Running a small business can be hard, very hard, but don't think running a big business is any easier; take Kentucky Fri
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Running a small business can be hard, very hard, but don’t think running a big business is any easier; take Kentucky Fried Chicken for instance. You may have heard that KFC has been hit with a chicken shortage. I’m not kidding—you can’t make this stuff up. Many of KFC’s British stores have been experiencing a chicken shortage for a few weeks now, and more than half of its 900 locations in Great Britain have been closed until new supplies of chicken make their way from new distributors looking to turn the tide. The powers that be at KFC have gone onto Twitter to apologize to their customers and the picture they ran shows an empty KFC chicken bucket. The apology that ran with the article said… “A chicken restaurant without any chicken. It’s not ideal. Huge apologies to our customers, especially those who traveled out of their way to find we were closed. And endless thanks to our KFC team members and our franchise partners for working tirelessly to improve the situation. It’s been a hell of a week, but we’re making progress, and every day more and more fresh chicken is being delivered to our restaurants. Thank you for bearing with us.” You have to give credit to KFC for admitting the problem, poking fun at themselves via Twitter, and trying to do what they can to fix the issue for their customers. They didn’t run and hide. They stood up and acknowledged what needed to be said, and publisher HANS MUGLER they are handling the problem. As an independent paint store owner, you’re not going to run out of chicken, but maybe your inventory runs low on a product, and a customer is standing there waiting for it…impatiently. What do you do to fix the situation? Obviously, there are multiple ways you can attempt to fix the problem. If you have a good POS system (check out our article on that subject next month in TPD), hopefully the problem doesn’t arise—your POS system should be good enough to tell you when inventory is falling short on a particular product or product line. Maybe the customer will allow you to color match the product with a competitive line to solve the issue. Maybe you can special order the product and have shipping expedite it. Maybe you can offer to bring the product to the jobsite as soon as it arrives in your store. Maybe a discount is in order for the customer, because remember, the customer is always right, and it’s funny to me how often a customer will bring that up to win an argument. Bottom line, many small business owners, i.e., most independent paint store owners, are problem solvers much of the time. Knowing what the problem is and coming up with the most effective ways of dealing with the issue can really set you apart from the paint manager at a big box store, who usually doesn’t have the ability to solve problems the same way you can solve them. Admit to the customer that the situation is not ideal and move directly to problem solving, because when you position yourself as the authority on problem solving in your business and store, you will have customers consistently coming back to you…just not for fried chicken. Then again, an occasional free lunch is a great way to get some noontime business!
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PaintDealer the
342 Marshall Road St. Louis, MO 63088 Toll free: 800.984.0801 Main: 314.984.0800 Fax: 314.984.0866 www.paintdealer.com
Publisher/President Hans Mugler
[email protected] [800] 984-0801 x12 Associate Publisher/Editor-In-Chief Jerry Rabushka
[email protected] [800] 984-0801 x16 Art Director Kathryn Tongay-Carr
[email protected] [800] 984-0801 x 14 Circulation Manager Elizabeth LeBoube
[email protected] [800] 984-0801 x 11 Contriubting Writers Josh Bohm Miranda Lipton Erick Gatcomb
Sales Department Sue Oden
[email protected] Ph: (417) 207-0486 Fax: (314) 984-0866 Mike Smoot
[email protected] Ph: (314) 837-2987 Fax: (314) 984-0866 Hans Mugler
[email protected] Ph: [800] 984-0801 Cell: (314) 616-9080 Fax: (314) 984-0866 Canada Post International Publications Mail Product (Canadian Distribution) Sales Agreement No. 40031787. Send returns (Canada) to BleuChip International, P.O.Box 25542, London, Ontario, N6C 6B2. CIRCULATION IS VERIFIED BY US POSTAL RECEIPTS
Advertise in the Leading Magazine Read by Independent Paint Store Owners! Call your sales rep today for special rate packages: Sue Oden
[email protected] • 417.207.0486
Mike Smoot
[email protected] • 314.837.2987
“We have read The Paint Dealer for as long as I can remember. I love dealer profile articles. Articles like that are what inspired me to have my own shop.” — Chris Davis, Danzer’s Paint Store, Helena, MT
themix
FEB. ‘18 volume 27 » no. 2
featurestories
4 Prime Coat
14 Essentially Speaking
Selling brushes the essential way.
Caulk’s come a long way this century.
Teaching your customers about primer. Yes, still.
26 Color of the Month
Have confidence in red.
Independent events.
24 Just Say Yes
20 Learning Curve
When there isn’t a chicken in every pot.
10 Paint Scene
16 A Thrilling Filling
departments
Five ways to bump up customer service.
30 Mark My Words
Do you know what you’re spending your money on?
28 Press It On
Advice on selling and using tape.
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Cover photo courtesy of Dunn-Edwards
Name Web Page Name Web Page Name Web Page
ArroWorthy..................................... 31 arroworthy.com
Franmar.......................................... 19 franmar.com
Nationwide Protective Coating........ 18 nationwidecoatings.com
Autologue......................................6-7 autologue.com
Howard Products............................. 22 howardproducts.com
PPG Pittsburgh Paints...................... 11 ppgpittsburghpaints.com
Benjamin Moore................................9 benjaminmoore.com
Intex................................................ 17 pfcrags.com
Premier Paint Roller........................ 13 premierpaintroller.com
Corona............................................ 25 coronabrushes.com
Lancaster..........................................2 lancasterco.com
Richards Paint................................. 23 richardspaint.com
Fine Paints of Europe...................... 32 finepaintsofeurope.com
National Hardware Show...................3 nationalhardwareshow.com
Santint............................................. 12 santintusa.com
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The Paint Dealer (ISSN 1067-1110) is published monthly by Mugler Publications, Inc., 342 Marshall Road, St. Louis, MO 63088 / P: 800-984-0801/FAX: 314-984-0866 / www.paintdealer.com / Printed in the U.S.A. All material in this magazine is Copyright © 2018 by Mugler Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. The Paint Dealer is available free of charge to retailers who sell paint and paint sundries to consumers or contractors. Subscription rate for applicants who do not qualify for free copies is $36/year in the U.S. and $100/year in foreign countries. Periodicals Postage paid at St. Louis, MO and Additional Mailing Office. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Paint Dealer, 342 Marshall Road, St. Louis, MO 63088-9998.
