Furniture Marketing Group Symposium draws 200 to Las Vegas

Clint Engel -- Furniture Today, January 28, 2013

LAS VEGAS — Throughout Furniture Marketing Group's 2013 Symposium here, one theme was driven home time and again:

The days of sitting back and watching the traffic rush into your store are gone. Retailers need to lift their game, becoming that competitor they dread, and pull out all the stops when it comes to engaging their customers.

At the FMG Symposium in Las Vegas are Larry Rubin, left, Bernie & Phyl’s Furniture, Norton, Mass.; Bill Daniels, Furniture Fair, Fairfield, Ohio; Chrissi Kriner and Joe Beiter, Beiter’s Home Center, South Williamsport, Pa.; Liz Zimmermann, Presidential Seating; and Alan Kramer, Star Furniture, Houston.

Some 200 retailers, suppliers, service providers and guests were at the three-day FMG conference at the Venetian Resort just before this week's Las Vegas Market, networking and garnering tips from their peers in the industry and from leaders in economics, marketing and marketing technology.

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In a presentation on proactive marketing, author, speaker and former retailer Rick Segel asked his audience to raise their hands if they offer bad service, a weak selection or are known for price gouging. When no one raised a hand, he congratulated them for having "pretty good" businesses.

Consumers expect every store to have good service, great selection and fair prices, and Segel said he's tired of listening to commercials that proclaim these types of supposed advantage. The same goes for retailers promoting their 58 years in business.

"The consumer doesn't care," he said. "It used to be important. Not anymore."

Instead, retailers need to focus marketing on what truly sets them apart. He pointed to retailers both inside and outside the industry that are using qualities other than price and reputation to generate business.