Hamptons Feature Again in Small Business Success Series from Facebook

Hamptons Floor Store is delighted to announce that we have been featured once again in the Small Business Success series from Facebook!  Joe was delighted to catch up with Facebook and talk about how our personalised approach to Facebook ads helped us to weather the pandemic.

OUR STORY

Flooring the competition with Facebook ads

Flooring business builds from the ground up with personalised advertisingWith years of experience working in the flooring industry, Joe Prendergast had always wanted to run his own business. At the time, the flooring industry in Ireland was very traditional, with most businesses opening a physical store and waiting for customers to visit. Joe, however, saw this as an opportunity. So, in 2014, he decided to start Hamptons Floor Store in Dublin, simplifying the flooring purchase and installation process by focusing on the online side of the business. This gave him an advantage over his competitors and, although the business has 2 physical showrooms, 65% of its sales now come from Facebook and Instagram, thanks in large part to personalised advertising.

“Facebook ads have done so much for me and my business,” Joe explains. “It’s not an exaggeration to say I wouldn’t be in business without them.”

Laying the groundwork for successful adsJoe uses a variety of targeting tools to ensure his ads reach the right people in the right places. He uses the Facebook Pixel to learn about his customers and how they engage with his website, information which can then be used to fuel his ad campaigns. In fact, he uses the Custom Audience segmentation tool to target people based on their interactions with his website, before then turning to Lookalike Audience to expand his customer base by targeting people with similar interests to his existing customers.

Joe also uses Dynamic Ads to target people who are interested in things such as architecture and interior design, as well as other home improvement brands. In addition to this, he uses Location Targeting, which allows him to target areas close to the business’ physical location, as well as areas with new housing developments. This ensures his brand will be seen in locations where floor installation services will likely be needed, increasing the likelihood of sales conversions in the process.

Overall, Joe has found a lot of success with Facebook personalised advertising, seeing average returns on investment of 200%. However, he acknowledges the major role word of mouth still plays in the industry, estimating that it accounts for 25% of his business’ total revenue. To capitalise on this, he uses Facebook reviews, which has proved effective in generating brand awareness and trust online. Building on the business’ positive online reputation, Joe has even introduced a Snap and Fit service, where customers send photos of areas in need of flooring and receive quotes and booking information through Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp.

In prime position for the pandemicWith the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the business’ physical locations were forced to close. However, due to its business model, Hamptons Floor Store was well positioned to deal with this and quickly shifted to operating fully online. Joe’s continued use of personalised advertising during this period, along with the introduction of a new app that he’s connected to the Facebook Shop, has seen the business increase sales from Facebook by 10% compared to pre-pandemic figures.

In May 2020, Joe also launched Hamptons Homes, the home renovation aspect to his business, providing comprehensive design and building solutions for both domestic and commercial clients. Using the knowledge gained from using Facebook with Hamptons Floor Store, Joe used personalised advertising to promote this new brand from the beginning, and has seen huge success in the space of 1 year.

You can check out our story on Facebook's site here