What does this mean for NAPCO customers?

No single event has had such an impact on society in the last two decades as the COVID-19 pandemic – it has forever changed the way people live and work. For those of us in the kitchen and bath refinishing business, the most important change we are seeing (in terms of our client load) is the transition to more permanent or semi-permanent working-at-home lifestyles, making demand for kitchen and bath refinishing at an all-time high.

Although the pandemic hit many refinishers hard in the beginning, the future is brighter than ever. This was a key finding of the most recently released Q1 2021 Kitchen and Bath Market Index (KBMI), showing that the kitchen and bath refinishing industry went from one that was contracting due to decreased demand to one that is now not just thriving, but thriving at an unprecedented rate.

The KBMI is a quarterly report issued by the National Kitchen & Bath Association in partnership with research and consulting firm John Burns Real Estate Consulting. This report is designed to uncover the current strength and positioning of the kitchen and bath industry by looking at consumer trends. The report also uses data to forecast the most anticipated challenges and expectations for the upcoming months.

And what do these findings mean for NAPCO refinishers? The demand for kitchen and bathroom refinishing is out there now more than ever. NAPCO recommends that refinishers do the following to ensure clients can find you and you’re working as efficiently as possible as a small business.

1. Is it time to raise your prices? It’s a tough conversation to have, but important especially in times like today when labor costs and price of raw matierals are rising.

2. Convert your hard leads into sales. Spend the time now focusing on your hard leads before going after the soft leads while demand is high.

3. Work smarter, not harder. Leverage NAPCO reserouces available to you and think of ways you can make quicker sales, like having a portfolio available to show off your work to clients on the spot.

4. Continue to build your social media presence so clients can find you without you having to look for them!

5. Make sure your business pages are updated. Pages like Yelp make it easy for clients to find you and learn about your services.

6. Think about expanding your services if you’re only taking on bathroom refinishing jobs. Customers are spending money in the kitchen right now and it’s an easy sell if you’re already in a client’s house for a bathroom job.

The KBMI report went on to highlight a number of anticipated trends for the rest of 2021. The biggest takeaway trend being that homeowners are going to continue investing in larger projects to make their homes more comfortable for permanent work-from-home lifestyles. This means the demand for kitchen and bathroom refinishing projects will most likely continue to increase throughout 2021.

Check out some of our previous blogs for more information on marketing and sales strategies to make sure you stay prepared for the increased demand.