Creating ‘the experience’ in your showroom
BY PETER SCHOR
Showroom specialist
In my May 2011 column, “Branding your showroom; Be the #1 choice in your market – Part I”, I described what is a brand?; the benefits of becoming a brand name showroom; are you the branded plumbing showroom of choice in your market?; building the rapport and the brand promise; and the fundamental commandments of branding. If you missed the article and cannot find your copy, go on www.thewholesaler.com and click on the “archives” to the May 2011 showroom column.
I would highly advise that you share this article with your showroom managers, as well as the executives and management team of your entire company.
For 25 years, I’ve been quietly consulting with high-end luxury bath/plumbing and kitchen product manufacturers in helping them take their products to the market place. This includes orchestrating everything from “soup to nuts,” including price market matrix, sales reps, showrooms, marketing and public relations. This also includes how to become the brand of choice.
What is a brand?
A brand represents the sum of all experiences over time between an individual and a company, product or services. A brand represents an expectation, a level of quality and a measure of trust. It’s more than a “logo.” Products occupy a space on a shelf; brands occupy a space in your mind. Most of us are acutely aware of the concepts of branding. It surrounds and influences our decisions every day.
Branding has now become a common term used in your marketing. Branding is essentially burning your company (showroom) or website name or slogan into the minds of potential customers. I am sure that every established manufacturer can identify the top branded showroom in every area of the U.S.
I would also suggest that each of us is a brand. Not in the context of a Kohler product, but in an attitudinal frame of mind. How each one of us positions ourselves within our individual showrooms — as well as the business community as a whole — dictates our future success. The same branding principles used in companies every day can be tailored to individuals who want to stand out from the crowd. If great brands are above relationships, then we have a great opportunity to brand ourselves.
The brand promise
FedEx is promising “peace of mind.” Southwest Airlines has been delivering “low fares” from the very beginning. McDonalds has gone back to “speed. What is the promise you’re making to your customers that both really matters to them and makes you different from your competitors? Would it be obvious if I went to your website or looked at your marketing materials? This Brand Promise decision is at the heart of an effective strategy to differentiate your firm from the competition. And your devotion to delivering on the promise must be maniacal and complete or the promise becomes an empty slogan.
What is a brand promise and how is it used in a plumbing wholesaler showrooms?
A brand promise is the statement that you make to customers that identifies what they should expect for all interactions with your people, products, services and company. It is often associated with the company name and/or logo.
Sometimes also called a “tag line,” here are three examples of brand promises following a name or brand so you can get the picture.
For the plumbing wholesalers and retailers with showrooms:
• Ferguson Enterprises — “Nobody expects more from us than we do”
• Klaff’s Showrooms — “There’s No Other Store in the World like Klaff’s”
• Morrison Supply — “Quality Products, Exceptional Services”
• Crawford Supply — “Smart Solutions.”
For plumbing fixture and faucet manufacturers:
• Kohler Company — “Living on the leading edge of design and technology. A single level of quality regardless of price”
• Rohl LLC — “Authentic Luxury for Kitchen and Bath”
• Delta Faucets — “See What Delta can do.”
Other examples:
• For ABC Heating and Air — “We’re not comfortable until you are.”
• For Dave’s Tire Company — “More than tires, we deliver peace of mind.”
• For Carl’s Steak House — “Our food is the best, but the memories we help you create are even better.”
Got the picture? It does not matter your company size. A one location showroom can become the “brand” of choice in your market!
Building the rapport and the branded promise
I have said in many times in my showroom columns, which I tend to repeat — intentionally, so it will stick — that building customer rapport is one of the most important parts of the sales process when it comes to luxury bath and plumbing products. Customers buy people first. Customers want to build a personal (one-on-one) relationship with an individual — not necessarily the company brand by itself. I agree that we all represent our company’s brand, but genuine long-lasting relationships are driven at the individual level.