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©2017 Benjamin Moore & Co. Benjamin Moore, Paint like no other, and the triangle “M” symbol are registered trademarks licensed to Benjamin Moore & Co.
When you join the Benjamin Moore retailer network, it’s your store, not a franchise. Which means no franchise fee, and 100% of your investment goes into your own store. Go to benjaminmoore.com/newdealers to learn more.
paintscene A Month To Call Your Own Do customers need a reason to shop with you? Here’s a stat courtesy of Independent Retailer Month: If every family in the U.S. spent an extra $10 a month at a locally owned, independent business instead of a national chain, over $9.3 billion would be directly returned to our economy.
paintscene
Independent Retailer Month is a shop local campaign that runs annually throughout July, encouraging consumers to shop at independent retailers. It highlights their positive social and economic impact locally, nationally and globally. “We encourage people to shop independent retail year round and to use July as a time to celebrate the independent retailers that help build our economy—creating more sustainable cities, towns and communities,” says the organization. “By engaging independent retailer associations, small business organizations and retail thought leaders we aim to demonstrate the importance of shopping independent.”
Hit The Streets, Part Three Independent We Stand, sponsored by Stihl and PPG, kicked off its third annual America’s Main Streets contest to help consumers, small business owners, and Main Street organizations reward a deserving Main Street with $25,000 in cash and sponsor-related prizes. America’s Main Streets play an important role in the long-term success of communities and help build a sense of place reinforcing this year’s theme: “Local Memories. Lasting Impact.” Independent We Stand invites the public to nominate and vote for its favorite Main Street—whether it’s making a comeback or never lost its staying power. Voting runs through April 27, 2018 at mainstreetcontest.com
For ideas on how you and your city can participate and encourage citizens to shop indie, please visit indieretailermonth.com.
“Our Independent We Stand America’s Main Streets contest shines a light on the pride business owners and communities take in their Main Streets,” says Independent We Stand co-founder Bill Brunelle. “We know small businesses on these Main Streets help them thrive and have a measurable economic impact. This contest is a chance to share those stories with people from coast-to-coast.” Paint dealers in the winning cities are involved in the process. independentwestand.org
Capture Your Color Say someone’s out hiking and sees an awesomely handsome wildflower, or is in a friend’s bathroom snooping through the medicine cabinet and really likes the shade on the wall behind it. Benjamin Moore’s Color Capture mobile app make it easy for them to take that color to their nearest dealer. Customers can simply take a photo on a smartphone and import it into the app. The Benjamin Moore Color Capture technology will do the work, instantly sifting through its bank of more than 3,500 paint colors to pinpoint the exact hue they’re looking for, along with suggested color combinations. Now they can get that bathroom blue and one-up their host with a matching hue! It will also let them search by color cards and families to find additional hues that might suit their project. Additional features include: • A snapshot of product information for every color they click on, to help them choose the right paint. • In-app inspiration and assistance throughout the color selection and design process. • A Favorites tab so they can save pictures and coordinating colors, or group Favorites to create personalized combinations. • A paint calculator to determine how much product they’ll need. • Ability for customers to locate their nearest Benjamin Moore retailer as well as share color color picks on Facebook, Twitter and by email. By the time they get to you, your job will be easy! benjaminmoore.com
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S S E C C U YOUR S S S E L T I IS LIM it n i a tt a u o y p l We’ll he
t hip. With the righ rs e n rt a p e u tr a f try-leading color nows the value o s k u t d a in th n y a n d a n p a m t o n c me Choose a every market seg in te e siness succeed. p u m b o r c u o to y ts lp c e u h d to ro e array of p with the expertis d e p ip u q e is G P program, P
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E D I R P R YOU ACCOMPLISH MORE WITH PPG. CALL 888.774.1010. The PPG Logo is a registered trademark of PPG Industries Ohio, Inc. © 2017 PPG Industries, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
paintscene PPG Looks Into Wood PPG has opened a wood coatings research and development lab at its Springdale, Pennsylvania facility. The lab is dedicated to developing industrial coatings for wood products such as flooring, kitchen cabinets, millwork, and molding and doors used in the interior of commercial and residential buildings.
paintscene
Kevin Braun, PPG vice president, Industrial Coatings, Americas, said the new lab enhances PPG’s ability to innovate and transfer coatings technologies from wood to other building product substrates, such as rubber, vinyl and luxury vinyl tile (LVT), to meet the evolving demands of the industry.
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The lab employs chemists, technicians, and color stylists and is equipped with the latest application, mixing, testing, and analytical technology.
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“There are three main factors driving coatings development across the wood and interior building product segments,” explained Braun. “They are differentiation through color and aesthetics, product durability. and improved process efficiency to control manufacturing costs. By combining our product development capabilities at Springdale, our staff can quickly assimilate technical advances for all types of building product coatings and improve our collaboration with the staff at PPG’s Coatings Innovation Center in nearby Allison Park.” PPG’s environmentally sustainable wood coating technologies will remain an area of technical emphasis for the laboratory. They include ultraviolet (UV)-cure coatings, which emit virtually no volatile organic compounds (VOCs) when applied, waterborne and solvent-borne coatings, and specialty products such as electro-beam (EB)-cure coatings, and ink resins for resilient flooring. PPG has more than 100 years of experience in the wood coatings industry and manufactures products for every type of wood finishing process. These include toners, primers, stains, fillers, sealers, glazes and topcoats. ppgpaints.com
Essent
Brush selling fo
T
he word “essential” gets thrown around a lot, essentially because it’s a great selling tool. If something’s perceived as essential, you’ve gotta have it if you’re going to be trendy, hip, or just get the job done right. A proper brush is essential, and from a retailer’s perspective, so is a proper brush selection. As always, you’re on the hook for great customer service to show everyone just how essential you are vs. your competition. What’s essential for you is having what’s essential for them. “The paint dealer provides a huge service by having a good program in stock that will cater to the needs of painters, whoever they are,” said Ben Waksman, president of Corona Brushes. “The offering should include enough variety in styles, sizes, and materials to provide painters with the tool that will provide them with proper paint application.” That, combined with your knowledgeable opinion, can help. “Without being obtrusive, you can make recommendations based on your experience and expedience shared by the painters who trade with you. People look for that, whether professional or DIY,” he said. Carl Rumpf, VP Sales at Premier Paint Roller, agrees that the more you know, the more you sell. “Dealers are very knowledgeable about the coatings they carry and are very supportive in helping customers choose the proper brushes and roller covers to use for every application,” he said. “The dealer’s extensive product knowledge is their key to success.” Mark Francazio, Category Director, Paint & Paint Sundries, World and Main, often deals with retailers who have several departments, say hardware or larger home improvement stores. World and Main distributes the Stanley, PXpro, and GAM lines of applicators. But no matter what departments you have, your shoppers will very likely need advice about paint, he says, so you’ll want to staff your paint and brush displays with people who know their way around it.
