Make the right impression, experts urge buying group
By Clint Engel -- Furniture Today, February 27, 2006
Henderson, Nev. — Three featured speakers at the Furniture Marketing Group's symposium offered retailers their views on what it takes to appeal to consumers and how to leave the right impressions in advertising, on the sales floor and online.
Market researcher and consultant Elena Salij suggested the industry still underestimates the nearly singular role of the female in the buying process.
While some think furniture buying is a shared responsibility between spouses, she said, women by and large control the purse strings.
And these women are pressed for time. They shop online far more often than the industry seems to think, based on its Web efforts. In stores, salespeople bombard them with all the wrong questions.
When describing the kind of home furnishings that appeal to them, women use words such as "warm, comfortable, inviting and cozy," Salij said.
"But here are the words we throw back at her: 'casual contemporary, traditional, country'," she said. Stores should just get rid of these kinds of descriptions, she said.
Salij also said it's wrong for retailers to ask what it takes to get the customer to buy. The right questions, she said, are: What's getting in her way? What can I do to help her overcome barriers?
The barriers are many, starting with the fear of making a mistake — which the consumer may consider catastrophic, expensive, visible, embarrassing and not returnable.
She's also worried about the domino effect: If she changes the sofa, she'll have to change the chair and the rug and so on. And she also suffers from an inability to focus, Salij said. She doesn't know where to begin.
Retailers can help overcome these obstacles by providing design guidance. They also should offer liberal return policies, and send a truck to take away her old furniture.
Another speaker, President Martin Roberts of store and showroom designer Grid2 International, offered retailers ideas and case studies showing how to unlock their "brand DNA."
When Grid2 went to work for bookseller Borders, he said, consumers had trouble distinguishing it from competitor Barnes & Noble.
With the design firm's help, Borders implemented elements that played to its strengths, giving the stores more of a West Coast feel (where it had the strongest base) and less of Barnes & Noble's pub or coffee house feel.
Borders also played up its technology, where Roberts said it had an edge, with large signs over computer terminals. There, shoppers can find what they're looking for, and order anything that isn't locally in stock.
Borders also changed its primary color scheme to a bold red.
"It's very, very difficult to criticize yourself," Roberts said. But he urged retailers to build on their strengths by understanding what consumers say about their brand, and taking a customer-centric approach to everything from merchandising to marketing to interior design.
Suze Bragg, director of electronic media for Reed Business Information (parent company of Furniture/Today), told retailers how to take simple and inexpensive steps to "Power up Your Brand on the Internet."
She said it's important to update a Web site often. She said retailers should make their sites look like their stores, putting fashion and style ahead of price to appeal to the female shopper. Companies also should make sure their online presence answers all the basic questions, from pricing to shipping, return and privacy policies.
Bragg offered what she called the Seven C's of Internet Branding:
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Convenience: The Web address should be easy to remember and the site should be easy to use and navigate. Make value-added features — specials, gift certificates — easy to find.
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Content: Keep it updated, don't use huge type and don't be text heavy.
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Customization: This can be as simple as gathering e-mail addresses at the cash register for future contact, or asking what a consumer is looking for so the e-mails can be personalized when the appropriate promotions come up. Bragg also suggested creating a monthly e-mail newsletter with decorating tips and special offers.
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Community: Add blogs (they're free or cost only a small monthly fee) and post testimonials. Write about local style trends.
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Connectivity: Link to other sites in your area and have them link to yours. Get listed on search engines and learn ways to end up near the top.
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Customer care: To build a brand online, the key is to deliver a great customer experience and maintain or build a brand's reputation for excellence.
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Communication: Keep in touch with consumers via e-mailed thank-you notes and e-mails on order status, surveys and special offers.
"Engage the people who are going to buy from you," Bragg said. "They want to know you're interested in them."