The reason for the customer to believe (or not believe) is how well sales, marketing and customer services professionals position themselves in the eyes of their customers. Next is how well they deliver on their personal brand promise. Please do not confuse this when selling a consumer a towel bar versus working with a professional trade (repeat) or a consumer who has one or more complete baths or complete custom home. This is where they want your valuable time.
Are you the branded showroom of choice in your market?
While generic colas or even Pepsi-Cola may win blind taste tests over Coca Cola, the fact is that more people buy Coke than any other cola. Most importantly, they enjoy “the experience” of buying and drinking Coca Cola. They prefer the fond memories of childhood and refreshment over a little better cola taste. It is the emotional relationship with brands that make them so powerful. Let’s face it, nobody asks for a “Curaid,” people ask for a “Band-Aid.” Most people ask for “Kleenex,” not a facial tissue. What is “the experience” of your showroom brand?
The fundamental commandments of branding are:
• Unique/differentiated — Stand out from the crowd. What can you do in 2008 to separate your showroom from the pack of the lower-end that is bridging the gap toward luxury? Remember to think “out of the box!”
• Relevant — Do you stand out in a way that is meaningful to your customers? Is it what you think the Baby Boomers and Generation X-er’s need/want, or what they really “desire” or “expect”?
• Credible/believable — Be able to tell your showroom story in a convincing manner and consistently deliver on your brand promise. The selection and ordering process, shipping on time, and the aftercare (the personal thank you note) at the end of the process.
• Esteemed — Am I am running my business life in a way that builds respect and trust? I have always believed that people and their human behavior (esteem/skills) are the showrooms greatest assets. This is why I am constantly honing my own skills to be a more effective showroom and industry educator.
• Knowledge — Be knowledgeable about your company, customers, competition and industry. Do the customers that you serve know what you do? Are you wholesale only, do you sell retail, do you offer installation? Most new customers who walk into your showroom don’t know what your showroom offers.
How does one properly position oneself?
It first starts with the right attitude. Attitude determines altitude — how high you can soar. See the September 2006 column on the www.thewholesaler.com in the archives if you need a “check up from the neck up.” No personal brand can ever maximize its true potential without the right attitude. Next is research that you do yourself.
First, you need to differentiate yourself in three places:
• Within your company
• Within your industry
• Within your targeted audiences.
You do this by gaining insight into the desires and wants of your target audiences. You learn what is important to them. Positioning in branding is focusing on your skills collectively. You cannot be everything to everyone.
How is your showroom doing in these challenging economic times?
I wrote a comprehensive article in the January 2008 issue, which you can find on www.thewholesaler.com in the archives. The article listed 33 things you can do in 2008 to increase your sales, profits and market share in these strenuous economic times. Many are out of the box ideas that it are being done by numerous showrooms in 2011. Some things are just “core value” driven services. Go back and check it out on what uniqueness that you can offer and see how you can incorporate it into your brand message.
For example, offering Outcall Service to those who want to cosmetically fix up their bathrooms by sending three trade partners to go out to their house and take pertinent measurements. These trade partners will then share that information with you so you can help them select the products that will fit. Perhaps charge a small hourly showroom fee refundable against the purchase of the products from your showroom.
Some ideas may be costly or do not fit into your existing models, yet I am sure that your creativity is flowing. You should then have a brainstorming meeting with your management to determine what fits the company’s brand and create a better experience. You will positively be amazed of the increase of sales and gross profit dollars.
Peter Schor, president of Dynamic Results Inc, is a bath/plumbing industry speaker, educator, author, columnist and consultant in the many segments of our industry. For the past 20 years, he conducted seminars and speaks at numerous conventions. Schor has great expertise in the field of showrooms and hotel bathrooms and has won many industry awards. He also consults manufacturers in taking their products to market in the areas of sales, marketing and public relations. Schor can be reached at 1302 Longhorn Lane, Lincoln, CA. 95648, phone 916/408-5346, fax: 916/408-5899. e-mail pschor@dynamicresultsinc.com or visit his web site: www.dynamicresultsonline.com.