Welcome to our Small Biz Spotlight series – an interview series focusing on local retailers and what makes them special. At Promoboxx we are declaring November as Retailer Appreciation Month! As part of this month, we are publishing blog posts to highlight some of the great retailers we work with and support every day. Floors by Ray is a true example of a family-owned business that invests in their community. We spoke with the owner of Floors by Ray, Ehron Hobbs, who shared what running a family business is like and why digital marketing has been essential as their business continues to grow.
Let’s start with a brief history of the business. How long have you been in operation?Our family has been serving customers in the flooring industry for four generations, since 1952. My father Ray opened Floors by Ray in Chico, California in 1989 and I took over operations in 2008. We are a small family-owned local company and we employ people from our community.
We are non-commission based so shoppers won’t be pressured by sales associates to spend more, and anyone on our team will be able to help you to find your dream floor and will have your best interests in mind. We carry brands that are exclusive to us, and we always offer our customers great deals on everything we carry – we also offer senior and military discounts. Not only do we sell and install flooring in residential homes, but we also have a commercial division which handles healthcare and corporate office remodels.
Businesses face challenges every day, but one that sticks out in my mind is the time we first started getting into social media marketing. It was quite a chore to remember to post things on Facebook or Twitter. We did really well at the beginning, and then it was put on the back burner. We are back in full force now that we can utilize Promoboxx, I set up our shares each Monday and the entire week is covered!
I am a member of the Valley Contractors Exchange and the Chico Builders Association. These organizations raise money for charities and provide job opportunities for young people who might not have a high school diploma or college degree. Contractors can utilize the services of the VCE for updates on new building codes and as a network for getting in touch with new vendors.
Although you might not think it would benefit your business or reach your particular demographic, digital marketing is a very important way to reach customers. Not many people watch live TV now that DVR is available, and many people have satellite radio in their cars. Almost everybody has a smartphone and with ad targeting and lead tracking, you can see exactly where your advertising bucks are going.
In business you cannot stand still, you have to always be evolving and finding a way to differentiate yourselves from your competition. One way to stay ahead of the curve is to focus strongly on targeting existing customers through email and also having a call to action on your campaigns that will drive traffic.
