Welcome to Let’s Talk Loyalty, an industry podcast for loyalty marketing professionals. I’m your host, Paula Thomas. And if you work in loyalty marketing, join me every week to learn the latest ideas from loyalty specialists around the world.
This show is sponsored by Comarch, a global provider of innovative software products and business services. Comarch’s platform is used by leading brands across all industries to drive their customer loyalty. Powered by AI and machine learning, Comarch technologies allow you to build, run and manage personalized loyalty programs and product offers with ease. For more information, please visit comarch.com.
Hello, and welcome to today’s episode of Let’s Talk Loyalty featuring a huge us retail success story. Floor and Decor is one of the country’s leading flooring retailers. And it has also been recognized as one of Fortune’s 100 fastest-growing companies.
I’m joined today by Matt Goldberg, Director of PRO Strategy and Loyalty at Floor and Decor, who shares with us the insights behind the PRO Premier Rewards program. A loyalty strategy that has been designed and is being delivered with exceptional clarity. As Matt explains the PRO Premier Rewards program is focused on delivering powerful benefits to their community of flooring professionals nationwide with the vision of continually growing their share of wallet with this key segment.
I hope you enjoy listening to this episode, a masterclass in the pillars needed to drive emotional loyalty in the intensely competitive retail sector for home improvements.
Paula: So Matt, welcome to Let’s Talk Loyalty.
Matt: Thank you for having me.
Paula: Super excited, Matt. I know we share a common love of loyalty in the retail sector. So I am gonna be super excited to hear all about Floor and Decor, uh, through today’s conversation. Um, so before we get into that, as you know, uh, we always start our show talking about our personal favorite loyalty programs, just to give us an insight in terms of what professionals in the industry are finding inspiring. So from where you are sitting at today, what would you say is your favorite loyalty program?
Matt: Yeah, it’s a great question. And again, happy to be here. Um, I, there are a ton of loyalty programs that I admire professionally just being in the loyalty space for the past five years. But personally, uh, I would say I really enjoy or get the most out of Delta Airlines, Sky Miles program. And, uh, I recently listened to, and, and really much enjoy your recent episode on, on airline loyalty and, and I tried to listen to it through the lens of my experience with airline loyalty. And, and I just think Delta does a fantastic job with their Sky Miles loyalty program. Uh, it it’s, it’s ubiquitous throughout their organization. It’s really at the heart of their customer journey. So, uh, you know, they’ve done a tremendous job empowering their customer care team and, and really all Delta associates with, with using Sky Miles as a tool to take care of their flyers. Although we’re in a completely different sector than them. We, we have the same mindset of using your loyalty program as that tool to strengthen relationships. And so, you know, I, I, I really admire them as a company and, and their loyalty program. And I, I pretty much, I, I try to exclusively travel with them due to the perks and benefits that, that I get out of being loyal to them.
Paula: Amazing. Amazing. It’s a great example, Matt, because, um, well, I think on two points, I suppose, you know, first of all, I always think, you know, the purest purpose of a loyalty program is to drive obviously profitable behavior change. So I can hear coming through exactly what you’ve said. Now that Delta have actually achieved that, um, with you as a customer who definitely has them as a, a very clear, uh, preference and priority. But the other point that I love as well, that you mentioned Matt, Having, uh, loyalty as a tool at the heart of the customer strategy. Um, it’s something I think that, I think I said to you, I started in telco loyalty, which was, um, you know, I suppose an unusual sector perhaps. And I think what airlines, particularly in the US market have managed to do over the years and years is to, to get that, you know, um, I suppose, buy in from staff at that point of, you know, when it’s really critical and you’re standing in front of a customer. So it sounds like you’ve experienced them using their currency and their program to actually take care of you better.
Matt: Oh, definitely. Yeah. And, and again, I just really enjoy them as a company and, and they, they have, they have empowered all their associates to kind of use it as that tool to, to, to help out the customer and I really appreciate that.
