FCA Network 2011 Annual Convention Focused on ‘Getting More for Less’
Whittemore Shares Retail Experience and Digital Marketing Insights with Floor Covering Retailer Members
Kinnelon, NJ – FCA Network, Inc., an alliance of floor covering retailers, held its annual convention on March 27 & 28, 2011 in Chicago, IL. The convention’s theme focused on “Getting More for Less” while highlighting the rapidly changing consumer marketplace and how to remain competitive. Christine Whittemore, chief simplifier of Simple Marketing Now, shared marketplace insights about the retail experience, marketing to women and how to become more digitally visible.
“Our members realize the importance of having a web presence or at the very least coming up in a local source directory when their customer searches for a specific product on-line”, said Olga Robertson, president, FCA Network. “Christine was able to take the mystery out of social media marketing and bring it down to street level so to speak.”
In her presentations, Whittemore not only described how to reach women flooring consumers via a more engaging retail experience, but also detailed how to increase retailers’ online visibility using content marketing and social media marketing to connect with customers. She included best practices and highlighted examples from FCA Network members.
Other presentations featured Maxine Lauer, Sphere Trending, who addressed generational expectations surrounding digital trends, while Shaw’s John Godwin discussed residential flooring trends, including the 500 day cycle associated with refurbishing foreclosed homes.
Owners and managers from 57 FCA Network member stores around the country attended the annual event. “This annual convention is a terrific opportunity for FCA Network members to learn from one another, share best practices and return to their stores and businesses recharged,” added Robertson.
FCA Network specializes in providing full service retailers in secondary markets the support they need to compete and win. It supplies products, pricing and expertise to the Shop @ Home segment of the flooring industry.
For information about becoming a member of FCA Network, contact Robertson through www.fcanetwork.net or call direct at 877-858-2580.
For information about Simple Marketing Now, visit http://SimpleMarketingNow.com. Or, simply contact Whittemore at cbwhittemore@SimpleMarketingNow.com.
# # #
About Simple Marketing Now LLC
Simple Marketing Now, a marketing communications consultancy, helps organizations integrate social media and content marketing with traditional marketing to better connect with customers and improve business profitability.
Simple Marketing Now issues the Social Flooring Index which monitors the social state of the Flooring Industry and Flooring The Consumer about marketing to women and the retail experience.
About FCA Network
Floor Covering Associates, Inc. (FCA) was founded in 1976 as a single store in Shorewood, Illinois that supplied carpet and vinyl flooring to custom home builders. Steady growth over the last 30 years has resulted in the addition of company owned locations, partnership locations and licensed stores. Now, FCA is one of the top 20 retail floor covering operations in the country, with corporately owned locations in the Chicago area that do upwards of $40 million in sales per year.
In 1998, FCA Network was formed with the purpose of providing independent retailers the opportunity to take advantage of FCA's successful marketing, merchandising and sales generating programs, while still maintaining their autonomy. With continuing manufacturer consolidation and competition, independent retailers need an edge that will differentiate them from their competition.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Reminder: Please, no self-promotional or SPAM comments. Don't bother if you're simply trying to build inauthentic link juice. Finally, don't be anonymous: it's too hard to have a conversation. Thanks, CB