wen/chancan
As the saying goes, "Good things don't go out, but bad things spread thousands of miles." This is especially true for brand communication. Some companies spend a lot of money to promote their brands, but often they can really affect only a few audiences, and instead fall into a self-promotion mode; however, once something bad happens, the negative news will spread like wildfire and quickly spread to the entire network. Every corner.
Problems caused by product quality or after-sales service are one of the most important sources of negative news in the ceramic tile sales process.
For example, the leakage of a well-decorated house in a Guangzhou building into a "water curtain hole" was exposed at the CCTV 3.15 party on July 16, causing strong reactions from all walks of life. Although the real estate developer and a well-known real estate company, Xueke, have apologized for the incident, it is difficult to undo the damage it caused to the brand's reputation.
In view of this, the author has accelerated what I have been doing recently - through Internet searches, online and offline interviews, etc., I have learned about consumers’ choices in ceramic tile purchase and installation. Common problems encountered during the posting process, strange things and experiences derived from them were written into articles, thereby calling on ceramic tile brands and dealers to listen to their voices and pay attention to their demands.
01 FAQ
The common problems encountered by consumers in the process of purchasing and laying ceramic tiles can be divided into three major types.
The first category is the problem of the tiles themselves. If there is color difference, the water absorption rate is too low, it is not wear-resistant, and cracks appear before it is laid, etc.
The second category is construction problems + problems with the tiles themselves. For example, the paving is uneven, the joints are not straight, warping, hollowing, poor joint quality, yellowing and blackening, cracking, etc.
The third category is after-sales issues. If it cannot be delivered as scheduled, it is troublesome to exchange the goods, it is difficult to return the goods if the goods are too much, or the goods are dropped, etc.
02 Weird things
After clarifying the classification, common problems in the process of purchasing and laying ceramic tiles should be effectively solved, but often due to consumer feedback from dealers and ceramic tile brand headquarters The problem was not taken seriously enough, which led to countless strange things.
[Case 1]
Ms. Chen from Changsha, Hunan Province found that the tiles purchased from a local tile brand store in her home were significantly different in color from the tiles she had seen when she placed an order in the store, so she requested a replacement from the seller. But the seller explained that there will be color difference in ceramic tiles and there is no need to replace them. However, she was very concerned about this and wanted to replace the tiles and asked the seller to be responsible for re-laying them. The seller said it was okay to replace the tiles, but was not responsible for re-laying them. She blamed the other party for not mentioning the color difference problem of the tiles before she placed the order. The seller said that you didn't specifically mention it and I thought you already knew about it. In the end, the two sides were at loggerheads and the issue remained unresolved.
[Case 2]
Mr. Li from Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, ordered a batch of ceramic tiles from a local store of a famous ceramic tile brand. The model and price were clearly written on the order. After seeing that the actual price was more than 2,000 yuan cheaper than the estimated price, he happily paid the payment all at once while the tiles were still being processed and not yet delivered to his home. Unexpectedly, the seller’s designer told him after the batch of ceramic tiles had been processed that because the type of ceramic tile he chose was out of stock, they had replaced it with another ceramic tile of similar color and cheaper price. He asked the other party to take pictures and send them to him, but he was very dissatisfied with the result. In anger, he demanded a return and repayment. But the seller said it had been processed and could not give a full refund. The two sides are in a stalemate.
[Case 3]
Mr. Zhang from Wuhan, HubeiI bought a batch of ceramic tiles at a local store of a famous ceramic tile brand. He was quite satisfied with the color, price, brand and after-sales service promised by the seller. Soon, the dimensions were measured, the design drawings came out, the tiles were delivered to your door, and construction began. But within a few days, the bricklayer told him that at least half of the tiles in the kitchen and bathroom were missing. He quickly contacted the seller, and the response he received was that there might have been wear and tear during the tiling process, and he needed to buy more. The seller came to measure the dimensions and produced design drawings. He was completely speechless as to how there could be such a big error. However, because he was afraid of trouble, he had to spend more money to buy bricks, which delayed the construction period for a long time.
