinets. It can be surprising how opening up a space opens up the possibilities. – May Huang, CEO of Dodi Home , serving Fremont, CA and surrounding areas Paint your walls in a light white or grey color Our favorite suggestion for any house style is Balboa Myst by Benjamin Moore. It works with all tones and styles regardless of age. I would also suggest adding white quartz countertops and a fun tile backsplash. It’s a fast and relatively affordable way ($5k-$10k depending on the vendor) to make your kitchen stunning on a budget. – Rise Seattle Group serving Seattle, WA Leave plenty of room to work Before remodeling a kitchen, think carefully about your own traffic patterns, ergonomics, and habits—do you need room for one cook or two, where are you swinging your elbows, and how much counter space do you need? We recommend leaving at least 42″-48″ of clearance in work aisles, 12″ by the stove, and 18″ by the sink, or else you might find yourself with a bad case of remodel regret. – Magnet Remodeling , serving Orlando, FL and surrounding areas Maximize storage with organization Through the clever use of accessories like roll-out trays and pull-out pantries, you can make the most of the available space. No room for an island? Add a rolling cart with locking casters to your kitchen to add storage that can be moved out of the way when needed. Floating shelves can add extra storage space, as well as style to your kitchen without taking up any floor space. – Virginia Maid Kitchens , serving the Newport News, VA and surrounding areas Add a large skylight well over the island When remodeling a kitchen, one of my favorite features to add is a skylight over the island. A diffuse skylight fills the space with abundant natural light, and can also provide the means for natural ventilation. To simulate daylight in the evening, a cornice up-light along the skylight well perimeter continues to flood the space with useful, indirect light. – ENR Design Architecture , serving Dallas, TX and surrounding areas Find small upgrades that have a big impact Some of the smallest changes to your kitchen can add so much versatility and convenience to your lifestyle. A free-standing island replacing the ordinary peninsula many kitchens have can give you the room to walk around the kitchen freely. Many new cabinet styles are built to store almost every kitchen appliance you own. You can take those appliances off your beautiful countertops and they can find a place of their own. Simple ideas for more space and enjoyment in your kitchen. – Kitchens of Woodbury , serving Woodbury, MN and surrounding areas Transform your kitchen with new appliances Kitchens sell houses. If you’re in the market to sell your home quickly, I would upgrade your kitchen appliances, as they will instantly transform and add value to your home. However, if you have a limited budget for remodeling a kitchen, I would start small and upgrade things like the sink, faucet, hardware, and lighting first. – Salt and Sprinkles

Putting Customers at the Center of Your Universe Ritz Carlton co-founder Horst Schulz estimated the lifetime value of a Ritz customer at $300,000. How did he determine that figure is anyone’s guess. However, the fact that he did estimate the value of a customer was meaningful to Schulz’ and Ritz’ success because it signaled that one of the company’s most important assets was customer loyalty. Rob Markey, a principal at Bain & Company, argued in a HBR article that customer value should be a key metric in determining a company’s worth. He offers four broad strategies for building customer loyalty that when properly implemented increases profits, employee satisfaction, sales and company value. Develop systems for measuring customer value and invest in technology to do so. Use design thinking to build loyal customers Organize a business around customer needs Engage all stakeholders (leadership, investors, team members, suppliers, et al.) in the transformation. Determining the Lifetime Value Of Customers This involves determining the following: How much did it cost to acquire the customer? How much does it cost to currently service the customer? What percentage of customers buy occasionally, frequently or not at all? What is the revenue per customers? How do changes in pricing, product offerings, service offerings, customer tastes, and promotions affect each customer’s purchasing? This information can be used by capitalizing on analytics and tracking consumer response to different company initiatives. Use Design Thinking to Build Loyal Customers Design thinking is defined at looking through the lens of customers to better serve their needs and actually observing how customers interact with your business. The goal of a product or service is not simply to generate revenue through sales, but to improve the lives of customers that the company earns their trust and loyalty. Using design thinking to create raving fans among your customer base involves making it easier to do business with you, eliminate obstacles that take time and increase stress and tracking customer interactions with the customer. Amazon does this by recommending similar products to ones that customers have purchased and by identifying additional products that other customers have purchased when they bought a particular product.  Organize Around a Customer’s Needs That’s why asking customers questions at the start of the design process is critical. Who is going to use the kitchen, how often and for what purposes? How much storage space is required and what is likely to be stored? How long do you plan to stay in your home? What are the ages of different users? What works now in your kitchen and what would you like to improve? Asking the right questions and actively and intently listening to the answers will help you organize your proposal to meet the customer’s needs.

