Big Hearted Rep Has Big Marketing Idea for His Retailers

One of the great things about writing this blog is I get guys that reach out to me and have me share marketing tips that are working for them and their dealers. One such case happened today when I got a call from legendary rep Marty Libowski. Marty is always so enthusiastic about everything he does, and so it is with this idea Marty is sharing with his dealers in the Southeast.Usually when I come across Marty, he is marshalling his enthusiasm into a charity or cause to help others. In fact Marty said if you like his idea, just make a donation for the local Ronald McDonald house in your area.

Marty’s marketing tip is not new specifically, but what I liked about it was it had an unusual twist that I thought was worth writing. As we all know, the demographics across the country are diversifying. The marketing tip concerns the fact that there are a significant amount of Hispanic speaking people that are growing in population around the country. This tip can apply to any ethnic group that is prevalent in your community, but for the sake of example I will run it down for Spanish speaking population.

(One caveat here is I am not making any political comments on whether or not we should have different immigration policies, etc. I am just dealing with the facts of the current population demographics and how to appeal to a broader audience.)

As a retailer, you want to reach out to as many potential customers as possible. If there is a large proportion of Hispanic population that could be your customer, the smart thing to do is to advertise in their language. This requires ads written in Spanish in local Spanish papers, radio ads written and spoken on the Spanish radio stations, and any other forms of advertising that this target audience would find your message in. More importantly when they come to your store you need to have a Spanish speaking sales person or two so that the prospects feel comfortable shopping in your store. Of course you also have to have merchandise and price points to appeal to this audience as well.

The extra twist Marty added to this marketing tip stems from his heavy involvement in charitable work. He suggested that a local retailer partner with churches that have this population base as a congregation. Get involved through a donation or a fund raiser with that Church. You can maybe help sponsor a direct mail piece for some Church event or other means to talk with the Church members. By partnering with the Church, you become a trusted resource through that relationship. As an added benefit, you also help make a difference in the community by helping the Church do their good works.

Going after specific demographic groups is probably not new information to most retailers but it is a good reminder to continue to canvas your dealer base to see how you might appeal to a broader audience.

Thanks Marty for this week’s marketing tip. As always, if you have an idea that you would like to share with other reps or with the furniture community at large, please don’t hesitate to drop me an email at meroot@mikeroot.com and I’ll schedule a call to discuss.