What’s Included in a Full Lineup of Floor Care Tools

Distributors will find that offering a full lineup of mops, brooms, brushes, squeegees and other floor care tools produces a plethora of benefits. The only drawback is narrowing down all the features and outlining how to promote the various options to end user customers. 

To help simplify that messaging, Sanitary Maintenance reached out to product manufacturers for suggestions on when to tout cotton over microfiber mops, when customers should use string over flat mops, when to push onboard chemical options and/or various bucket configurations, and so much more. This roundtable discussion helps simplify that sales message for distributors. 

Why should distributors carry a full lineup of mopping products?  

MARINO — Distributors should carry a full line of mopping products because they are an integral part of any floor care routine. With a variety of floor types and varying customer budgets it’s important to ensure you can meet the demands of all your customers and the floors they are cleaning. 

BUSCH — Carrying a full line of mopping products allows distributors to accommodate all types of end user customers and their very specific mopping needs. Customers in different industries will more than likely need different mopping products. For example, different types of floors and methods of cleaning call for different mops. The type of mopping material may also vary depending on whether the end user landers their mops or disposes of them. 

LINDSTROM — A full selection of mopping and hard floor care products compliments the offering for jan/san, foodservice and paper distributors. Many of their customers are already looking for products to help clean a facility, so carrying the products that allow them to clean the floors is a critical part of the catalog. 

BEAUDETTE — Mops, like brooms, are one of the oldest floor cleaning tools used in the industry. Mopping is performed almost everywhere, every day, making mopping products essential. If a distributor does not carry a variety of mopping products to cover all applications, then it forces the customer to look other places and possibly take some or all the business elsewhere. 

What types of products should be included in this line of offerings? 

BEAUDETTE — Most users need a full line of dry dust mops, wet mops and microfiber mops. Within these categories there are generally good, better and best options. Also, we are finding that many users are selecting single-use, disposable products, as well. 

LINDSTROM — There are a wide variety of sizes, colors, and quality of products in each category (wet, dry, microfiber, wide area, etc.). At a bare minimum, a distributor needs to carry a wet mop with both cut and looped ends, a dust mop in a couple of sizes, the handles/frames necessary to use the mops, and a broom. In order to have a full range of these products, a distributor would need to expand each category to offer various sizes, colors and quality levels. We recommend carrying a “good, better, best” version of all products when possible. This gives the end user the choice to decide between various price points in each product category. 

BUSCH — Affordable quality mops are the most important cleaning tool. A full line of mopping products should include items like cut-end mops, loop-end mops, flat mopping pads, and dust mops. Expanding these selections of mops by offering various materials, sizes and colors can help turn a basic line of cleaning into a complete line that can accommodate any users mopping needs — also offering both launderable and disposable options, as well as dry and wet mopping options. 

With so many different wet, dry and specialty mopping products available, how can distributors simplify their sales message?  

BEAUDETTE — The focus needs to be on the 80/20 used in the industry. The sales message should suggest the most popular types, sizes and colors while trying to keep it simple. 

BUSCH — Our goal is to make cleaning easier and quicker for the end-user — making sure not to over-complicate the offering and training is essential. Just because distributors can have a complete line, doesn’t mean it’s right for them or their end user. Proper training will enable the distributor to limit the amount of mop items they carry. This can be done by only offering the most versatile and biggest selling items. An example of items that are versatile and can be used in almost every industry would be: microfiber and blend loop-end mops in medium and large, and cotton cut-end mops in 16 oz/#16 and 24 oz/#24. 

LINDSTROM — Typically, the end user knows what they want, or at least what they are currently using, which makes it easier for distributors to sell a similar product. In a lot of cases, the end user has a point of pain, so the distributor can figure out what issues they are having with their current product and solve those problems by offering a different item. 

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Top-Selling Mops and Benefits to Their Use