Page 3 - Demo

slippery rock gAzette
August 2022|3
Using Technology
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Frank Sciarrino: One thing I’d like to add on the quote side, is that Nikos’ team is an example of actually committing to something and putting it through the pro- cess. Some people, it’s one thing to sign up for a software package, but then they don’t use it to its full abilities. Colonial saw the advan- tages, and they implemented it the right way, in different parts of their businesses.
Nikos: Thank you for that, Frank. Sandra, I know you can add some highlights. Sandra is our Senior Vice President of mar- keting, sales and design, so all the sales funnels and design funnels that come through the business are under her wing. She’s on the social platforms daily. There are so many things you can do with the tech- nology, as Frank pointed out. We really engaged in taking it every- where we can take it, because it converts so well.
Sandra Phillips: One of the really exciting things is that we use the visualizer tool for both kitchens and designs, as well as the estimating tool on our social platforms, on the paid side and also on the promotional side. What that means is that we give the cus- tomers an opportunity to know us, where they otherwise might not have heard about us. It gives us exposure. They see the visual- izer tool and innately they become very curious. ‘What is this?’ they ask. It’s interactive, it immediately gets them engaged in our products, as they’re able to go on there and start trying it out.
We’ve actually seen between a 30 and 40 percent increase in new followers, and people com- ing through who are very inter- ested in finding out more about our products just based on the visualizer tool. It’s also really fun and engaging, and it takes them through that journey, as Nikos was saying, where they’re actually in control of the design. So it gives them the ability to explore without full commitment. They can take themselves through the journey of doing a darker, more mood-type of kitchen, and then they can explore something very airy and clean, without any judgment. They’re
just sort of playing around, and seeing what sticks with them. This is very interesting, because it is definitely a driver of business that you don’t really expect, especially on the social platforms.
One of the great things about design, and some of the challenges that designers in general have, is that sometimes when clients come in, they don’t really know what they like, or they might misrepre- sent a particular style. An example is someone might come in saying that they are “very contemporary.” They want something very con- temporary, but they actually want it to look very classic. And when they go through the visualizer tool, one of the things that is very helpful for a designer using the platform, is it helps them have a little insight to the client and what they are looking at when they go through that process in-person. So, when they are on the tool, they can navigate and define what classic or contemporary or even modern is to them–which is different for every- body. Somebody who is classi- cally trained might take a look at it and say, ‘Well, that’s very tra- ditional. That’s not even classical at all!’ And the colors that clients are navigating definitely give the designers help. You know, where they can say, ‘Okay–that’s it!’ Someone who is not able to ver- balize what they really like is able to create it on this tool, present it to the designer, and when they come in to our location, we can then take that inspiration and relay it back to them in reality, and show them the products and the items that will
produce the design that they are truly looking for. This shortens the process, too! It takes their essential concept straight to our sales pro- cess. It’s a quicker transaction, as opposed to it being really lengthy, having to discover what it is that the customer is looking for. So it’s an excellent tool for our designers as well.
SRG: Can a designer use the tool to develop ideas and prices, and then present options to the client?
Sandra: That’s a good question. Someone like myself– I might actually go in there to play around with budget. I might go in there and say, ‘Okay, what’s all this going to look like?’ But mainly I use it for the quoting portion, to arrive at a budget. Usually, there’s a precon- ceived notion of (the customer) saying, ‘I only want to spend X amount of dollars in the creation of my kitchen.’ And when you go on the tool, you’re able to pull all these ideas together, and arrive at something that you’re able to pres- ent to the client. So it’s a useful tool in that way, as well.
Frank: On that end of it, Sandra and Nikos, you do custom fab- rication for subcontractors like designers and kitchen and bath companies. What you’re saying is this is a tool for the kitchen and bath dealers, and if the customer needs to see what a Silestone color, or a Cambria color looks like with certain cabinets, the dealers are using it with their customers to get a quote on design. You’re arming your kitchen and bath dealers with
The Quote Countertops Kitchen visualizer allows in-house design- ers and web shoppers at home to experiment with stone colors
The Quote Countertops bathroom visualizer is another facet of the app that kitchen and Bath outlets can use to design bathroom
a tool that allows them to design. Nikos: That’s right. I have accounts right now, who have catered their business the same way we have online, generat- ing leads and everything. We’ve even created their own profiles in the tool. I mean, we essen- tially get all the business. We will go through the scheduling side of it, but, essentially, we arm them with a very strong conversion tool for their business, so we all win, right? If they don’t have great experience on the sales end of it, or they don’t have great exposure online and on social platforms, this technology can do that for them. Again, they don’t have to use our price points. They can go out there and create whatever price points they want and whatever col- ors they want to enable their cus- tomers to see options, as long as it’s helping them to get conver- sions. We funnel down into differ- ent businesses that feed our overall business, and it’s really neat that the software allows for that to take
place, as well.
So, the kiosk has been really use-
ful in our showrooms, and we also use the kiosk in our trade shows. Customers are walking up to our booth, and playing around with it. They love the idea that they can explore it. We were utilizing the kiosk feature in mall displays, but since the pandemic, we paused until we started to see activity come back into mall showrooms. However, the kiosk display at a mall is self-generating leads all on its own, 24 – 7, and you don’t have to man it! So that’s another way we use kiosks.
And as for trade shows, the kiosk is really interactive. You have this massive kiosk in front of you offering all these features, and you’re really playing to the benefit of the technology.
SRG: In closing, what has been the overall impact of having the kiosks in your showrooms and the Quote Countertops software available to your clients?
Nikos: One benefit in the show- room is that the customer is (phys- ically present), and nothing will ever take away from the interac- tion of a face to face interaction, right? We’re not expecting the tool to replace that. We’re expect- ing the software to be a tool. Once you actually have the customer walk through your doors, you’re listening, speaking and interact- ing, back and forth on the intrica- cies and the details of the project. Then you can turn to the tech- nology to show them really neat things, based on the feedback that you’re getting from them, and you can even navigate toward what the customer’s needs are, right on to the tool by showing them examples.
When you have a technology with visualization features, that also has estimation features — for a customer, how cool is that? You’re able to see something out of your imagination. You’re bringing a project to life, as you’re accenting the colors and creating the contrast and everything within that essential scope of design, using a tool. It may not be the exact design, but it’s giving you a visual of how everything will look and feel, the color tones and the moods you want for that room, through the tool. So then the sales reps can say, ‘Let me show you what we can do and what this may look like.’ Then they can go right to the tool and be able to show that. It’s almost an assisted sale, utilizing the tool in the process.
Join us next month for Part II of our interview with Colonial Marble and Granite and review of Quote Countertops.