A new floor is a big purchase, and customers can find a showroom in many ways. They might search on Google, spot a pin on the map, read the reviews, hear from a friend or drive past the sign. Local marketing is about being easy to find, easy to trust and easy to contact at each of those moments.
This guide covers the local marketing that helps, from your Google Business Profile to follow-ups, and how marketing works in a National Floors franchise.
The short version. Customers find a showroom through search, maps, reviews, local advertising and word of mouth. Start with a complete Google Business Profile, then a website that uses the words customers search, honest ads, reviews you ask for fairly and quick follow-ups. In a National Floors franchise you pay a 1% national marketing levy into a marketing fund and spend at least $2,500 a month on local marketing. The franchise agreement doesn't commit us to spend a set amount, or to spend fund money in any particular area.
How do customers find a flooring showroom?
There's no single route, so local marketing is a handful of jobs that work together. Here they are, with what Google and government guidance say about each.
| Channel | What it does | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| Google Business Profile | Puts your showroom on Google Maps and in local results | You can't pay for a better local ranking |
| Website and SEO | Helps your pages show up when people search | Use the words customers type, including your town |
| Google Ads | Shows paid ads in the areas you choose | Target an area or a radius around you |
| Reviews | Show customers what others thought | Ask with a Google link or QR code; never offer rewards |
| Local advertising and word of mouth | Reaches the people near you | Business Victoria says to measure your results |
| Follow-ups | Bring back quotes that have gone quiet | Marketing messages need consent and an unsubscribe option |
Going it alone, with a van and a phone number, every one of these jobs is yours.
How do you set up a Google Business Profile for a showroom?
Start here: your profile controls how the showroom appears on Google Maps and in local search. Google says local results depend on relevance, distance and prominence: how well your profile matches the search, how far you are from the searcher, and how well known you are, including your reviews and the websites that link to you. You can't change distance, and there's no way to pay for a better local ranking, so the work is in the details:
- Verify it. This shows Google you're authorised to represent the business, and makes the profile more likely to show up in search results.
- Use your real name. Google's guidelines say to use the name on your signage, with no taglines or other extras, and to keep to one profile per business.
- Choose categories carefully. Google advises the fewest it takes to describe your core business.
- Get the address and hours right. Google wants a precise address, regular customer-facing hours and special hours for holidays. Business Victoria says wrong hours can send customers to a closed shop.
- Add photos. Google suggests photos and videos of what you offer. A showroom has plenty to show: see what a fit-out involves.
Does a flooring showroom need a website and SEO?
business.gov.au calls a user-friendly website the best way to give customers an online presence, and suggests search engine optimisation (SEO) to improve your ranking. Three things matter most:
- Use the words customers search. business.gov.au says to match your keywords to the terms customers type, in titles, content and metadata, without stuffing them in. Business Victoria suggests local terms such as suburb names, street names or your city, so pairing "flooring" with your own town is a start.
- Write for people first. Google's SEO Starter Guide says to create helpful, reliable, people-first content, and that a good page title is clear, accurate and unique to the page.
- Be patient. Google says changes can take a few hours or several months to show, and suggests waiting a few weeks before judging results.
A page for each range you sell, such as hybrid, laminate or timber, gives customers something to find. See what Victorians are choosing for how the mix looks.
How do Google Ads work for a local showroom?
Google Ads is paid advertising. Its help page says you can target areas such as regions, cities or postcodes, or a radius around a location. Google advises targeting where your customers are, and warns that a very small radius might mean your ads show only now and then, or not at all.
Ads are separate from your Business Profile: you can't buy a better local ranking, but you can run ads. business.gov.au suggests deciding whether and how you'll advertise online, then setting targets and tracking them. In a National Floors franchise you spend at least $2,500 a month on local marketing in your own area.
How do reviews and follow-ups bring customers in?
Google counts reviews in prominence, and customers can read them before they visit. As at October 2026, our Thomastown, Dandenong and Werribee showrooms have 860 five-star Google reviews out of 905. Google's help page says you can ask customers to review you with a Google link or QR code, and that offering free or discounted goods or services in exchange for reviews counts as fake and misleading content. It also advises replying professionally, to bad reviews as well as good. Our guide to a week in a flooring showroom covers when and how to ask.