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“So many times we see consumers seeking help, especially since the paint department is one of the more ‘interactive’ selling sections of the floor,” he pointed out. “With the need for paint tinting and/or help with product selection, a knowledgeable staff is extremely important.” If you’re bringing in a new line, or upgrading either your staff or your brush display, make sure everyone knows what’s for sale. That way when someone comes in with questions, you can make sure they come out with answers and a bag full of applicators! It’s also essential to keep on top of new products and product changes, said Francazio. “Once that interaction takes place, it’s critical that employees are well versed on the breadth and depth of the store’s offerings. Developing a training calendar in conjunction with your vendors is one way to help provide value to not only the consumer, but also to your employees. Utilizing POP and other merchandising aids is also helpful. Lastly, developing promotions on ‘focus products’ each month allows you to zero in on seasonal or higher quality items,” he said.
Well, Well, Well
“A good display is essential,” says Waksman. This time he said it before we did! This means your display is well laid out, well stocked, well suited for your market. Your dealer friend out west might have a great display for Tucson but can fall on its face if you take it home to Rhode Island. “Some markets do more in stain brushes than others,” Ben described. “Some customers prefer round sash tools. The West, for example, seems to like rattail handle thin angular brushes.” On the other hand, some brushes and rollers are popular throughout the Northern Hemisphere in both the U.S. and Canada. “These constitute a core program in most stores in both countries,” he noted. “These include the double stock angular brushes with the flat long handles and the 3" flat beavertail handle trim brush. Also, the woven white roller covers are popular for interior finishing.” It’s also essential that people can find it, and that your display doesn’t look like Wal-Mart the day after Christmas. “Everyone wants to shop in a clean store that takes the time to have nice displays. It shows you are proud of your business and lets the consumers know they are being taken care of by someone who is detailed
ially Speaking
or adults
BY editor
JERRY RABUSHKA
and knowledgeable,” said Carl Rumpf at Premier. If you haven’t seen a YELP review that talks about messy displays where no one can find anything, just put out a messy display where no one can find anything, and you will. And if we beat our readers over the head with product knowledge, it’s only because we care. If your customers trust your knowledge, they’ll be more inclined to buy that more expensive product if you recommend it, vs. thinking you’re just reaching deeper into their pockets. Some customers may have checked out your brushes online before they get to your store, so your display will confirm their interest in a purchase. “In-store displays make a significant impact in the selling story, and continue to be effective at point of purchase,” said Francazio with World and Main. “The ‘Paint Desk’ makes it easier for retailers to have these available for consumers as they shop, or while they wait for their product to be mixed. These displays typically lead to further questions that should tie into your ‘sell up’ story.” What a perfect time to talk about brushes, while the mixer is doing its thing!
All for One, but…One for All?
But…it says, “for all paints!” so I should be able to use it no matter what! Well…just because a hat says one size fits all doesn’t mean it looks good on you. So when someone self-assuredly puts a forall-paints on the counter, you still want to make sure it’s the right one. “The consumer still needs to know if the brushes and rollers are right for the surface, texture and other
varying conditions of their painting project,” said Carl Rumpf. Mark Francazio agrees. “The term ‘for all paints’ is widely used nowadays, and for the most part that’s true,” he said. “With that said, depending on what someone is painting (trim, doors, walls), the characteristics the customer is looking for, or what kind of paint they’re using, you can give them a better product for their particular job.” As we like to say, if one brush fit all, everyone’s job would be a lot easier. In many cases, an experienced contractor might know a thing or two, and can in turn help you help others. And don’t tell the painter he’s wrong—at least more than once! “The painter preference overrides all rules,” said Waksman. “As manufacturers, we make tools for the painters and we have some knowledge to impart, but in the end it is up to the painter. For example, we recommend our natural bristle tools for solvent based finishes only, yet we do hear of painters who use them in waterbase coatings. We do not recommend this, but it happens. We recommend our soft-flex Champagne Nylon brushes for interior latex work but we know of many painters who use them for exterior work as well.” So, essentially, there you have it! coronabrushes.com, premierpaintroller.com, worldandmain.com TPD
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A Thrilling Fillin Fill the gaps in your caulk display
Sashco’s Big Stretch
H
ey all, I hope your holiday season was great, and here’s to the best in 2018. I would have told you all a lot sooner (about a month sooner) but I was over at The Paint Contractor doing a cool story about hand tools, since with my bum wrist, ergonomics are my thing. I know what I’m supposed to talk about is caulk, but really what I’m wanting to talk about is space. For most independent retailers, it’s something we don’t have a ton of to spare. I recently hunkered down and reorganized most of the guitar shop where I work, and I took note on which accessories and strings were selling well and what had been sitting there for a long time. I started phasing out lines and product that wasn’t BY contributing writer moving and started bringing in JOSH BOHM new lines that had a better chance of getting along. Now with strings especially, there are so many different types thicknesses, styles, and of course sounds, it’s easy to get carried away and try to just have the most variety, but that variety might shoot you in the foot when you want to try something new but you’ve had some product that hasn’t turned over in months!
