Tips for Marketing your Office Furniture Business
Why Having a Furniture Marketing Strategy Matters
The furniture marketing is evolving as demographics shift and consumers buying habits change. No furniture seller can afford to have a poor marketing strategy. Having great products and stellar service isn’t enough to compete. You need to be top of mind at the right time and provide a buying experience that compels shoppers to complete the sale. Having a comprehensive strategy for your furniture business will help you determine who your ideal customers are, how to provide the experiences they crave where they crave them, how to cultivate relationships that lead to long term customer engagement, and how to do all of the above while managing your business, not your databases.
How to Assemble Your Furniture Marketing Strategy
Developing an effective furniture marketing strategy requires time and effort, but it doesn’t have to be complicated. This guide will show you step-by-step how to build a marketing strategy that will help you increase your furniture sales. Your business is worth it.
Step 1: Understand Who’s Buying Your Furniture and Meet Them Where They Are
How you market your customers depends on who your customers are. Some people will love your products more than others. You’ll sell more furniture if you can identify who those people are.
if you are not sure how to describe your primary customers, ask them! Conducting in store and online surveys helps to create a picture of your ideal shopper. This information will help you to determine what radio stations, and television programmes they tune into and which magazines and newspapers they read – which all inform where you spend your emotional and financial marketing energy.
Something Old: Select Traditional Furniture Advertising Outlets
Take advantage of paid advertising methods like television, radio and print advertising. They are all still effective ways of advertising furniture. Put your brand in the minds of potential buyers as well as to reach shoppers who haven’t gone fully digital.
Think back to the characteristics of your ideal customers to identify regional or national outlets or tools paid for advertising opportunities. Create advertisements that speak to your audience and develop a connection between what they want and what you offer.
Something New: Pick Social Platforms to Connect With Furniture Buyers
Using the research you have gained, determine which social platforms your target customers use. You want to reach customers where they already spend time, not where you prefer to spend yours. If your target market includes millennials, Instagram is where you’ll find them. If you have an older audience you’re more likely to find them on Facebook. People who are passionate about decorating spend their time on Pinterest.
Keep up to date with posting likeable images and shareable videos that are relevant to your brand. Social media marketing is all about building a relationship between your company and people who share your values. Your goal is to engage, not sell. Aim to cultivate a social media following of people who love furniture the way you do. When customers identify with your brand, your furniture is more likely to be top of mind when they’re ready to redecorate the living room—turning those followers into customers.
Step 2: Close more Furniture Sales
Make It Easy to Say “Yes!”
Use social platforms to promote your sales and discounts as well as tell your customers about any special payment options you offer. Don’t have any? Look for ways to make it easy for potential customers to buy from you instead of from someone else. Incentives like convenient lay-away plans, generous return policies, or special discounts (wouldn’t that sofa look better with those end tables?) could be a deal broker instead of a deal breaker.
Make sure that your sales and showroom staff are comfortable talking about your incentives and empower them to share the information with customers.
Play For Keeps: Develop a Customer Retention Strategy
Research shows that retaining the customers you have costs less, and generates more profits, than acquiring new ones. Once a customer has purchased from you, give them a reason to continue engaging with you. Leverage your social media platforms. Invite customers to participate in surveys or to share their favourite photos showcasing your products in their homes. Consider offering personalised discounts or promotional offers as a perk of being connected to your brand.
Step 3: Make Your Website as Gorgeous as Your Furniture
Up to 87 percent of customers do online research before they ever walk into a store, which means your website needs to be a core pillar of your furniture marketing strategy. As a furniture seller, you’re in the business of making beautiful things. Use your website to show off your design savvy. Here are some points to consider:
- Keep Up Appearances
- Don’t Be Difficult
- But Do Be Comfortable
- Stay With the Times
- Create Furniture Experiences, Not Just Products