Paula: That’s incredible. And that probably for me now, and I’ll be dying to hear about your own experience with them, you know, your frontline associates, because it can be the. Part to keep them excited, to keep them inspired, and to keep them educated on something that, you know, sometimes can be a little bit complex for business reasons. Um, and I, I know people who are at, you know, the point of sale really want to excite their customers and keep it quite simple. Um, so that’s definitely something we’ll get into today, but before we get into the detail, Matt, um, I didn’t know about Floor and Decor and your extraordinary business. Um, I know you’re a public company. Um, so there’s perhaps a lot more knowledge and information out there, but we do have a global audience, Matt who are listening to the show today. So tell us a bit about Floor and Decor first of all, as a company, before we talk about your, your loyalty initiatives.
Matt: Absolutely. And, and, you know, right now we are, uh, we have stores all across the country. We’re only in America, but I do appreciate the global audience. And hopefully one day, you know, we be there as well, large leading retailer, uh, of hard surface flooring, headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Um, we have stores all across the country. We have about 180 stores right now, but when this podcast comes out, that number can be different because we’re one of Fortune’s 100 fastest growing companies. Wow. We, we put, we open up a store somewhere in our country, um, about every other week. And so it’s, it’s really, it’s a fast, gross, uh, fast-paced environment, which is really fun to be part of. Yeah. Um, So within our, within our company, we have, and really within our, our industry and our sector, you have DIYers do it yourselfers, which are really like homeowners. Sure. And up pro, and then you have professional customers and those, we call them Pros. We, we define a Pro as anyone who makes a living, buying our product. So installers, remodelers, general, general contractors all the way up to custom home builders and house flippers and everybody in between, and those pro those Pros are just so incredibly valuable. And, you know, there’s no inherent switching costs. So our loyalty program becomes increasingly more important of a strategy to try to grow loyalty and share a wallet. Um, I would say, so I am on the Pro services team and I help run that team. Um, and it’s really about just building the tools and technology needed. For our stores to go find new Pros and to grow loyalty and share wallet with them.
Paula: Wow. Wonderful. Yeah. And, and I would guess now, and I don’t wanna put words in your mouth. Um, but what I would guess is that those kind of professional trades people, um, I find that they, they tend to be neglected actually in many sectors, you know, they might be frequent flyers or staying in hotels very frequently or other types of loyalty initiatives. So I think when a brand like Floor and Decor starts to realize and make them feel, uh, so valued, I guess they really feel that. So it sounds like something that’s very impactful for, for your business.
Matt: Oh, definitely. And I think it’s, there’s a big trend in our industry to focus more on the, on the Pro-business, taking a step back. You know, we do things a little bit differently at Floor and Decor compared to our competitors in the industry. Um, two of our main value props and differentiators. We say we have the largest end stock selection of flooring and we have the lowest prices. And for that latter part, we do, we do not offer discounts and discounts are pretty common for Pro customers within the industry. And so we knew that we had a major opportunity to go out and try to, how do you grow loyalty if they’re used to, you know, getting a benefit and, but you know, some, some of the competition might rise, raise their prices overall to lower their, uh, price for their Pro and so, you know, while we can proudly say that we have the same low prices for every customer and people like you or me would love that, you know, our homeowners would love that it, it, it, it led us and it forced us essentially to put more focus on the Pro and, and putting in different initiatives and, and our, you know, what I think is the best in class loyalty program to go out, attract these Pro customers to us, and then really retain them cause again, there’s no switching costs, but how do we grow their loyalty and grow their share wallet over time with us?
Paula: For sure. And I remember you told me some very impressive statistics just about your store sizes last time, Matt, because actually your stores are absolutely huge. So can you share a little bit of that kind of information with the audience?
Matt: Sure. Yeah. So, you know, within our industry, you have some, you have the mom-and-pop’s and the independence and you have big box stores, which everyone thinks, oh, you know, I, I need to go to the big box stores when it relates to flooring specifically, they may have two aisles of flooring. Yeah. We have 85,000 square feet building that have over a million square foot of product in them. And so, you know, when I was shopping for my own house, you know, it gets overwhelming and, and we provide other benefits. Like we have free design services for customers, which I took advantage of to make sure, you know, I don’t have, I, I work in flooring, but I do not have the eye for product. So , uh, you know, just being able to work with experts in the stores and they will walk you through it. So, you know, I think we have great customer service, our really it’s, it’s all about our stores and our associates creating that experience. Um, For, for, you know, for our Pros and for our homeowners.