What About Me?
This is a trap that you can just as easily fall into with caulk. See, I did bring it back to topic! Now I know that we’ve done a lot of stories on caulk in the past, but we thought shooting at this from a different angle
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might help it stick better, so here we are. There’s a reason that we run so many stories on caulk and adhesives—it’s because they’re always changing! There has been so much development in caulk over the last 20 years (as we’ll learn) that one of the only similarities is that it still comes in a tube! I wanted to take this time to understand what would make a painter look for one specific caulk over the other and what you as dealers need to know to be able to provide the best products and service for your clients to keep them within your doors and to make sure your shelves have the necessities. As always, I love to get ideas from the minds of the industry and this month we’ve got some great ones to talk to. We asked Darci Kunard, brand manager at Sashco, Morton Jones, director of R&D for caulks and adhesives at Gardner-Gibson, and Michael Provenzano, marketing manager of adhesives and sealants for PPG. Without further ado, let’s get cocked and loaded!
The Benefits of Quality
First of all, it’s important to know and understand the differences between caulks for different applications and luckily, one of our experts had a lot to say about this
ng one! Darci Kunard of Sashco stepped up to the plate. “The differences are three-fold: technology, benefits, and quality, with the last being the most important,” she said. “Most caulking manufacturers confuse their dealers and consumers with technology and use that as a selling feature, but the benefits and the quality of the caulk is much more important than the technology.” These benefits are what help you sell, she continued. “Benefits can include elasticity, paintabilty, adhesion, warranty, freeze-thaw stability, etc. Keep in mind none of these are equal, which is where quality comes into play. If a product touts elasticity above its competition, one has to wonder what it is giving up in order to gain that excessive elasticity. Moreover, once it stretches, does it have memory to come back? This is vital in applications where there is joint movement—and that would be all applications.” For example, she noted, if a caulk has elasticity without memory, once it stretches out it might not hold its seal over time, and will eventually fail. “This is what we
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mean by quality,” she explained. “Benefits have to work together in order to deliver a high-quality caulking product. Furthermore, the quality of ingredients matters; this is what sets apart the high-performance caulks from the rest.” Now that we know where we are, let’s see how we got here.
Especially for You
Caulk, like I mentioned before, is always changing, so companies are always trying to get the best formulas to fit the needs of paint pros and DIYers all over the world in all different conditions and needs. We asked our friends about the R&D that goes into their product and how they know they’re offering you the best caulks and sealants they can. Morton Jones of GardnerGibson starts us off. “Market and field research tells us the performance properties that our customers value most. This is important because in developing a new product to better address a targeted application, it is just as important that we include the attributes that our customers love, such as ease of application,” he said. Adding to that, PPG’s Michael Provenzano says they’re on the lookout for new applications. “If a technology doesn’t currently exist, we set out to develop it. Developing new formulations and specialized products starts with evaluating consumer needs and insights. Interacting regularly with pros and DIYers provides
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knowledge regarding what product features would help make their jobs easier and more efficient. We then identify and present a targeted list of performance attributes to our research and development team, who perform stringent testing and work with our customers to ensure that our products are meeting performance requirements.” Finally, Darci Kunard of Sashco clues us in on their process. “From the packaging to the box, and all the attributes and benefits of the caulking products—we care about what goes into our products in order to deliver—as our slogan says—a Product that Works,” she said. “We want to exceed customer expectations, and that means a caulking product that works right the first time, every time. In an industry where failure of caulking is the norm—we want to change that. Caulking doesn’t have to fail.”
Too Late for Phthalate
With all of the R&D and advancement that goes into contemporary caulking and sealants, let’s not forget what caulks were like and see how far we’ve come. In the past 20 years, caulks have advanced quite a bit, for example they are environmentally friendly, along with countless other attributes that these folks recall developing! Michael Provenzano started us off with his thoughts: “Today’s caulks and sealants have come a long way in the last 20 years, starting with the types of raw materials from which the products are formulated. One example of this is the move away from phthalate plasticizers.” From what? you may ask… “Plasticizers were traditionally needed to help caulks maintain their flexibility, but today’s formulators have alternative solutions that also provide better performance,” he explained. “Caulk formulators spend time during product development to ensure the product is compatible with many different types of interior and exterior paints with various sheens. Easy application is just as important as the long-term performance. Today, air-free tubes are a must have to avoid air pops and material run-on.” Morton Jones of Gardner-Gibson gave us his take on the changing scene. “Acrylic latex caulks are
AWARD -
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Finally, as always, we’ve got to get the information we need to sell these products and make sure you have what it is that the customer will need. Like our talk mentioned, space is at a premium, so getting the right stuff is crucial so you don’t have precious shelf space taken up by product that doesn’t move. Here is what Darci Kunard suggests, of course mentioning Sashco’s methodology: “Dealers need to know that there IS a difference in caulking. You can offer your customers a range of products: good, better, best—which is what most caulking manufacturers offer. Or, you can offer your customers only high-performance. Your customers count on their caulking to work and they know the pain of replacing it again and again. Sashco makes it easy to find and recommend a caulk to your customers—we offer one brand for each application. We don’t confuse with technology or numbers.” Morton Jones adds Gardner-Gibson’s approach, which shares some with Darci’s. “Dealers should stock a Good, Better, Best line of caulks and familiarize themselves with the features listed on the label of each product. If more information is needed, check out our website for technical and safety data. The informed dealer can then confidently recommend product to a contractor—who can then chose the caulk that best fits his or her project.” Lastly, Michael Provenzano suggests that in order to recommend the right caulk, make sure you understand how the consumer is going to use it. “Dealers should segment their products into categories and be able to differentiate which product works best for a specific project. It is also important to have clear differentiation of these products on the shelves,” he said. Now back to my quandary from the beginning of the article. I finally got all of the strings pared down to what we sell the most of with just enough other variety to satisfy most specialty needs that come through the door. It still left me some space to try product from another supplier I really like. Now I’ve got some price variation and I can position the handmade strings as a premium product (without a price increase) and have these others as a workhorse at a lower price—and it’s been working like a dream. When you know what you’re looking at and know what to stock, you just might get stuck in a really good place. Now with what our experts offered up, you’ll be ready for success—no strings attached! gardner-gibson.com, sashco.com, ppgpaints.com TPD
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The Race for Space
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now much more environmentally benign than they were 20 years ago because they contain a much lower volume of volatile organic compounds (VOC) and air pollutants. Also, our acrylic latex caulks are much less toxic than most other caulk chemistries in use today.” I, for one am grateful that these companies are so dedicated to improving their product so we can have our world so perfectly held together! (I had to make that joke, don’t judge.)
