Independent kitchen and bath showrooms that do not install products they sell can improve their conversion ratios, margins and avoid competing solely based on price by taking a page out of the design-build playbook. When a customer wants to renovate their kitchen, bath or any other room in the house, savvy design-builders often prepare proposals outlining the scope of work, products specified and proposed timeframe. And then they quote one price for the entire job. Mrs. Jones, your new kitchen will cost $75,486. And if Mrs. Jones wants to know how much she might be paying for a faucet or sink, design-builders will respond by saying that the cost of your new kitchen is $75,486. The sink and faucet are included in the price
Showrooms may help their sales professionals succeed by establishing standard procedures and goals for first meetings with prospective clients. If the initial client meeting is in the showroom, the goals should be to understand what the prospect wants to achieve, determine the budget available for the project, to establish trust and schedule a follow-up appointment at the client's home to measure the space. The key to achieving these goals is to ask the right questions and listen intently to responses.
How can you attract more clients and customers? A simple answer is to communicate with them more effectively. Social media is often a preferred medium of choice for kitchen and bath showrooms to connect with clients and prospects. Four university professors analyzed a brand’s social media messages impact on a company’s most valuable customers and not so loyal customers.
The analysis examined the following five dimensions of brand experience:
The number one reason why showroom employees seek greener pastures is a perceived lack of appreciation by ownership for their contributions to the business. Many owners recognize and appreciate the contributions that team members make, but they don’t necessarily know how to communicate their appreciation effectively. Some find it difficult, and others erroneously assume that their team knows how the owners feel about them. Others believe offering praise too often marginalizes the effectiveness of acknowledging truly noteworthy contributions.
Whoda thunk it!? Home Depot is a favorite of Americans who earn more than $250,000 a year, according to the 2019 Gartner Consumer Value and Lifestyle Survey. Gartner attributes the home center's attraction to the upper 2% of wage earners to its ability to tap into wealthy Americans' motivations.
Free shipping has become an expectation for most American consumers thanks in large measure to Amazon. Shipping charges are the number one reason why online shoppers abandoned their online carts, according to a 2018 survey by Internet Retailer, further supporting the notion that Americans do not believe they should pay for freight. Other shoppers faced with a minimum for free shipping will make additional purchases, or buy more expensive products, in order to qualify for free freight, claims University of Pennsylvania Wharton School Professor Roy Berman.
Examples of past projects are the most important factor consumers use to select a showroom or design professional to design their new kitchen or bath, according to the Truth about Kitchen and Bathroom Renovations Survey, conducted by Hausera. Pictures of completed projects were more influential than online ratings and reviews. 38% of respondents reported a professional portfolio that shows examples of past work mattered the most in selecting a company to renovate a kitchen, bath or laundry room. 35% of respondents used recommendations from family or friends as the primary criterion for selecting a remodeler, and 35% said online ratings and reviews mattered the most.
What do companies that are consistently ranked among the best companies to work for do differently? That is a question co-authors Michael O’Malley and Bill Baker of Organizations for People answered in a recent study of 21 businesses that are perennially honored by Inc., Fortune and other publications that compile lists of the best companies to work for. The authors claim there is no one size fits all formula or strategy to make the list, but they did identify the following common themes among the winners.
A lot of businesses either close or slow down during the last week of the year. It's time to spend with family, reflecting on successes and shortcomings and laying plans and goals for the coming year. Matt Plumber writes in an HBR blog post that to make the most of the time off during the last week of the year, it is important to understand your tendencies. Among working professionals, Plumber has found that there are three types of "holiday time misusers."
Affordable luxury is an oxymoron. At least, according to Bernard Arnault, CEO of LVMH, arguably the world's most prestigious luxury brand whose empire includes Christian Dior, Louis Vuitton, Dom Perignon, Hennessy, most recently Tiffany, plus 70 others. Arnault does not believe that LVMH's brands should ever be discounted, ascribing to the notion that luxury brands need to have total control of distribution, pricing and how the brand is portrayed.