Paula: Yeah. And I’m guessing given how much more time we’ve all spent at home over the last couple of years. And, and most of it, reluctantly, dare I say, would I be right in assuming that the whole kind of remodeling, um, of, of homes is on, on an increase, I suppose, as a trajectory in terms of an industry?
Matt: Absolutely. Yeah. I mean, it’s no secret. You can look at our results that, you know, we, and it’s not just Floor and Decor, really just the home improvement sector has been, has been crushing and a lot of, a lot of customers, a lot of Pro, a lot of homeowners that have more, that had more disposable income at the time, you know, they’re not going on vacations and trips because of the pandemic, you know, they’re investing in their homes. Yeah. Um, what’s going on with the housing industry in our country at least, um, you know, really set us up for success there. Yeah. Um, And so, yeah, it’s, it’s, it’s been fun to be part of.
Paula: For sure. So you mentioned already Matt, that, um, you know, part of your clear strategy, which I really admire is, um, a decision not to, you know, go into the discounting, um, arena. It is a, a very difficult territory to get out of. I think we’ve all seen that, um, in, in every industry, particularly in retail, so, without that available in your arsenal of options to drive loyalty, particularly with this segment that you’ve told us, you take care of these, these tradespeople and Pros. Tell us exactly what you, uh, you’ve built for them in, in terms of, you know, growing that share of wallet with them.
Matt: Yeah, absolutely. So taking a quick step back, I think it is important, you know, in our industry, we have that challenge that a, a lot of competitors, again, they may raise their prices just so they can give discounts out. Yeah. Kinda like candy, uh, to the Pros and you know, to me, and it’s great. I’m not discounting that at all. Uh, but you know, to me, it’s it. It’s more transactional. I don’t view that as loyalty. It’s transactional. It’s something you may become used to. Yes, but it’s not necessarily geared to increase, share wallet or, or, or what we call loyalty or really what I focused on is emotional loyalty and that’s what we try to cultivates with. They have a real relationship. So we created five years ago, uh, uh, our loyalty program called PRO Premier Rewards. And, and it’s designed to help our Pro customers grow their business and reward them for it. As a, as a quick high-level overview though, there’s, there’s a few, uh, key factors of it. So one are Pros earn points for all of their purchases, um, and you know, depending on where they’re at and how much they spend, they can, and there there’s bonus points and those points really add up with every job they work on. A key differentiator with our program is we are giving Pros all of the points from their customers purchases as well, which again, back to what some of our competition might do, you know, that Pro might be getting a discount, but it’s really only when they’re buying, and so our Pros get. All we want to, and we are in tune, turning our Pros into Floor and Decor ambassadors where, you know, they want to go out. If a customer there’s a conversation that happens thousands of times a day across the country. Sure. Really, across the world and it’s, Hey, you know, you are a professional contractor, where should I buy my flooring? And you know, they have a million options to say, but we wanna give them more incentive to say, oh, you need to. One, they should be saying Floor and Decor anyway, because of our large course stocks in our lowest prices, our best customer service, all these other, uh, benefits that we provide. But, you know, we wanna incentivize them to kind of be that ambassador for us. Okay. That’s so we reward them with those points and then, you know, what those points can be used for. We, we have a prize catalog that, uh, I, I think is really, you know, I study loyalty programs all across the country and the world and, and is truly one of the most robust platforms out there. Um, you know, there’s over a hundred thousand different offerings for what our Pros can redeem their points for. Okay. Which is really exciting anything from the latest merchandising trends. Uh, iPads, grills, TVs, coolers, golf sets to any sporting event we’ve sent Pros to the world series or, uh, things like that to any concert they want to go to, to, uh, experiential rewards. We’ve had Pros fly airplanes, or potentially they drive a NASCAR race car, hot air balloon rides, swimming with sharks, more of those experiential once in a lifetime. Cool. Yeah, that’s pretty cool. And then we have a robust social, good component as well, which is really taken off over the last year. And, uh, our Pros can donate their points to, uh, we have three different organizations right now. But tackling diff whether it’s clean drinking, water, eyesight, or clean flooring all across the world. So different initiatives there that we’re trying to expand. And our Pros really responded well to that, that CSR, those CSR efforts. Um, and then as well, our Pros can use