W IN NIN G P R
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Historic craftsman style buffet, Fresno California Read about this amazing customer submitted project and more on our blog, franmar.com/consumer-blog
Become a Dealer Today! Call 800.538.5069 Or visit us online: www.franmar.com
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Learning Curve Reschooling Customers on Primer
When someone puts on a happy face, you can prime over it with the right product. Photo courtesy of Rust-Oleum.
I
t doesn’t take long in this industry to realize that “watching paint dry” is, actually, exciting! More so than the Super Bowl, Wonder Woman, or even the Slovenian hockey team. Now that paint and primer have largely gone odor-free, you can turn a chair to the wall, crank up a few tunes, and before you know it the party’s on and you’re ready for the next coat. The primer segment has undergone a huge revolution—Paint and Primer in One is a game changer—but for this article we wanted BY editor to go old school, to where JERRY RABUSHKA primer was primer, paint was paint, and the two-point conversion was a last-gasp college football game ender. But as you’ll see, the rules are changed and we’re not going back. Throughout TPD’s quarter century of publication, we’ve talked about educating
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customers as to the importance of primer—have we succeeded? Jerry Morgan, Brand Manager at Rust-Oleum (Zinsser), says we may need to start fresh. “There is still plenty of work that can be done, especially with the DIYers, as Paint and Primer in One has raised questions and, in some cases, caused confusion,” he said. Not only that, but DIYers, and especially novice painters, are still in need of guidance. “Our message to them is the same as it is with professionals,” said Morgan. “Primers promote adhesion, help solve problems (i.e. hide stains, seal odors), prepare the most difficult surfaces for a topcoat, and help the topcoats perform to the best of their abilities. Rust-Oleum works to get its message out through product labels, as well as sharing end-user stories through social media and print media.”
Higher Education
Brian Osterried, PPG Product Marketing Manager, Interior Paint, believes that this new product category
has influenced customers’ perceptions on what it takes to get a good paint job. “While many pros and DIYers want to use Paint and Primer in One as often as possible, there are still many situations where you need a standalone primer to get the job done right,” said Brian. “Primers deliver features and benefits that some Paint and Primer in One products cannot. Primers block the toughest stains and adhere to the most difficult surfaces, for example, wallpaper. In addition, primers block odors from smoke damage and other sources.” Osterried notes that PP-in-1 options have definitely eaten into people’s desire to use a dedicated primer and topcoat system. However, sometimes old school is best, and if they need to throw on some Hank Williams or Temptations to go back to those years, well, OK fine; call it odor-free nostalgia. For example, with certain color choices, starting off with tinted primer may serve them best—and save time! “As consumers’ color choices drift toward vibrant accent colors, tinting the primer is now recommended more often to achieve true, deep color on the top coat. The added color in the primer can help cut down on the number of coats required, and can help the color of your finish look more accurate,” he advised.
Pay Attention!
This is a time for the classmates to let their eyes wander—stare at the ceiling to check out the substrate. “The importance of primers is determined by the substrate or the solution to the existing problem,” said Dan Cohen, Executive VP at ICP Construction. “Contractors need to become better aware of unique performance primers and not be so dependent upon the universal primer as a quick fix. ICP brands (California Paints and FixALL) produce a multitude of primers based upon surface and solutions.” For example, says Cohen, advise your painters to use a wallcovering primer under wallpaper, a stain killing primer over a stain, a DTM primer for metal, a bonding primer over hard to adhere surfaces, etc. “Primers are the most challenging category as there are a lot of mixed messages. We at ICP suggest using the specific instead of a one size fits all universal primer approach.” His colleague Joseph Cassidy, ICP Construction’s Technical Service and New Product Support Manager, suggests that it’s not quite time for recess; that new kid on the block is distracting his classmates. “Because of Paint and Primer in One, most customers believe they do not need a primer,” he said. Cassidy has 10 years’ counter experience, so he’s literally been on your side. He suggests winning your customers over by investing
yourself in their project as if it’s your own. Ask as many questions as possible. “If a customer says, ‘I am painting my ceiling,’ ask questions: how old, what type, are there any stains up there? If the ceiling is really old or a ‘popcorn’ ceiling, we recommend an oil base primer to seal the surface. If there are water stains, recommend they get a quart of oil base primer to spot prime those areas. Make sure to educate your customers on why.” If they know why, they’ll be more inclined to trust you.
Standardized Testing
Jeff Spillane, Benjamin Moore Senior Manager-Product Training Implementation, adds that it’s smart to see how educated your customers are so you can tailor your talk to their level of schooling. “Both DIY consumers and contractors have bought into the ad campaigns that promote paint and primer claims,” he said. “This is where you as the paint retailer comes in—your education and background allows you to inform your customers on what they really need for their projects.” Spillane even gives us some credit for getting the word out! But we can’t do it alone. “Resources such as The Paint Dealer have done a good job in educating people about the importance of primers; however, we need to continue to reinforce this information. A common misconception, when consumers hear the phrase Paint and Primer in One, is that they immediately disregard the need for priming and even believe that the phrase means you only need one coat. In most cases, you will get a better result by using both quality primer and finish.” Along with that, send them to the internet. “The Benjamin Moore YouTube channel features several how-to videos for a variety of products and projects,” Spillane tells us, and many other paint and primer companies do the same. Take a look yourself, so you can learn a product’s selling points and discuss options with customers who have reviewed them. “Rustoleum.com has videos on how primers help solve problems, as well as detailed information on every primer in the family and how it can help prepare your surface prior to applying a topcoat,” says Jerry Morgan. “The home page of each primer also lists bullet points that identify its particular uses.”