Effective Responses to Angry Customers Despite widespread media coverage of supply chain challenges, there are more than a few customers that don’t like to hear that you can’t deliver cabinets or other materials within their preferred timeframe. Many showrooms have received calls from angry customers who are not pleased with continual product shipping delays that have put their dreams of a new kitchen or bath on hold. What’s the best way to respond to these angry customers? First acknowledge the reasons for their anger and empathize with their situation. Starting a conversation with an apology is an effective tool to lower the heat. There are lots of options available to you and your customer service teams. “We understand why you are upset. Given the same circumstances, we also would be angry.” This type of empathetic response illustrates that you are relating to the customer’s predicament. Another effective tool utilized by Richard Campbell (Bath Kitchen and Tile Centers) in responding to his builder clients is to acknowledge the situation and offer to work through this predicament together. In doing so, Richard recruited his builder clients to be part of the solution. Once you have created calm in the conversation, make sure that any commitment made is followed up. If you promise to provide weekly updates on the status of an order, make sure you do so even if the update is nothing has changed. Also, remember to thank customers for their support and understanding. The supply chain issues and challenges are not going to be resolved in the immediate future. Developing effective responses to your customers who are affected by delays will help to maintain good relationships and ease the pain of not being able to service your customers in a manner that that they expect and deserve.

Don't Assume Most everyone has heard the time when you assume you make an ass out of you and me. Yet, in our day-to-day activities, do we take things for granted and assume the reasons why you have won a bid or a contract? Rick Reynolds, writing in Sales & Marketing Management identifies six assumptions that can be disastrous. 1. Likeability Relationships in sales are essential, but they are not the be-all and end-all. Similarly, writes Reynolds, don’t assume that your customers like you just because you have won their business. Was your showroom the lowest bidder or are you the tallest pygmy? Do you really know why your customers do business with you? Obviously having won a new customer or account gives you a leg up on the competition. Take advantage of the opportunity to show how you create value to multiple layers of your customer’s organizations. That requires an effective communication plan filled with compelling content. 2. We have a solid sales representative-customer relationship. If the reason you won a company’s business is because of relationships with certain staff members, what happens if those staff members seek employment elsewhere? The same holds true if the person who hired leaves their company, what does that do to the status of your ability to maintain that relationship? Make sure that your relationships with your customers involve your entire company instead of primarily based on individual to individual. 3. Resolved problems may still be problems. Problems create opportunities to show your worth and commitment to a client. Simply because a problem has been resolved does not mean that you are out of the woods. The impact of a mistake or poor performance may mask how a customer feels about you and their willingness to provide honest feedback. Make sure when you resolve problems, that you communicate what you have done to all parties involved and do whatever it takes to prevent recurrences. 4. Don’t believe that there is an open line of communications. The stronger the relationship you have with a customer, the less likely they are to provide critical feedback. Be proactive in requesting performance critiques. If you don’t hear bad news or room for improvement, ask for guidance from your customers. “What do you see our biggest weaknesses to be? If you could change one thing about our company, what would it be? Reach out for the good and the opportunities to get better. 5. Don’t assume your sales staff will tell you of problems. Your sales teams are the hood ornament of your organization in the field. That does not guarantee your staff will tell you give you an accurate picture of the relationship or problems that need to be addressed. Maintain open dialogues with your customers and actively seek guidance for improvement. It sends a message that the account is truly important to your firm and that you are interested in helping your client get better by you improving the quality of service that you provide. 6. Just because you have the business does not mean you keep the business. Don’t assume you have customers for life. In today’s competitive world, everyone is looking to create more value and gain an edge. Complacency can be costly. Do you really deserve to keep the account? If not, act immediately. Nothing is a certainty.

