Big Splash, Little Cash Marketing for Showrooms
Showrooms spend big bucks to attract big name designers.
They don’t have to.
Here are affordable methods and cost saving concepts showrooms can use to get design professionals in the door and coming back for more:
1/ Make a Plan A showroom without one is alike a ship without a rudder. Spell out your sales goals, your target market, and your top five marketing strategies.
2/ Make Up Your Mind Decide and stick to a policy regarding whether youll open your showroom to the public. Communicate your policy to your designer clients
3/ WMYD / Only Determine five things that make your showroom different. Determine five things that only your showroom offers. Include that information in your marketing materials.
4/ Get Focused Hold a customer appreciation dinner for 5-6 of your top designer clients. Seek their advice on how to attract and build lasting relationships with more high end designers.
5/ Questions from Hell Compile a list of the most common and difficult questions experienced designers ask about your showroom. Create a cheat sheet of responses.
6/ Free Publicity Tap into the best advertising showrooms cant buy by submitting news releases & articles to key publications about whats new and hot at your showroom.
7/ Become a Resource Offer a Designer Business Library. Make available tapes of your educational seminars, along with books on how designers can increase their business.
8/ Bottom Line Events Offer programs on how high end designers can boost sales, increase fees, overcome price objections, get published, write better contracts, etc.
9/ Wall of Fame Solicit testimonial letters from your top designer clients, and post the best ones on the wall of your showroom. Include others in a brag book.
10/ Reach for the Stars Invite your areas top designers to present programs at your showroom. Their involvement could be a big draw for other designers in your area.
11/ Attitude of Gratitude Poor staff attitudes and erratic hours in showrooms keep high end designers. Commit to better customer service and a more regular schedule.
12/ Sell Yourself! Promote yourself as well at your centers at networking events, in trade publications, etc. The most important sale youll ever make is the personal sale.