Johnny Told Me To
People talk, and if one homeowner finds a great way to cut corners, they’ll tell all their friends at book club. Soon everyone’s cutting that same corner. Painter chat rooms have a lively exchange of ideas as well, so make sure your
www.paintdealer.com
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painters have the right info to pass along! “I think residential repaint contractors try to minimize
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the use of primer the most as a group,” observed Cohen at ICP. “Many will utilize general primers or try to second-coat as opposed to using a systematic approach to the substrate. Most companies will publish specific primer information detailing the difference in their primers. The company websites are great ways for people to educate themselves on specific performancebased primers,” he said. If your customer isn’t wearing a painter’s outfit, you may have your work cut out for you, Joseph Cassidy added. “I would say the average consumer is the least inclined to use primer,” he noted. “While most paint contractors know when a primer is needed or not, many consumers believe that Paint and Primer in One has eliminated the purpose of primer. The best way to get the message out is at point of sale. Invest yourself into your customers’ projects,” he reiterates, “and educate them every step of the way.” Cassidy shared an experience from his time as a retailer. “When I was behind the counter, I had a 2'x 2' piece of drywall, primed white on one side, with a mid-tone gray on the other. I then took a deep red and dark blue and applied one coat. With the mid-tone gray, you could almost get away with one coat, with the white, one or two coats would be required to achieve the coverage needed.” He had another demo with a ceiling tile—find one with a water stain, then show one side with “just paint” while the other side is primed and painted. “The side that’s only painted side will still show the water stain. Waterbased products do not block water stains,” he said. Since you’re about to take your annual trip to the National Hardware Show, make sure everyone else at your store knows this so they can help when you’re gone. “Give your team proper talking points and educate them so they can educate your customers,” said Cassidy.
Resource Library
PPG’s Osterried says to make sure to use your best and most competent resource—you. “Independent dealer retailers and their teams behind the paint counter are excellent resources for both pros and DIYers,” he reminds us. “Always ask questions and gauge the full scope of an individual’s project so that you can tailor an answer and recommend specific products based on the customer’s situation and project.” And while display is often important, in this category, says Spillane at Benjamin Moore, the resource of “you” matters more. “Displays do not sell primer, sales professionals do,” he said. “If you ask the right questions about a project, you can make a proper recommendation and explain why.” Jerry Morgan adds that you should make sure your display shows available options to get the convo started. “Core primers such as BIN, Bulls Eye 123, and Cover-Stain® certainly drive a large portion of a dealer’s business. However, as primers become more specialized, it is important that a display shows all the primers you can provide. I would not want to have a customer walk out because I had a product in the back that they couldn’t see on the shelf. If space is limited, Rust-Oleum has a wide variety of POP pieces that can help you convey their selection of products.” Cassidy at ICP mentioned how you can have a library’s worth of resources; don’t just put out product, but coddle it with all the reasons people need to take it seriously. “Primer is a big part of most paint jobs, and should be displayed as such,” he reminded us. “I always had some extra demo boards and pamphlets in that section to further explain the need for primer. When speaking with your customer, it is always nice to be able to bring them to that section, and show them the visual aids. Having a primer display shows the importance of why you should prime.” And of course—literature! If watching paint dry is as much fun as we say it is,
then reading about it has to be a close second. “Consider having a guide to help illustrate all areas of the project from primer to topcoat,” Osterreid suggests. “This offers a great opportunity for independent dealers to provide the most up-to-date expertise to customers via one-on-one in-store consultations based on the customers’ specific concerns.” OK, class dismissed. Test tomorrow. benjaminmoore.com, icp-construction.com, ppgpaints.com; zinsser.com TPD
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justsayyes Five Customer Service Must-Do’s For 2018 Over the last few weeks, I’ve been reading about predictions and trends for 2018. It got me thinking about the actions we must take to be competitive. Regardless of your industry, everything has changed about the way we do business. There are some businesses that claim they’ve done things the same way for years, decades, even a century! They claim they do business just as their fathers and grandfathers did and nothing has contributing writer changed. I disagree. Ta k e a SHEP HYKEN taxidermist, for example. T h i ng s have been t he same in this business for over 100 years—stuffing and mou nt ing animals. The owner claims nothing has changed… Except that today, he has a website, a Facebook page, and a mobile phone. None of these were around when his great-grandfather started the business. Much has changed. A business must keep up with the times. If not, it will be disrupted and find itself either playing catch-up or worse, shutting down altogether. With that in mind, I’d like to share five customer service tips every business must do to stay competitive in 2018: 1. Embrace the changing expectations of your customers. (I’ve touted this one every year.) Customers expect more than ever. They no longer compare you to just your competitors. They compare you to any company they like doing business with. Be prepared to keep up. 2. Personalize the experience. The concept of personalization has been around for a long time. Make recommendations that are specific to each customer. Whether you invest in sophisticated software that tracks and analyzes customer data, or you simply remember their names when they walk through your doors, recognize your customers want and expect you to give them a personalized experience. 3. React quickly, especially on social media. When a customer needs support or a question answered and emails it to you, they don’t want to wait two days to get a response. They don’t want to call and be put on hold
for an hour. They want a resolution now. If you don’t already offer good self-service solutions that will get customers their answers immediately, at least be able to respond to them in a reasonable amount of time, not hours or days. 4. Don’t let technology pass you by. Invest in the right technology to drive a better customer experience. High cost is no longer an excuse. Many software solutions have come so far down in cost that even the smallest businesses can afford them. Stay up-to-date with the solutions available to you that can help drive a better customer experience.
“When a customer needs a question answered, they don’t want to wait two days to get a response.”
