Mattress Inn lets customers sleep on it — literally
David Perry, Bedding editor -- Furniture Today, 11/17/2008 12:00:00 AM
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Problem: Consumers are not comfortable lying down on mattresses in retail stores.
Solution: Give them their private sleep room in the store.
That's part of the formula for success at Nashville, Tenn.-based Mattress Inn, which opened its first store last year and recently added a second location in Spring Hill, Tenn. Any retailer expanding in this challenging sales climate must be doing something right, industry observers say.
The sleep rooms are a key to the success story being written by Arthur Watkins, president of the bedding specialty operator. He left a national mattress retailer to go into business for himself, fulfilling a dream that tugs at many in the mattress industry. It's a dream that he is making work by listening to what consumers want — and giving it to them.
“Many of our clients are saying that we made the buying process easy,” Watkins said recently. “We are getting 10 sleep room reservations a week, and 90% of them become buyers. Our approach to marketing has worked.”
It has worked well enough to attract two of Nashville's best-known residents: Singer Keith Urban and his wife, Nicole Kidman. The two were spotted shopping recently at the Mattress Inn store, according to an item on the People magazine Web site.
Watkins said the Nashville store, run by “General Bedding Concierge” Vaughn Corder, an industry veteran, has become a celebrity stop because of the high level of service it provides. The retailer takes the approach that it is serving as a “bedding concierge” to its customers. That indicates its service-oriented model. The bedding concierges set up the sleep rooms in less than five minutes, and the rooms are provided at no charge to the consumers.
The sleep rooms are equipped with flat-panel TVs, soothing sound machines and DVD players. The beds to be tested are dressed with fresh pillows, sheets and comforters. Customers can sleep for up to three hours, in private, on the beds of their choice.
Watkins says that consumers prefer to relax on the beds in the dark, so that their muscles can relax and they can see how the beds really feel. Many consumers want to sleep on the bed before buying it, he added, and that test rest helps reduce the likelihood of a costly comfort exchange.
Mattress Inn carries bedding by Simmons, Natura, ComforPedic, Jamison, Hypnos and Kingsdown. All of those lines can be tested in the sleep rooms.
The retailer benefits from a robust network of referrals. “Many of our clients are referring other people to us because of our great service,” Watkins said.
“We make at least two to three phone sales a day. Our delivery service is called Concierge Delivery because we check for any problems that could cause the new mattress to sag, and go over the warranty with them after the installation. We receive many calls because customers want to give us good feedback on our drivers. People appreciate the call we give them 45 minutes before we arrive at their home.”
Something else that differentiates Mattress Inn from the competition is a non-sale approach to the business. “I built our concept on integrity,” said Watkins. “We do not run sales, but rather we offer specials on certain mattresses in our advertisements. Our goal is to tell the story. Our showroom does not have sale posters. We use the idea that we offer everyday low prices. I teach our concierge staff not to say 'sell' or 'on sale' in their presentations. It is hard, but they get it. We use different verbiage because it affects the way the customer thinks about our company.”
That different approach is working at Mattress Inn.