[Case 4]
Mr. Liu from Zhengzhou, Henan, bought a batch of ceramic tiles from a local store of a famous ceramic tile brand. In his opinion, choosing a big-name brand is a sure way to buy with confidence. However, after the tiles arrived, he found that nearly half of the tiles had cracks on the surface. So he negotiated with the shopping guide of the store who sold him the bricks, hoping to get a proper solution. But the shopping guide told him that the cracks were the result of a deliberate design by the product designer, and if they were not resolved, the two parties had a big quarrel and almost had a physical conflict, which was very unpleasant.
[Case 5]
Ms. Xu from Dongguan, Guangdong, was renovating for the first time. She bought a batch of ceramic tiles from a local store of a famous ceramic tile brand that was conducting promotions. I calculated the price based on the event discount and it was 11,000 yuan, so I bargained for 10,000 yuan. The seller's shopping guide said that 10,000 yuan would definitely not work. It was already the lowest price. After much deliberation, the seller finally settled the deal at 10,888 yuan for a lucky break. After the tiles arrived, the decorator said there was a problem with the quality and there were many cracks, so he suggested she return them. She went to the specialty store to find the shopping guide who sold her ceramic tiles, but the shopping guide refused to admit it, saying that theirs was a big brand and there was no way they could have such poor quality tiles. The decorator must be deliberately looking for trouble. Depressed, she went online to check the official flagship store of the ceramic tile brand on Tmall, and found that the price of the same ceramic tile on it was cheaper than the brick she bought. Now she became even more angry and went to the store manager to argue. Unexpectedly, the store manager replied impatiently: "Why don't you buy it online when it's cheaper? Ceramic tiles only cost ten thousand yuan, how can you be so picky?"
[Case 6]
Mr. Liang from Zhangshu, Jiangxi Province, bought ceramic tiles according to the dimensions and calculated area measured by the decorator. After the tiles arrived, I discovered that the decorator forgot to count the balcony wall tiles and kitchen floor tiles. I had no choice but to replenish the goods again, which increased expenses and trouble.. Unexpectedly, the matter was not over yet. Next, strange things happened one after another: first, there were not enough sand, cement, and tile glue, and then there were too many damaged tiles, resulting in not enough tiles. The cycle repeats endlessly. Back and forth, he actually repaired the tiles five times, cement four times, sand three times, and tile glue twice, and almost collapsed. In the end, he also deducted a wage from the parallel import decoration master, which caused a quarrel.
......
No need to give any more examples. There are countless weird things about the process of purchasing and laying ceramic tiles. They are the main source of negative brand information mentioned above-consumers are purchasing If you feel you have been deceived by the seller and do not receive a convincing response or compensation during the purchase process, you will most likely post the matter online. This may sound like a big deal, but if you can really consider the problem from the perspective of the consumer (including the decorator), all problems will not be a problem.
Pre-sale: The seller should fully fulfill its obligation to inform consumers, neither deceive nor conceal anything, and in a harmonious and pleasant atmosphere, State all the facts and vilifications up front.
After-sales: Once a problem occurs, the seller should deal with it in a targeted manner according to the problem category. If it is a problem with the tile itself or a purely after-sales problem, the seller should take responsibility and be able to solve it himself. If he is not able to ask the manufacturer for help; if it is a construction problem + a problem with the tile itself, he should clearly distinguish what is the problem. Which factors are dominant, assume corresponding responsibilities, and provide consumers with effective solutions or suggestions beyond expectations.
Of course, solving the problems faced by consumers in the process of purchasing and laying ceramic tiles is not only a problem for dealers, but also a problem for manufacturers. Ceramic tile brand headquarters should start from the perspective of long-term brand development, establish and improve the sales service system and performance, build a sales service team, strengthen the guidance, assistance, supervision and assessment of dealers' sales services, and cannot only focus on immediate interests and ignore subsequent development.