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5. Be more convenient than you’ve ever been before. If you want to separate yourself from your competition, make doing business with you more convenient. How easy are you to do business with? It could be extended hours, more locations, or an easy-to-use website. The company that makes it easier and more convenient for the customer wins. There you have it, five ways to deliver a betterthan-ever customer service experience. Are there more? Sure! I’ve written books on many, many more ideas, tactics, and strategies. But these are what I’d call “keep-up-with-the-times” types of tips. So, go out there and take care of the customer like you never have before! That’s what it will take to make 2018 great for your business. TPD Shep Hyken is a customer service expert, keynote speaker, and New York Times bestselling business author. For information, contact 314692-2200 or www.hyken.com. For information on The Customer Focus™ customer service training programs, go to www.thecustomerfocus.com. ©2018 Shep Hyken
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Confidence Starts at the Front Door Color of the Month:
RED
BY contributing writer
MIRANDA LIPTON
I
Benjamin Moore’s Color of the Year, Caliente, puts red front and center.
n many aspects of life, red is recognized as a symbol of boldness and confidence, and this includes how the color is perceived in the paint world. The color itself exudes so much intense energy that it makes it nearly impossible to sulk when surrounded by it. Just as people add red to their outfit for a pop of confidence, the same goes for red on a door! Reds are mostly being used interiorly, however your customers can advertise a bit about their personality by using them outside on a front door. “It tells your guests a little about yourself as soon as they walk up to your home. Brown colored shutters also pair well with a vibrant red front door,” said Dee Schlotter, PPG senior color marketing manager. Andrea Magno, Benjamin Moore Color & Design Expert, agrees that front doors are a great place to add some saturated color. “Caliente [Benjamin Moore’s 2018 Color of the Year] is a perfect, classic red that will draw attention to the entry of a home. It works well with warm and cool colors that are popular for
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exteriors, and with many types of building materials, making it an ideal choice,” she suggests.
Friends in High Places
Red has a lot of tricks up its sleeve when it comes to creating a dramatic highlight or addition to a space. Sara McLean, color expert and stylist for DunnEdwards, suggests that an unconventional way to go bold with the color is to place it on the ceiling in a high gloss, and leave the walls white. “Add a beautiful chandelier and you’ve got a dramatic room for entertaining. Also, if you have a den or library with built-ins, paint the walls and built-ins a high-gloss deep red for a wow factor,” she said. Regardless of personal preferences of red, there is a general consensus that it is used to make a statement. As Schlotter puts it, it is a “shout out, live out loud, notice me” color. McLean describes it as the punctuation mark for an otherwise neutral room. “A deep red in a higher gloss
PPG’s Red Gumball says confidence; Burgundy Wine calms the interior.
is dramatic and elegant, sending a sure signal that color confidence is at hand,” she said. This is why reds are so frequently paired with neutral colors—to not only balance out the vibrancy of the red, but also to allow for it to stand out on its own without having its effects reduced by other dominant colors. For Benjamin Moore, the hues that rose to the top this year are on the warmer side of the spectrum as demonstrated by the company’s choice of Caliente (AF-290) as its Color of the Year. “While we singled out the vibrant red Caliente for its depth and versatility, we included several colors from the red family in the 2018 palette—from Pleasant Pink (2094-60) to Texas Rose (2092-40) to Cranberry Cocktail (2083-20),” said Magno.
Andrea Magno clued us in on Benjamin Moore’s offerings. “A color combination where White Opulence (OC-69) plays a leading role, complemented by the deep Wolf Gray (2127-40), is brought to the next level with a small accent in Caliente (AF-290). By creating color combinations with the 23 colors of the 2018 Color Trends palette, the results are sophisticated and allow for a nice balance between muted and saturated levels of color,” she stated. So, for those customers searching for that extra bit of confidence that we all desire, it seems that a red paint job is a great way to go! benjaminmoore.com, dunnedwards.com, ppgpittsburghpaints.com TPD
Warm Complements
Warm and neutral hues are a popular complement for red, as it is such a bold color on its own. McLean enjoys pairing clay-shades with warm blues and cobalt. “A few Dunn-Edwards colors we’re highlighting in this range are Rustique (DE5149), Musk (DE6088), Western Red (DE6090), and Monarch Migration (DET466),” she listed. PPG Paints™ has been focusing on darker colors, Schlotter reported. “While many of the trending red colors are clean and fresh, hues saturated and dipped in brown such as the PPG Paints brand’s Brandy Snaps (PPG10535), and dark hues such as GooseDunn Edwards walks you through its berry (PPG10487) are bright red door while Arabian Red also extremely popular.” provides a muted interior.
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PRESS IT
Tape advice from Shu
I
t’s long been advised that sample boards of faux finishes, and even how-to seminars to go with them, are a great way to sell those products, in that customers can see what they’re getting and learn how to use it. But you might even benefit from doing this with painter’s tape, says Kacie Baon, Category Manager, FrogTape® Brand Painters Tape. Your goal, she reminds us, is to show customers the advantages of using premium tape, and a sample board might be the way to do it. Most likely if you are asking someone to pay a higher price for a roll of tape than they are accustomed to, you’ll need some backup! “It is important to understand the advantages of premium tape products and be able to justify to the customer why these products will help save them time and money,” BY editor JERRY RABUSHKA said Baon. “Point of purchase displays should have a clear call to action, list product benefits, and communicate why the customer needs the product. Another tactic is to visually show the customer the end result of using the product.” This can include before/after shots, and even how the tape can be used for creative design or as part of a faux project. Another way to be a Retail Hero is to only sell a higher priced tape when it’s necessary—if someone is looking at a more expensive roll, make sure they actually need it. Perhaps a $4 roll will do their job rather than an $8. “There are various tape grades offered in the market to meet the unique needs and applications of consumers
and contractors,” Baon reminds us. “It’s important for dealers to understand the best applications, as well as limitations, for each grade of tape they sell, so they can recommend the most suitable tape on a job by job basis.” If you talk someone into spending less money, she points out, they’ll be more likely to trust your input on future projects.
