Preparing for 2024

This is the time of year that many showrooms reflect on what’s happened in the last 12 months and how they need to prepare for what is expected in the coming year.  There are several keys to developing a viable strategy that leverages your competitive advantages and responds to anticipated market conditions.  The first is everyone on the team understanding your showroom’s definition of success.  If success is not defined it can never be achieved.  The showroom’s definitions of success must be clear, unambiguous, and emphatic.  They may include a certain percentage increase in profit margin, a certain percentage increase in sales, a certain decrease in the number of errors or other criteria that are crystal clear, measurable and achievable.

What are your competitive advantages and are they universally agreed to by all members of the team? Competitive advantages are not a list of features and benefits that you offer.  Competitive advantages are the reasons why customers choose your showroom versus the ones down the street.  

Once competitive advantages are clearly articulated and understood, determine which demographic or type of customer values those advantages the most.  Focus your marketing and social media advertising efforts on those customers.  At the same time, identify the customers that you don’t necessarily want to invest in.  These may be customers that are always looking for the lowest price or want to micromanage the entire project.  Not everyone who walks into the showroom will be an ideal customer.  That does not mean you turn down projects that are not ideal. If a project will be relatively easy without a substantial investment in time, that’s business worth having.

Finally, to prepare for the coming year, determine where you need to improve. It might be marketing, supply chain management, talent retention and acquisition or a host of other opportunities.  Perhaps you need to develop a growth strategy or acquire a new CRM system.  BKBG can be a valuable asset to assist.  From identifying new markets and customers through trade area analytics to marketing guidance provided by our Affinity Partners, look to BKBG to be your trusted growth partner.