Think about what has happened to our industry and to a larger extent our society as we emerge from a global pandemic. Could you have imagined that we would live in a world where more individuals have a mobile telephone subscription than access to electricity or safe drinking water? As Dan Pink describes in his book To Sell Is Human, we have moved from Caveat Emptor to Caveat Venditor (buyer beware to seller beware). Today, homeowners come to our showrooms armed with idea books, reviews by prior clients and budget impressions adversely influenced by HGTV. They likely have visited your web site or talked to neighbors whose kitchens you have designed. In many cases, they know more about kitchen design than your average bear. The way prospective clients find us, the way they evaluate us, and the way they make decisions to retain our services have changed significantly. And we need to change to keep pace. That’s easier said than done. And when you have a quiet moment, what changes have you really made in the 19 months to respond to current market conditions? Most likely your adoption of technology solutions has changed the way you operate and interact with your clients, prospects and team members. What changes to you have to make to help ensure a personal connection with clients, team members, subs and prospects? The pandemic has changed the way kitchens function. With so many people working from home and will continue to work from home, you and your designers need to determine new functionality your clients want and need from their new kitchen. What have you changed to help your clients make it easier to do business with you or to demonstrate that you understand what they truly want from their new kitchen? What’s changed and what has been the result of that change? If the answer to most of the questions is not much, you most likely are not alone. Most people are resistant to change. The psychologists and HR folks tell us that people resist change, because they believe they lose control. They fear the unknown and gravitate to what is most comfortable and what works. That’s why it’s difficult to change lines. Can you blame your fellow team members for sticking with the status quo? Yes, you can because our world changed so rapidly. Can you imagine when you were happy when a manufacturer told you that their lead time was 16 or 20 weeks? How have supply chain shortcomings changed the way you market, provide service, schedule and manage your projects? Are the same tried and true processes used prepandemic work in a post COVID-19 world? Are you giving your team the tools they need to be successful? Confucius wrote, “Only the wisest and stupidest of men never change.” Dan Pink writes in his seminal work Drive that one effective way to facilitate change in behavior is to phrase the goals you want to achieve as business problems and ask your staff to be active participants in the resolution of those problems. Pink claims that this technique will do more to overcome resistance and motivate change than any other strategy. A couple of suggestions: Gather your team that may resist showing a particular line and ask them about what they would do to make the line more attractive to recommend. Ask your site staff to identify the two or three greatest challenges that they face daily. Then ask them if they were the owner of the showroom what would they do to make the work environment and business better? Reward the team member with the best answer. Telling someone who has been doing X for a long time to suddenly do Y is a recipe for disaster. Making your team members the facilitators of change makes it easier and more rewarding.

What Your Customers Want From Your Social Media It’s official. Social media has become the primary medium for customer engagement, according to a recent Harris Poll. More than 70% of businesses use social media to connect with customers and prospects. Email is used 61% of the time. TV/radio advertisement is used by 27% of businesses and 24% of businesses attempt to connect with customers through print ads. There’s a good reason why social media has climbed to the top of the marketing mountain. 35% of consumers surveyed by Harris reported that social media is the primary medium they use to learn about new products, services and brands. The survey found an overwhelming majority of business owners believe that having a strong social media presence is essentially for success. Having a strong presence, however, does not necessarily guarantee success. There’s a gap between presence and engagement, notes Luxury Marketing’s Pam Danzinger. Unity Marketing’s most recent “State of Luxury” study found that only 34% of luxury company executives believe Instagram is very effective and that was the highest rated social media platform. Only 23% of businesses believe they get an adequate return from Facebook, The limited effectiveness of social media to promote brands and prompt engagement is reflected in other similar surveys regardless of business size or budget. Why the disconnect between customers use of social media to learn about brands and products and return businesses receive from their social media efforts? The answer is expectations. Most companies expect their social media activities to result in consumers visiting their websites, purchasing online or visiting brick and mortar stores. They use the same techniques to measure ROI for social media as they do for other advertising mediums. The shortcoming of this approach is that consumers don’t view social media as advertising or marketing messages. They don’t want to be sold. Instead they want to be engaged. They want a social experience similar to interactions with family and friends. Consumers view Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, et. al. as communication and information platforms. Consider a television, radio or print magazine ad. They take consumers’ attention away from what they are viewing to capture attention and try to make sales. They interrupt consumers without asking for permission. Social media users don’t want to be interrupted or if they do, they want to make sure that the brand has asked for their permission to do so. The main difference is that consumers control the conversation and the brand, not the other way around that is commonplace with traditional advertising. Social media is a long-term strategy, not one where you can measure an immediate or even short-term ROI. Successful social media efforts attempt to create friendships with consumers with the return coming later. Effective social media provides content in the way consumers want to receive it. That’s why video has become an increasingly effective tool for engagement. Social media is not static. It’s dynamic. It requires immediate responses to consumer questions and service requests. It’s personal. You need to deliver the same type of experience on Instagram or Facebook that you deliver when a customer walks into your showroom. And that requirement is likely to become more important in the future. Nearly 60% of consumers surveyed stated that they prefer to interact with brands on social media instead of in a brick and mortar store. The reason is control. Consumers believe they are more in control of a conversation and message on social media than in a store.

