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Tips to help high end retailers generate business

Lissa Wyman -- Furniture Today, November 4, 2011

Lissa Wyman Rug EditorI received an e-mail the other day in response to my recent column about how old-line retailers should change with the times. My correspondent described his company as an old, well established, destination type store in declining fiscal health. He said he agreed with my conclusions, but said I hadn't made any suggestions as to what stores can actually do to accomplish a turnaround.
     So what are some of the things a high end retailer can do to generate business, or at least survive with some dignity? Here are a few thoughts, purely from an observer's standpoint. (I am not a professional "store doctor" by any means.)
     ► Social media and email advertising. It's not enough to merely be on Facebook and Twitter. You've got to give the consumer a compelling reason to interact. You can use an email ad campaign to drive the customer to your Facebook page, where you might have coupons or a sweepstakes or a game, say "angry sofas."
     Your email ad campaigns should also include a coupon, a sweepstakes entry form or a private sale. Email can be an effective advertising tool. (Building and updating your email lists is a never-ending but necessary chore.)
     ► A realistic assessment of how the business is perceived. Enlist the help of someone brutally honest, and not necessarily a home furnishings professional. It's one thing to have the reputation for fine products, and quite another to be seen as dowdy and old fashioned.
     ► A mini makeover. I know cash for a store facelift is almost nonexistent these days, but a store should not look sad and tired. I have a retailer friend who moves the entire store around every six months. Accessories from one set can be swapped out with another, traditional rugs can replace contemporaries, and vice versa. It also helps employee morale. And here's an idea - have a huge sale to celebrate the makeover before it begins, and another to celebrate the "new" store.
     ► Keep the lights on. Another brilliant merchant I know keeps all the interior lights on in the store, 24/7. It looks like a giant glittering jewel box at night. It makes the store look vibrant and alive. Well worth the cost.
     ► Have something for everyone. When people walk into a store, they want to buy something. Use displays of small, inexpensive items customers can carry away. In a rug store, it can be a humble kitchen rug or door mat. In a furniture store, it can be wall art, artificial flowers, umbrella stands or furniture throws. Don't let them leave empty handed.
     I hope this helps.

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