A quote that goes quiet isn't always a lost sale: the customer may simply be busy. Business Victoria advises telling customers when you'll get back to them, and then doing it. Our franchise page lists automatic follow-ups so no enquiry goes cold, and a call from a person still helps.
How does marketing work in a National Floors franchise?
Here's what our franchise page publishes, in the order you'd meet it.
| Stage | What our franchise page says |
|---|---|
| Launch | A grand-opening campaign, covered by the Opening Promotional Fee, one of the franchisor fees in the estimated $318,200 to $606,750 + GST total investment |
| Your area | A local marketing spend of at least $2,500 a month, spent by you, plus automatic follow-ups in our systems |
| National | A 1% national marketing levy goes into a marketing fund. The agreement doesn't commit us to spend a set amount, or to spend fund money in your area |
| What you pay | A 1% national marketing levy on gross sales, plus local marketing of at least $2,500 a month |
No franchise can promise a set number of customers, because results vary. Our page doesn't say who sets up your Google Business Profile or replies to reviews, so ask on your discovery call, along with which ads run in your territory and what the levy pays for. Franchise royalties and marketing levies explains the Franchising Code's rules for marketing funds, and franchise vs independent flooring store compares a franchise with going it alone.
When you're ready to look at a town, check whether your area is open or browse the open territories.
How do you know your marketing is working?
business.gov.au suggests setting a goal for each channel, choosing a few measures, tracking them and adjusting, and names Google Analytics as a free way to see website visits. Business Victoria says to measure your advertising so you only continue if it works.
The simplest habit is to ask every new customer how they found you, and write it down. Our own application form has an optional "How did you hear about us?" question. Without that note, you can't tell which marketing works. And judge results over the year, not one quiet month: when Victorians buy new floors shows the seasonal pattern.
What rules apply to marketing a flooring business?
The Australian Consumer Law bars misleading or deceptive conduct in trade or commerce. It also bars false or misleading representations about goods and services, including their quality, performance and price, and false testimonials. If you advertise a price, you must offer goods at that price for a reasonable period and in reasonable quantities. A pecuniary penalty can apply to the rules on false representations and advertised prices, so check ads, website copy and signs against what you can supply.
Follow-ups have rules too. Under the Spam Act, ACMA says a marketing email or text needs the person's consent, must identify you with correct contact details and must offer an easy way to unsubscribe. It's up to you to prove you had consent, so keep a record.
This is general information, not legal or financial advice.
Questions
How do customers find a flooring showroom?
Through a mix of Google search and Maps, reviews, local advertising and word of mouth. A complete Business Profile and a website that uses the words customers search help with the first two.
Where should a new flooring showroom start with its marketing?
With a verified, complete Google Business Profile, then a website that uses the words customers search, including your town. Add reviews and follow-ups, and consider paid ads once you can track what they bring in.
Can a business pay Google for a better local ranking?
No. Google says there's no way to request or pay for a better local ranking. Paid ads are a separate option.
How does marketing work in a National Floors franchise?
A grand-opening campaign, covered by the Opening Promotional Fee, launches the showroom. Owners then pay a 1% national marketing levy into a marketing fund and spend at least $2,500 a month on local marketing. The franchise agreement doesn't commit National Floors to spend a set amount, or to spend fund money in any particular area. Check whether your area is open.
Sources
- Google Business Profile Help: Tips to improve your local ranking
- Google Business Profile Help: Guidelines for representing your business
- Google Business Profile Help: Tips to get more reviews
- Google Ads Help: Target ads to geographic locations
- Google Search Central: SEO Starter Guide
- business.gov.au: Develop your digital strategy
- business.gov.au: Improve your search engine rankings
- business.gov.au: Measure your digital performance
- Business Victoria: Find customers online
- Business Victoria: Advertise your business
- Business Victoria: Why being easy to contact matters
- ACMA: Avoid sending spam
- Competition and Consumer Act 2010, Schedule 2 (Australian Consumer Law)
- National Floors franchise opportunity: marketing, launch and fees