More than Surface Deep
ShurTech’s FrogTape brand painter’s tape features two different products—Multi Surface and Delicate Surface, and often one or the other can find some good use around a project. You might send your customers home with both, along with instructions as to when to use each. “Multi Surface [Green FrogTape] is a medium adhesion premium tape that can be used on a variety of surfaces including cured painted walls, metal, glass and more. This tape can stay on surfaces up to 21 days prior to painting,” Kacie explained. “Delicate Surface [Yellow FrogTape], on the other hand, is a low adhesion painter’s tape that can be applied to fresh paint (that has been dried for 24 hours), wallpaper, faux finishing and more. It’s also a great option for decorative painting projects—the low adhesion helps prevent surface damage. As opposed to Multi Surface, Delicate Surface can stay on surfaces for up to 60 days prior to painting,” said Baon That’s good for folks who want to take their time picking colors!
Strut Your Stuff
We asked outright, “What does ShurTech do better than anyone else in the tape industry?” There was no loss for words here! “Shurtech Brands, LLC, manufactures premium painting tapes that deliver superior results for our consumers,” Baon said. “ShurTech Brands is dedicated to understanding its end users and adjusting its products to best meet their needs on the job. We are focused on driving innovations and improving our tape technologies. FrogTape brand painter’s tape for example, Make sure your pro and DIY customers know how to both apply painter’s tape and remove it properly for best results. In these photos, Tom Bury from TV’s Restaurant: Impossible demonstrates.
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DOWN
rtape and FrogTape
was the first tape, and remains the only painter’s tape, on the market to be treated with patented PaintBlock® Technology.” We at Mugler Publications have noticed many advances in painter’s tape by many manufactures—many more surfaces than before have a product designed especially to stick to it and keep the paint in (or out) of the lines. Work continues at ShurTech, noted Kacie, to keep producing
tapes that help get the job done better. For example, just like brush and rollers are developed to keep up with low VOC paints and other new coatings development, so is tape. “The recent trend of the paint industry going ‘green,’ and saturating the market with newer paint options that are designed with lower or zero volatile organic compounds, has encouraged ShurTech Brands to develop new tape formulations, such as ShurTech Brand’s ShurSTICK™ painter’s tape,” she said. “At ShurTech we are constantly engaging in hands-on experiences with our customers, including contractors, to better understand their needs,” she said. “We know that spending time with our customers and learning from them is what ultimately helps us develop better painting tapes. We take pride in staying ahead of the trends and changes in our industries and the industries that affect our customers.” Stay tuned, or better yet, stick with us—you can be sure to hear much more about tape from MugPub Inc. in 2018! shurtech.com, frogtape.com TPD
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Playing the Numbers Research shows that the neuronal pathways that cause many types of addiction, such as heroin, are the same ones that cause us to binge watch a TV show. With the volume of Shark Tank I have watched, I think that I am starting to agree! Anytime I want to be reminded how difficult a person’s life can be with me in it, I just need to put on Shark Tank while my daughter or fiancée are home; they’re happy to let me know! I can see myself watching on my phone in the car...but that may be coming. While the science of the parallels between my Shark Tank addiction and heroin use may be sound, I don’t see nearly the harm from the binge watching—I feel like I’m learning a lot about my own business by watching other people try contributing writer to sell theirs. Everyone looks at a busiMARK ness differently and as you learn in “The LIPTON Tank;” one interested shark does not make for a feeding frenzy. I want to be the business that sharks would fight for. The contestants that make the biggest splash are the ones with something exciting to pique a shark’s interest. They either have exploding sales, a patent that’s worth a ton of money, or a record of success in the shark infested waters of entrepreneurism. Whatever angle an entrepreneur uses to get a shark’s attention, I find they all have one thing in common: they know their business’ numbers! It’s easy, when we think about our businesses, to get caught up in the top lines of your profit & loss statement. I’m sure we all know what our sales are in a given year and (I hope) the gross profit off those sales. But what about the numbers right below that line? They count too, and more than you might think! Like most independent paint retailers, the biggest line items on my profit & loss (P&L) statements are payroll and rent. Together they make up about half of my total expenses with my rent being about 9% of my sales. That is roughly in line with data I have seen on independent paint retailers. But if rent and payroll (by the way, that payroll number should include yourself!) make up fully half of my expenses, that means that all the other services I buy to keep my stores running also add up to half my total expenses. Since I need to sell a ton of gallons to cover half of my total expenses, I like
to understand what makes up those numbers. Though I only have two stores, I spent over $6,000 in 2017 to provide phone and Internet service to both locations. It used to be worse! Thankfully prices in that area have come down. Another $15,000 was spent on utilities and still another $15,000 on a line that I call “office.” Office is kind of a catchall that includes postage, paper, ink, computer repairs, shopping bags, etc. Over $20,000 for insurance, $15,000 in credit card processing fees, my accountant wont work for free despite my protests and over $25,000 per year just for colorant (I hope you’re keeping track of your colorant as an expense)! How I work to keep these numbers low is a topic for when I’m given more 750 words, but the point is that you cannot control your expenses unless you know specifically what they are. You need to have them presented to you regularly, totaled with like items together! Even if you are a smaller independent who keeps his own checkbook (as I do). When you’re swimming in the Shark Tank, they will
“You cannot control your expenses unless you know specifically what they are.”
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want to know all these numbers so they can assign a value to your business. But even if you don’t get your shot to hook a shark, you’ll want to know these numbers because they are what make up your profit (or explains your loss). If you are a large dealer you likely have someone reporting these numbers to you on a regular basis or you won’t be a large dealer for long. If you are a smaller dealer, report them to yourself or have your accountant do it for you: but no matter what you need to know them. I’m not sure that my two stores will ever make it onto an episode of Shark Tank, and I don’t see Mark Cuban and Kevin “Mr. Wonderful” O’Leary fighting for a share of my business anytime soon. But if I’m wrong and I get into a shark fight, I’ll use my numbers as bait to hook the biggest fish! Mark Lipton is the 4th generation owner of Tremont Paint in New York City as well as a consultant to the coatings industry.
[email protected] TPD
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