Keeping Consumers Interested!

December 4, 2002

by Rick Stenberg

Anyone who’s been in the stone business for the past 10 years – at least — knows first hand the tremendous growth this industry has been fortunate to see.
However, with this growth comes opportunity for others to develop attractive alternatives to stone at more-competitive prices. This, of course, creates a more-competitive market place, which is the true negative result of our past great success.
Can the stone industry survive these less-costly knockoffs, or will we succumb? The answer is anyone’s guess, so we need to make sure – as an industry – that we can create the interest and enthusiasm for the buying public so they don’t necessarily look at other options to natural stone.
Easy to say, but how do we actually do that? There are so many types of businesses within the stone industry itself that there’s no single answer; so, let’s break it out.

THE QUARRY
Obviously it all starts with the stone. The quarry must provide the highest-quality block of stone, and not roll out just every block that comes out of the ground.
I know waste factors in some materials are already extraordinarily high. However, the ripple effect down the line with poor quality material absolutely affects each and every stone business in a negative way, and opens the door wider for man-made knock-off materials.
Consider the following: A customer is thinking of granite slabs, or granite 12” x 12” tiles, for a kitchen after hearing what a great surface it is. They visit a local distributor or showroom, and the granites have a multitude of fractures and fill; the customer becomes uneasy and nervous about the overall look and durability of this investment. The customer may consider other options, such as man-made materials.
I know stone isn’t perfect and never will be; that’s part of its beauty and desirability. What I’m talking about are the large areas of fill; you know, the ones that are the size of your hand, and fracture lines that separate to the point that the slab looks like it’s broken.
Just having a slab or tile like that on display will automatically create caution in the consumer’s eye. The cost of the slab or tile is small compared to losing the entire project.

THE IMPORTERS
Once we have good material to offer, we need to continue the positive image and experience for our customers. The importers need to display the material in a clean, well-lighted building with slabs in full view.
Again, this costs more. The costs are easily covered, though, by the increase in sales and the reduced problems with slabs being returned for flaws or wrong colors, due to poor lighting or the inability to view them fully.
I can’t stress enough about making the entire experience a positive one. You need to make certain that your sales staff is knowledgeable; consumers hearing different information from place to place will be confused wary about what to believe. The result is a customer seeking a “safer” alternative.

THE SPECIFIERS
Architects and designers should be informed on what stones are best suited for specific applications, and not just for color.
All architects and designers should contact their fabricators or the Marble Institute of America (MIA) to match the selected stone type to the application, preventing client disappointment and costly failures by using the wrong stone. Redoing a stone project is no fun.

THE FABRICATORS
The biggest burden of creating that positive experience lies here. Are you willing to go the extra mile for your client? Are you seriously interested in giving them the best job possible? Do you want their dream kitchen fantasy to be fulfilled without problems relating to the stone?
If you can’t answer a sincere yes to all of these questions, you may make that customer turn against natural and make them an advocate to our competition. You can be the one responsible for the loss of hundreds of projects to the stone industry just for making one customer’s project a nightmare.
Let’s look at some business practices that you can adhere to that will prevent most consumer complaints and problems. One of the best I’ve found is to actually go with your customer to the stone yards. The customer picks color and you check for quantity, quality and layout to show the customer exactly what to expect – with no surprises!
You don’t want to use the excuse, “You picked the stone so it’s your problem and not mine.” That only creates more headaches for you and the customer.
Shopping with your customer can also save you time and money, since you know exactly what’s coming in your shipment. You know the shipping date is your start date on the project, and you won’t need to return stone that has too many flaws, doesn’t lay out, or is of bad quantity. As you know, this affects your cutting schedule and requires waiting for your client to take the time to re-select stone.
Customers can’t be expected to be stone experts like us. Put yourself in their shoes – wouldn’t you want the comfort level of having an expert along when you selected something you knew nothing about?
And, don’t cut corners on fabrication; make each job a masterpiece. Your happy customer will be your best source of new projects.
The stone suppliers, importers, quarries and everyone else in the stone industry rely on each other. All of us need to be the best we can be. The happy, satisfied customer will be loyal to both you and natural stone, and won’t be looking for alternatives.
Human nature will prevail, and so will natural stone.
Rick Stenberg is founder and owner of Marin Marble in San Rafael, Calif., where he’s stayed in business for 18 years. His work is throughout the United States (including Hawaii) and as far away as Indonesia; it’s also appeared in Architectural Digest and Home Builder, among other publications, as well as several television shows. Outside the shop, he lives and works on a Sonoma County farm growing wine grapes and raising Holstein cattle, sheep and chickens.