Let’s Play a Game of Peek-A-Boo

How Kitchen and Bath Dealers Should View Their Business Model

In our last blog, we left off with defining what “Transference of Expectations” or “TOE” means which is saying that once a customer has experienced a certain touchpoint from a company that they like and value, they will start expecting the same type of experience from other companies that they do business with.

What does all this mean for a K & B Dealer? Stagnation is going to be the kiss of death for your business unless you get serious about embracing change. Our industry is currently experiencing a substantial downturn in most areas of the country, and it looks like it’s going to continue in a downward slide throughout 2023 and most likely into 2024.

This means that there will be winners and losers at the end of this negative growth spell. From my perspective, the winners are going to be the ones that spend time on how to change and improve their business. The losers are going to be the ones that go into survival mode by cutting expenses as much as they can and use the same model they’ve always been using.

That’s just not going to cut it anymore when you look at how customers’ expectations are going to continue to rise and at a faster rate. Wait a doggone second…Did I just say that consumer behaviors and expectations are going to change at a faster rate? The answer is yes and yes. I know it sounds a little scary when you are faced with the fact that if your business can’t change and adapt quickly you might end up fading into the sunset….

Don’t believe me? Well, I guess it’s time to play a little game of peek-a-boo. A look at the past and the future. If this puppy doesn’t get you thinking, then I’m not sure what will.

Okay, let’s get started. Close your eyes, click your ruby red heels together and transport yourself back to the year 2010. Now that you have landed safely in the past, it’s time to peek-a-boo. Game on!

I would like you to answer these questions about how you imagine your business will look in 2015.

1.??????How will you be presenting a project to customers i.e., printed paper, flat screen or puppet show?

2.??????How will quoting and ordering be done?

3.??????How much of your business and business activities will be done online?

4.??????How will you go about marketing your business?

5.??????Who will be your competition?

After you have answered these questions, let’s see how close you were to how things turned out. I’ll bet you weren’t very far off since there really weren’t that many things that changed during those years. Maybe you showed better images from the design software you use, or you started ordering products on the supplier’s website. So your peek-a-boo look into the next 5 years really didn’t have very many surprises for you .

Now let’s look at the present time and get ready for Round 2 of Peek-a-boo. In this one, I am going to ask you to answer the same questions about your business in 2028. I’ll give you a few minutes to think about it (Play Jeopardy theme here ??)

Okay, time is up. How did you feel about your answers? Spot on or a little spotty? I think we all would have a difficult time nailing down what our business is going to look like in 5 years. Yup! All arrows point towards the accelerating change factor. Things are moving at a rapid speed. Think about this.

2023 – Speed of change -x

2028 – Speed of Change – xxx

Based on the fact that technology is doubling every 18 months…zowie! That makes my gray hair stand up on edge…. but actually, more with excitement than fear. If you don’t think our industry is set up for a widespread disruption in the next 5 years, well I wouldn’t recommend sitting around and waiting to see what happens. If you need any more proof, let’s look at the tea leaves:

1.??????Fragmented market - 35,000 Dealers with average revenues around 2 million.

2.??????Lack of processes and technology

3.??????High inefficiency rating

4.??????Lacks the ability to easily capture data and provide meaningful reporting… like having Key Performance Indicators in place. Say it ain’t so Joe!

But it’s coming and it’s going to be coming in a big way! Are you thinking about it now? Good! You need to if you want to stay ahead of the game.

Okay now, that’s a wrap and join us next week for “How Do I Get This Party Started?!” Hope you are enjoying some nice Spring weather where you are!

Thanks for reading and playing Peek-A-Boo.

Tip of the day – Zoom app Fathom. It captures the notes from your meeting and summarizes them into meaningful points. It works great!