their points to buy. We have a partnership with a. Home advisor with Angi, um, a company here where they can find new leads by using their points. And so, again, it’s, it’s this robust platform to really find out what’s important to our Pros. We’re constantly adding to the catalog, but going, you know, not just the merchandise options, but what’s important to our Pros and finding an option for them or what they can use their points for. Um, so that’s kind of the, the side of it. And then we have a component called our Propartner services that really helps our Pros, uh, grow their business. As we said, we don’t wanna just reward them. We wanna help you grow. So just for being a member of our program, uh, we have about 19 different companies that are Pros can join, and, uh, either, they get exclusive access or a discounted rate or a special membership offer. Now, Floor and Decor does not make a dime of a Pro signs up for one of these that’s, we’re not trying to make money off that it’s really. Hey, if I can help you, if I can give you it’s anything from website design, email marketing, business insurance, payroll processing, tool, rental discounts. I mean, it’s we go out. We, we go out, we do the effort to find out, Hey, what do Pros need in their business? Or what are they struggling in that they’re they’re so fo a lot of Pros are so focused on on their business, but how do we get them to focus inside their business and try to grow it? Um, so we find out what’s important to them. We go find companies that, that wanna partner with us, they know the access to our Pros. Um, so they give us a great offer for, to turn over to the Pros. And then we, again, just help them grow their business. And we think, Hey, if we can, you know, give a Pro a website that they’ve never had before, and now they have a website or a way to get new leads or, uh, better project management tools. Now they can go out and, and grow their business. And if they grow their business, there’s more jobs. And if there’s more jobs, hopefully they’re coming back to Floor Decore. So we try to tackle it that way, kind of through that, that emotional loyalty lens.
Paula: Wow. A lot of pillars there, Matt. I can hear you’ve been very busy over the last five years. So a few of the, the details I’d love to just, um, understand a little more. The first one I really loved actually was this idea that the Pro obviously when they do the shopping, of course, they can identify themselves. Earn all of their points for those purchases. And I’m sure, you know, I, I would assume that that’s the majority, but I could be wrong, obviously. I don’t know your sector, but just on a, on a practical and operational level, how do they manage to identify a customer’s purchase? How is that association done. Is it a complex piece of, of, you know, technology development that you had to do? Or what does the customer do to say this is my Pro and I want them to get loyalty points. Like what’s that conversation like?
Matt: Yeah. It’s a great question. There’s a few different avenues that they can do it at, at the end of the day, we we’re empowering our Pro associates in our store. So each one of our stores has a dedicated Pro services team made up of anywhere between three and five associates. Uh, Job it is, is to take care of the Pros. So they’re definitely letting the Pros know about the different avenues at the end of the day there’s a connection, you know, oftentimes it might be the Pro that comes pick up the product, even if the homeowner bought it, um, or, you know, they’ll get a copy of the receipt or, you know, there’s different ways that they can get credit for it and then we’re investing in our technology as well to kind of just make it a more seamless experience, uh, where, you know, Pros can just submit receipts, you know, online and, and we’re, we’re kind of going down that path of a few different things. OK. Um, yeah, it’s, it’s a constant reminder to them that, Hey, you know, you can also get these points cuz at the end of the day, again, our goal is how do we turn them into it to Floor and Decor ambassadors? How do we make sure that they are recommending us in, in every possible avenue? And it’s, they’re not gonna do that just because of a loyalty program, they’re gonna do it because of our customer service because of our in stock selection because of our prices, because how we. They’re their customers, but at the end of the day, if we can provide them extra incentive to do that, I, I think they really jump on it and then, and what you see is, you know, the Pros become, uh, you know, so in tune to their points and it it’s, you know, you can go up to a lot of Pros and say, Hey, do you know how many points you have and say, oh yeah, I have this many points. I just used them for this, and they’re so in tune to them that they know that, Hey, you know, yeah, I, I didn’t buy the product or this is my customer, but I know that I can get credit for it. So they get excited about it. And that’s, that’s, that’s the emotional loyalty. That’s what we’re again, trying to cultivate here and that’s, what’s gonna.