Scott McKain believes that there are three types of customers. At the base level, there are those who are transaction oriented. These are individuals who are completely price oriented. Give them the lowest price and you will win their business. McKain claims in The Ultimate Customer Experience that most businesses overestimate the number of people who are concerned exclusively with price. He makes an important distinction when defining price-oriented purchasers. Price is always a factor but only with a small percentage of the buying public is price the only factor. The second customer type is the one who is kind of loyal. These customers do not distinguish you from your competitors. McKain believes that sort of loyal customer is disappearing for three distinct reasons. One is that there are lots of good options. Second, many showroom customers and prospects are misinformed or under-informed of the distinctive competencies one showroom may have over its competitors. Therefore they see no definable difference and tend to commoditize showrooms that cannot set themselves apart. The third reason is a number of showrooms have not adapted effectively to technological changes and shifts in consumer behavior. The third type of customer is a raving fan. These are customers whose loyalty has been secured by delivering ultimate customer experiences. Raving fans not only would not consider another option for their next remodel or new construction project, but also recommend you to others. How do you create raving fans by delivering an ultimate customer experience? McKain states there are five steps necessary to achieve those goals: Make a first great impression Don’t Make it Right…Get it Right Serve with Empathy Connect with Emotion Take Personal Responsibility In order to make a first great impression, you need to recognize that everything matters, be focused on customer needs and use your superior knowledge and expertise to make emotional connections. Everything matters requires taking a holistic view of your entire operation. What messages and signals do you send when someone first logs onto the web site, drives into your parking lot or walks into your showroom? Everything matters is just that. Everything does matter from the appearance of your entrance sign to welcome they receive when they call on the phone or arrive in person. When someone enters your showroom, are they being prepared for a positive customer experience or do they approach signs that say something to the effect, staff parking only? McKain believes you need to put yourself in your customers’ shoes in order to make a positive first impression. What do your clients want, desire, need and expect? It’s not about you. It’s about what your customers want. The final element in making a positive first impression is to “be your best self,” McKain writes. It is about treating customers the way you want to be treated when you are a customer. Don’t Make It Right…Get It Right requires mastering the basics. If the food at a restaurant is great, but the service stinks, are you likely to go back? If you have the nicest, newest showroom in the region, it won’t matter if you can’t deliver products in a timely fashion. In order to get it right, you need to be flawless in the blocking and tackling of what you do every day. You need to deliver service that makes the processing of a transaction seamless and you must be able to connect emotionally with customers and prospects. Emotional connections occur when your clients believe that you put their self-interest ahead of your own. McKain challenges showrooms to ask two questions, “How can I improve my product or service that I sell, so our clients receive more than they expect? How can I deliver the product or service that we sell, so the transaction does not appear to be so processed? The third component is serving with empathy. McKain claims that empathy is the act of identifying with the feelings of another person. In today’s customer-centric environment, more homeowners and builders want empathy than they want customer service. Consider the client who has signed a contract to have their kitchen remodeled and no on shows up on the first day of demolition. They have emptied everything from cabinets and drawers, yet nothing happens. The questions McKain asks are “What can you do more that sets you apart and, other than compensation, why do you work? McKain believes making emotional connections with customers requires you to align, engage and commit. Alignment results when you determine why residents lease at your business. Relationships are established when you identify common areas of interest, values and desires with customers that pull you together. You become engaged with customers when you make the effort to create and sustain interactions. Personal responsibility requires being accountable for your actions. When you make great first impressions, get it right, serve with empathy, connect with emotion and take personal responsibility, your showroom can deliver ultimate customer experiences that create raving fans.