Ways to Increase Your Profit Margin (Part 4)
This is our final installment in our “Ways to Increase Your Profit Margin” Series of blog posts. We hope that you have been able to take all of these to help increase your bottom line profits and buy yourself a little something special! This week, we are going to take a look at 1 major profit booster and one that is an easier way to ramp up your earnings.
Expand to a New Geographic Market
Consider expanding to a new geographic market. Expanding where you’re willing to install can tap into a customer base that your competitors aren’t reaching. The only difference between a job down the street and a job an hour away is freeway time. Now, this may stretch your install team too thin, but take a look at it nonetheless. Don’t want to expand your sales territory? Maybe you could think about becoming a “satellite shop” for another shop that doesn’t work in your town? Or you could use installation crews that are in another area and you can fabricate from your facility and transport the jobs to the other locations. If you have more work than your shop can produce though, you should look for ways to make your shop more efficient before heading out of town to hunt down jobs.
You Really Need Nice Photographs of Your Installed Jobs
This is a simple thing to do but it can really build your credibility with your customers and the marketplace. Take pictures of your work. Take pictures and videos of your workers building your tops. People love to see things being created and customers want to feel confident that you’re a real shop who can meet their desire for new countertops. Some people are uncomfortable with this because it feels like shameless self promotion. Our advice is to get over that feeling, because….it IS shameless self promotion, but your competitors aren’t going to toot your horn, so you need to get comfortable tooting your own horn. It has never been easier to post pictures and videos on your website. So get pictures of tops in process, get pictures of your install trucks, get pictures of your installed tops (with customer permission of course). Build your shops brand at every turn. This is a proven technique for increasing your profits, but it is not a quick fix. Brand building is a marathon so get settled in for the long haul. If possible, pair your finished install pics with customer testimonials. Adding social proof to your company will make future customer’s decision to use your shop that much easier.
Well, we hope you have enjoyed this little series of ideas on how to make your shop make you more money. Remember, putting in a quality top isn’t a guarantee that you will make money. You have to always look to innovate ways to increase your profits. Make sure you are paying attention to each dollar so they can come home with you, instead of leaving them in the shop, the street, and the customers’ homes.
Ways to Increase Your Profit Margin (Part 3)
Welcome to Part 3 of our ongoing series on ways to increase your shop’s profits
Use warm water for your polishers
This does not apply to fab shops with no cold weather, but we service shops all over the country and our customers in the Rockies and in the North East know how fabrication goes during the winter. Shop doors get left open to load trucks and the water polishers job can get really cold. So, to places with cold weather take this into consideration. Many shops in our area do not polish using warm water, I found that this fact astounding. Four years ago we talked to a customer whose shop started polishing with warm water. During the winter, the first thing their guys do is go to the water polishers and opened the water valve on the tools. A tower of steam can be seen coming out of the tools in a cold morning. The crew was able to work harder and stronger and taking breaks to thaw their cold hands were no longer needed. Needless to say this saves on labor costs. The guys were happy and more productive and they think using warm water works better on diamond resin pads. Looking to cost-justify productivity gains versus expense? The amount of $150 for water heater can easily be paid for itself in just one winter.
Exotic stone = Higher Profits
Exotic stone is a tricky recommendation because on the one hand, it is eye catching and gorgeous and brings a premium, on the other hand the number of customers in the market for it is smaller than your run of the mill St. Cecilia job. There is no arguing, however, that you’ll probably get more word-of-mouth referrals from an exotic stone kitchen that is perfectly executed than a basic kitchen perfectly executed. We work with some shops who keep some “hero slabs” in their yards as eye catchers for the more well to do customer. Having some exotic slabs like these is a good idea, but do it in moderation. You don’t want to go bankrupt having a yard full of gorgeous slabs that you can never move.
Have a Discount Kitchen Package
For many customers price is the most important thing about their remodel. For these customers have a pre-made kitchen package already planned out. Have a choice of two or three stock colors that you know you can get cheap from your supplier, have a base model stainless steel 50/50 topmount sink, and let them choose from two basic 3cm edges (a flat polish and a bevel). Doing this will save you money because you know you can knock out the kitchen quickly and your costs are all well known because the edge is quick and the slabs are what your shop commonly uses. Having a no frills kitchen package setup before hand lets you know your costs and can give the customer a lower cost kitchen remodel. Not everyone wants custom high end granite. Have something ready for the people who just need something nice done quickly at a reasonable price.
Get Started on this as soon as you can. The faster you do it, the quicker you will be able to put the down payment on that new ski boat!!
Read Part 4