Paula: Totally. Totally. I love to hear that coming through when you know that the member really has a value, an understanding of the value, they can talk about it and they’re either, you know, it sounds like saving up towards some of those incredible experiences or, you know, all of the incredible ways. So, so well done on creating such an incredible portfolio, by the way, that sounds, um, really impressive. The, the a hundred thousand prize catalog that you’ve got, you’ve got going. So. What I wanted to also understand a bit about, um, because you you’ve talked about share of wallet and that I think is probably the cleverest way to think about loyalty. So for any of us, I suppose, you know, I started in loyalty 10 years ago and we would’ve looked at things like, you know, how much is our, you know, member spending, maybe more than our nonmember. So we would be making assumptions about, you know, what our loyalty program was driving, um, where certainly doing this show. I would say what I’ve really realized is, you know, if you can capture more of the wallet, spend with the, with the individuals and that’s obviously whether it’s B2B or B2C, I think that’s really the, the, the single biggest thing that management value. So has that been something that you are able to, to actually measure, or is it something that you are still working on, or how’s that part of your, I suppose, KPIs going in terms of understanding the, the benefit.
Matt: Yeah, I think that’s a fantastic question, and, and, you know, we talk about share wallet all the time, being the end goal of that share wallet increase. I, I would, I would venture to say that pretty much anybody that you have on this podcast or, or most of the brands that I work with. Yeah. Share wallet is no doubt. The hardest KPI to measure, right? Totally. You can measure Pro sales and you can measure. You know, you put in initiatives and measure incremental sales and all that, but at the end of the day, how do you know what percentage of their wallet is going to you? So, yeah, we’ll, we’ll do occasional surveys, we’ll we’ll survey Pros, talk to them, um, you know, third party surveys, see, see what’s going on in the industry. But again, we have a ton of KPIs and metrics behind the scenes that really looks at, you know, incremental sales. And we look at, you know, the key membership stats, acquisition, engagement, redemption avenues there, but at the end of the day, but the end of the day, you know, loyalty, it’s hard to quantify for a lot of brands and that’s why we, we have that focus on emotional loyalty and it’s, you know, it’s not necessarily a KPI, but for, for us might be my number one goal is to for our store, similar to what I said at the beginning with Delta, we want our store associates to use this as a tool to strengthen the relationship they have with customers. And, you know, loyalty’s a, it’s a long, it’s a long process. It’s an end game. And as long as you keep, you know, trying to use it as that tool to strengthen, find out what your Pros like, make that connection, you know, that that’s, you know, we’re gonna grow loyalty and share a wallet over time with them.
Paula: Yeah, for sure. No. And thank you for that. No, it, um, I, I totally agree. We all wish we could, you know, magically be able to clearly do the measurement and all the attribution and prove all of the, the value that we’re creating. And, and sometimes it is just, I suppose, the integrity that’s coming through, which I can hear in terms of what Floor and Decor is doing to say, you know, these people are important and we will do everything in our power to take care of them. And, and I do think. That members feel that Matt. So regardless of whether the KPIs can ever be fully measured in terms of what any of us are doing, um, I, I can hear it so I can, I can be absolutely sure that they’re feeling that coming through in your activity as well. So, um, very exciting to hear how comprehensive your strategy is. And I wanted to also ask Matt then how do you communicate with those Pros. Given, you know, that they’re presumably on the road, maybe not like you and I sitting at a, at a desk on, on email, although I’m sure they all do have, have their own email addresses for their businesses, but you know, what kind of channels do you find they like to, um, to hear about your, your value proposition for them? Like what, what is it that, that really drives that connection? Would you say in terms of keeping them up to date?
