Archive for the ‘Service’ Category
October 11th, 2011 | 
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BLANCO launches a new Color App for iPhone, iPad and Android that helps designers and homeowners match on trend BLANCO SILGRANIT II kitchen sinks with popular countertops. The intuitive dashboard makes it fun and easy to find the perfect sink and counter combination with a selection of 63 different BLANCO SILGRANIT II color sinks and 26 popular counterstones including manmade, CaesarStone and Zodiaq designs. Users may enhance the collection by taking a photo of any counter and adding it to the App. The selected sink and counter combinations appear together as they would in a real kitchen and may be saved to a Favorites Folder to share or come back to later. The free BLANCO SILGRANIT II Color App is available for download on iTunes (iPad), iTunes (iPhone) and Android Market.
“The BLANCO SILGRANIT II Color App is really a passkey to creating exciting sink and countertop combinations in just seconds,” states Tim Maicher, Director of Marketing for BLANCO. “Nowhere else can you imagine your sink and faucet design and actually see it. This is an indispensible, free tool for design professionals and tech savvy homeowners craving inspirational kitchen ideas,” continues Maicher. For more mobile kitchen design ideas, homeowners and designers should also look for BLANCO/House Beautiful’s 500+ Favorite Paint Colors available on iTunes (iPad). “Homeowners and designers are so often asked to make important color decisions when outside the home. These unique BLANCO Apps help put the pieces together – especially when you can immediately take a photograph of a sample and coordinate it with other elements right on your phone or tablet device,” concludes Maicher.
BLANCO SILGRANIT II Color App Details:
- Easy and intuitive iPhone/iPad/Android App lets user mix and match BLANCO SILGRANIT II color sinks with countertops to find the perfect match
- 9 different styles of SILGRANIT II sinks in 7 different color variations
- 26 colorful countertop choices
- Ability to search by sink or counter to start
- Ability to photograph a counter and add it to the App (for devices with cameras)
- Users can store designs in a Favorites folder to share or save for later
- The Store Locator function allows users to locate where to purchase a BLANCO sink by simply entering their home zip code and connecting with a retail outlet where BLANCO products are available
- Users may also connect with www.blancoamerica.com to learn more about their selected sink options
- Available free on iTunes (iPhone), iTunes (iPad) or Android Market
- BLANCO’s new Consumer Brochure is here! Showroom marketing as you knew it has forever changed.
BLANCO’s new consumer brochures are here and showroom sales tools as we know them have forever changed! You’ve seen the dramatic impact of our new ad campaigns, new PR programs and new showroom catalog. The consumer brochure is another tool that’s been re-invented to communicate the passion, quality, and design inspiration behind BLANCO…and to reinforce our standing as the most attractive brand in the industry.
In the past…
In the past, the Consumer Brochure was simply a condensed version of the full-line showroom catalog. Images were small and all the sizes and dimensions were listed. It was not consumer-oriented and there was no history, no story and no passion behind the piece.
Now feel the passion, the difference…
At BLANCO, we feel it’s important to inspire the consumer…to allow them to dream. The new consumer brochure delivers BLANCO’s story in a “digestible” consumer-friendly format − creating value for the brand and ultimately the products. This standout piece is much more experiential in feel and approach to help create a preeminent positioning for BLANCO. This same approach is the underlying strategy behind all the communication pieces − print, other collateral, direct mail, etc. This isn’t about selling a sink anymore as strictly a functional item. It is repositioning and in fact creating a reason for being, a desire, and a “demand” for BLANCO products as centerpieces for the kitchen. Our goal is to drive that demand to the showrooms, allowing them to maximize profits while protecting price.
We encourage your feedback on the new design – let us know what you think!
Posted in Service | 
Tags: BLANCO, consumer brochure, Faucets, pr program, sales tool, Sinks | 
6 Comments »
When it comes to technical questions about our products, Blanco is fortunate to have experts ready with answers.
Each day in our Technical Department, Ryan Farquhar and Jim Entwistle deal with functionality issues on all Blanco faucets, plus the occasional sink question.
Ryan, our Plumbing Technician & Product Specialist, teams with Jim, our Quality & Plumbing Technician, to provide technical information and assistance. They often guide plumbers through sink and faucet installation. One of the challenges of their job is to interpret the caller’s issues over the phone.
The faucet technicians, as well as our customer service team, receive a lot of positive feedback on their quick, timely, and personalized service. Some customers are so impressed that they write in thank-you notes.
Some excerpts:
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“Just before Thanksgiving I needed a new replacement faucet. Ryan expedited the shipment of a new Blanco faucet and it arrived two days before the holiday – an impossible mission! My thanks go to Ryan and the whole Blanco family.”
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“I purchased a Blanco faucet 4 years ago and was experiencing a small water leak. With the knowledgeable and patient assistance of Ryan Farquhar and Jim Entwistle, we were able to repair the faucet. I would like to commend Blanco for having this level of customer support available and Ryan and Jim’s able and patient assistance.”
We recently heard from a woman who mentioned that she was “not afraid to handle a hammer, screwdriver and pliers’’ — even at age 77.
After getting the information she needed, she commented: “It’s easy to see why the granite installer said Blanco is the best – not only is your product great, but all the support behind it – you’ve made my day. Thanks again to Jim.”
Thanks to great customer support from staff like Ryan and Jim, quality at Blanco is more than a slogan, it is how we do our jobs every day.
Good selling, and please join in the conversation. Share your thoughts on this or other topics by clicking the comments link below.
Two seasons ago two NFL quarterbacks did something remarkable. In separate games only weeks apart, David Carr and Mark Brunell each completed 22 consecutive passes in a single game, a new record for perfection.
Now imagine that each football pass represented a dollar of sales, and that to be considered successful you had to complete 40 passes a game, for all 16 games of the season, and then continue to do that for more than three seasons. With only one single miss allowed.
That is the monthly target that Blanco has set for our logistics/warehouse operation, the best in the business. Customer service is given a monthly error rate target of 0.05% of monthly sales. That is the equivalent of losing $1 for every $2,000 in sales.
That’s a very high standard, but one they have exceeded. Since June 2008 they have consistently topped this target with an impressive error rate of 0.01% per month. That is only $1 lost for every $10,000 in sales.
Warehouse is given a monthly error rate target of 0.08% for shipping. Since June 2008 they have consistently exceeded this target with an error rate of 0.07% or less per month.
That high level of customer service saved approximately $1,500 on returned goods last year. So far this year they have saved the company $13,000 on returned goods.
This level of service is an extension of our commitment to quality, from innovation, to design to delivery performance. We know this is important to you, because these are your customers and you don’t want a single order to go awry.
Do you have an idea about how we can do an even better job? Share your thoughts on this or other topics by clicking the comments link below.