03 Experience
【Experience 1】
from Fuzhou, FujianMr. Fu has renovated three houses. His deepest experience in buying bricks and paving for decoration is that he must choose reliable brands. He explained that reliable brands are not necessarily the most famous brands that people often say, nor does it mean that the more expensive the ceramic tiles are, the more reliable they are. Whether ceramic tiles are good or not depends not only on the popularity of the brand, but also on seeking advice from relatives, friends and knowledgeable decorators who know more about ceramic tiles. The reputation of a brand often spreads through their mouths, which is much more reliable than watching advertisements.
However, he went back to his words and believed that generally well-known big brands are more reliable, and few big brands will deceive consumers for immediate benefits because the cost is too high. As a saying circulated in WeChat Moments says: Brands are equivalent to the railings on a bridge. Only under the protection of the railings can people feel safe when crossing the bridge.
【Experience 2】
Mr. Jie from Xinyu, Jiangxi has renovated two houses. His deepest experience in buying bricks and paving for renovation is that he should not be too obsessed with the price. Although the saying "Only buy the right ones, not the expensive ones" makes sense, he also believes that "you get what you pay for". Good products and good services need to be supported by reasonable profits. Vicious low prices Competition is not necessarily a good thing for consumers.
He said that if he still had the opportunity to renovate his third house, he would not blindly pursue low prices and ignore the quality of ceramic tiles when buying ceramic tiles, and would definitely choose authentic Cantonese bricks.
【Experience 3】
Mr. Wang from Zhangshu, Jiangxi renovated his house for the first time. Since he was not satisfied with the color and paving of the tiles in the kitchen and bathroom, he already thought that "ceramic tiles depend on material (quality) three-thirds and paving seventy-nine." This sentence has personal experience. He believes that the application of ceramic tiles to achieve good results is inseparable from the designer’s careful design and the decorator’s attentive laying.
He said that if you renovate a house in the future, you must hire a decorator with excellent paving skills and good professional ethics. The higher cost is worth it; otherwise, no matter how good the tiles are, they will not be able to produce good results. Decorators will also fool you that the problem is with the quality of the tiles rather than their workmanship.
【Experience 4】
Mr. Hu from Zhangshu, Jiangxi, bought a batch of ceramic tiles from Guangdong through an acquaintance. He was quite satisfied with the design, color, price, logistics and transportation, as well as the paving effect.
He believes that it cannot be said that buying bricks from acquaintances is necessarily reliable or very unreliable. The key depends on whether the acquaintance you are looking for is reliable and how good the relationship is with you. It is very normal and necessary for an acquaintance to help you buy tiles and earn some hard money. He may also have to use his own favors to buy you tiles that are very affordable or even priced.
......
There are certainly far more problems and feelings that consumers encounter in the process of purchasing and laying ceramic tiles, and the cases listed in this article are not necessarily representative. . But in any case, these issues reported by consumers should be fully paid attention to by ceramic tile brands and dealers.
Consumption upgrading is one of the most significant market characteristics in all walks of life, including the ceramic industry, in recent years. It is also one of the hot words often talked about by ceramic people.
So what exactly is consumption upgrade? Different people interpret it from different perspectives and get different answers. However, the author believes that consumption upgrading must be inseparable from the important content of the transition from "subsistence-oriented" to "quality-oriented" consumption; and the meaning of "quality-oriented consumption" must also be inseparable from listening to the voices of consumers and paying attention to their demands. this important content.
In the context of China’s demographic dividend turning to the people’s dividend, and in the face of the fact that the ceramic industry has overcapacity, channel fission, and consumption upgrades, it is important to listen to the voices of consumers and value them Demands will become increasingly important.
Tile brands and dealers, are you ready?
Author: Zen Can