Matt: No, it’s a great, it’s a great question. And it, it’s why we’ve invested a lot of resources to stand up, you know, a comprehensive preference center. Cause every Pro is different, right? Every customer’s different, every Pro wants to be, wants to be talked to a different way. And so, you know, we have a really great marketing team that’s going out and. Um, you know, whether it’s sta our standard E-statements, letting Pros know how many points they’ve just earned or what they can use them for and, and different marketing campaigns we have, but going down different avenues, um, to, to communicate them. But at the end of the day, I think what kind of sets us apart from some of our competition is, is how we, we is our communication, not just between, you know, the, the Pro and the Floor and Decore brand, but again, it’s that Pro and the Pro associate it’s John it’s, Lori, it’s Noel. It’s the specific Pro associates that they have a relationship with. And so, you know, and they’re, they’re the ones that are leading these activities. So they, for, you know, we get, and we give them, we empower our associates with all the reporting. So they know, who are my top Pros, who are my Pros, uh, that have a certain amount of points that have never redeemed, who are my Pros that took advantage of the Pro-Partner services, all these different, um, avenues of the loyalty program, we use it again to empower our associates. So then they can go out and. They can, they have a relationship with, you know, Pro John and they can give them a call or they see that, you know, Pro Lori just came just redeemed for, um, you know, she’s going to a sporting event. It’s like, Hey, let me give you a hat to wear when you’re there from us. And it’s it’s, they are managing that activity and that communication on a one-to-one basis. And, you know, you see the goal. There’s a goal of a lot of loyalty programs in ours as well. You know, to try to get to this, this concept of personalization and segmentation and how do we treat our loyalty members on a one-to-one or as close as a one-to-one basis as you can. Right. Make it feel special. Yeah. Um, and, and we’re lucky that we have great Pro associates that kind of lead a lot of that efforts, but from the marketing standpoint, you know, that we, um, you know, we’re going down the path of, of developing a, a tier strategy and, and launching that. And you know, that itself lends itself to yeah. Um, You know, more, more segmented communication, which kind of helps with the Pros.
Paula: For sure. Yeah. Well, I, I can hear that those associates are extremely passionate and extremely valuable to you. Definitely. And I, I can imagine now if I was, you know, again, taking care of a store and, you know, having these Pros, I guess, coming in on a regular basis, so. Building that relationship and tracking the relationship and being able to excite them about things is something that actually I can imagine the associates are quite excited about. So, you know, cuz you know, for us in, in, um, you know, as I said in the telcos industry, it was often a case of, you know, you’d be so busy working on the core basics of getting the right pricing plan or the right handset or whatever that anything we did on loyalty felt, you know, excessive, you know, it was kind of complicating their job, whereas yours seems to be actually adding to it for them.
Matt: Yeah. It’s a really great point. And, and I, I used to run into that when I first started with the company and, and we were trying to get this loyalty program off the ground. I had that mindset of, okay, Hey, I don’t wanna bother you with this. Like I know it’s cause I I’ve worked in retail my whole career. And so I know, I, I know how busy store associates can get and how many different there’s a million things going on. It’s like, Hey, this is one more thing that you, you know, we want you to execute. But then what I learned over time, We built a really great loyalty program and, and not to too our own horn. But yeah, what I tell our, what I tell our store associates is my job amongst all this other stuff yeah. Is to make their lives easier. Right. So I, I wanna know, gimme the reporting that will make your life easier. And what we, what we saw is that this loyalty program makes their lives easier because it makes Pros happier. And it, again, it’s, it’s another tool to make them to, to bridge that relationship between the pro and associates. So yeah, if our Pros are happy, And their jobs are easier. And so they, I, I, they, they really have embraced working and executing this loyalty program and it’s, it’s been, it’s been really fun to be part of.
Paula: I can imagine. Yeah. And it sounds like those partners as well, I, I really love your, your Pro-Partner services that you mentioned. So, you know, I, I’m pretty sure that, um, you know, again, I know myself, you know, building websites, I find complicated. Like there’s so many business things that I have to do. That I actually just want, you know, advice and guidance and maybe exclusive offers. So is that something that you lead on yourself, Matt, in terms of building that portfolio?
Matt: Yeah, and we have a great vendor that helps us with, with some of our redemptions and the Pro partners. But at the end of the day, we, we find, we, we just think, and we talk to our Pros and we say, Hey, you know, what, what are you struggling with in your business? And, yeah, hopefully there’s hopefully one of the companies we already have, one of these partners can help them with that. If not, we will go out and find them. So I think a good example was. um, you know, there’s a lot of good examples. One of ’em is with Sunbelt Rentals as a company here, you know, tool rental and a lot of our Pros rent tools. And for us, it’s not as like, it’s not as complex as, okay, Hey, here’s a website or here’s an email marketing program, but it’s simply, Hey, you rent tool a lot. Let’s give you a program to do so. So now our pros get an exclusive member, uh, discount just for, just for being part of our loyalty program with this tool rental company.
Paula: Yeah. Yeah. And one thing that may or may not be part of your program, but it strikes me as something that, um, you you’ve possibly thought about Matt. You know, I often find that there is a need for ongoing education, um, in certain industries. Is that something that is part of your program or do you feel there’s a need for that kind of idea? Because it feels like they, they trust Floor and Decor of course, Um, you know, if you’re providing this comprehensive solution to, to make their lives so much easier. So is, is that something that’s part of your thinking as well, or, or not?
Matt: Definitely. And, and I’m glad you asked, you know, we, we launched a pretty, uh, robust education strategy, or I, I will say it’s gonna become a pretty robust strategy where we are hosting. We we’re finding these trade organizations, um, these education organizations across the country, and we are putting on education events in our stores. We’re bringing our Pro customers in we’re teaching them how to install tile or, or whatever the topic is of the class. And, you know, we don’t have that integration today into our loyalty program, but that education strategy falls under me. And so that that’s the goal. Let’s, let’s integrate them together and, and it’s really, it’s really great to see these Pros coming in. They get trained on a certain topic and they say, you don’t know how valuable this is. This just saved me three hours on every job or stuff like that and so by becoming that premier destination for education, Further makes us, as we, as we say sticky, it, it gives us another value proposition to, to why our pros wanna keep coming back to us and we’re gonna keep training them and, and Pros that are trained and have that enhanced knowledge. You know, they’re gonna be better at their jobs. They’re gonna find more jobs. They find more jobs. Again, it goes back to, you know, that circle of, of, of bringing more business back to us.
Paula: Oh, I’m so happy. I asked now I felt like that that is something that would be on your mind. So sounds like it’s early days. Is it from, from what you’ve said?
Matt: Yeah. Yeah. I would say it’s still early days, but we’re, we’re hosting a ton of events all across the country. Wow. Uh, there’s there’s events almost every week, somewhere in the country. Um, we’re, we’re doing a good job and, and again, we’re building those roots with these, with these education organizations, um, that pros plot to, and they already have good relationships with, so I think it’s gonna pay dividends for us.
Paula: For sure. And I do feel, again, coming out the other side of the pandemic, that there is actually like a hunger to, you know, reconnect with, you know, I guess people in our industry, um, you know, and just get back into that kind of professional and environment. So I, I think you’re even facilitating a little bit of that kind of, dare I say emotional support that, you know, tradespeople probably don’t get a lot of because they’re out facing customers. They’re working pretty much. I think a lot of them may be solo a lot of the time. So giving them an opportunity almost to become a community in their local area.
Matt: Oh, definitely. They network together. And then we keep, you know, we’ll reach out to them after the fact. And we it’s another tool again for our associates to build relationships with them. But some of these classes, you know, some of these classes might be a few hours. We have. We have larger trainings and certifications that we offer that could be all day courses. And it’s just really inspiring to watch people that, you know, are so busy with their jobs and, and take taking a day out, you know, bringing their whole crew in just to learn and get better at their job. And, and that we are able to be that provider for, for that education is really cool.
Paula: Really cool. So listen thing, guys. You heard it here first. If that’s not a part of your loyalty strategy already go look at what Floor and Decor is doing with the education side.
Matt: Definitely.
Paula: wonderful. So you’ve mentioned a little bit about the future then Matt, um, in terms of tiers, for example, um, I think, you know, obviously growing that education proposition to support anything and everything, it sounds like that your, your professional community are looking for. Is there anything else that you’re thinking about that you think our audience would be interested in hearing about before we finish up today?
Matt: You know, from, from my perspective, again, it’s, it’s anything that, uh, involves personalization and segmentation. How do you go from a one size fits all strategy to really connecting to your pros more on a personal basis? Anything that falls under that realm, I’m excited about. That’s what I’m focused on. Yeah. Um, so there’s a lot that will naturally come with a tier strategy and, and some of those integrations, but no, you know, I, I, I know you also had another episode around crypto and I think that’s, that’s gonna be coming. Maybe not for us. We’ll see. Interesting in the industry. I love the idea of, you know, NFTs and crypto-based rewards and loyalty integration. So there’s something there and I think it’s new for everybody. So, uh, it’s fun to kind of learn together with other organizations and see what other people are doing. But no, the, the future of loyalty is bright, especially with Floor and Decor. And yeah, as I said, you know, just, it’s a fun program to help manage and, and be part of.
Paula: Wow. Well, you can certainly be very proud of it, Matt and I would love to, I suppose, close by saying, you know, please God, you know, another kind of 12 months, 18 months, maybe we can reconnect and catch up on everything that you are doing and working on at the moment, because it sounds like there’ll always be new news in terms of what you’re building because of all the excitement and the belief that’s coming through. And that’s always, what I suppose inspires me about working with loyalty professionals is we all tend to really wanna take care of our members and I can certainly hear that coming through in your work. So, um, so if that’s okay with you, um, I’ll certainly reconnect and make sure that we stay in touch with you, uh, to keep up to date with everything that Floor and Decor is doing at the moment.
Matt: Yeah, that would be great. You know, we’re, I, I like to say we’re constantly evolving we’re we luckily have a really great executive leadership team that, that empowers us and lets us run with these initiatives. And so I, I imagine when we talk in 12 months or so if not sooner, the program, our program, and our loyalty initiatives are gonna look differently than they do today. Uh, and that’s all a good thing for our Pros. So, uh, looking forward to keeping you updated with it.
Paula: Fantastic Matt. So listen, if anybody’s listening and I guess is curious to connect with you, uh, maybe pick your brains on something, um, where’s the best place for them to find you.
Matt: Yeah, I can be found on LinkedIn, um, under Matt Goldberg or they can send me an email at matthew.goldberg@flooranddecor.com. And, and again, I, I always like talking to other loyalty professionals. Um, so if you have any questions, wanna discuss Floor and Decor, you had a good experience in one of our stores. Uh, let me know, love, love to hear that.
Paula: Wonderful. And I know you’re holding hope that someday somebody will quote your loyalty program as their favorite loyalty program. Ah, so that’s, that’s the goal. it’s gonna happen. Definitely. Listen with all of that said, um, very impressed with everything that you’re doing, um, really grateful to you for joining us and sharing all of your wisdom, insights, and learnings.
So Matt Goldberg, Director of PRO Strategy and Loyalty at Floor and Decor. Thank you so much from Let’s Talk Loyalty.
Matt: Thanks for having us.
This show is sponsored by The Wise Marketer. The world’s most popular source of loyalty marketing news, insights, and research. The Wise Marketer also offers loyalty marketing training through its Loyalty Academy, which has already certified over 245 executives in 27 countries as certified loyalty marketing professionals. For more information, check out thewisemarketer.com and loyaltyacademy.org
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