Marketing your furniture store is an important part of driving sales. However, many retailers are intimidated by furniture marketing ideas because there are so many different ways to do it and so many different moving parts. Furniture store advertising doesn’t have to be an obstacle for you, no matter whether your business is large or small. Here are 5 effective ways to improve your furniture store marketing.
1. Update Your Website
Most people will research a company online before they shop in-store. This means that it’s more important than ever for your furniture ecommerce website to be attractive, optimized, and user-friendly. If your website is older and lacks good functionality, consider giving it a facelift. Clean, fresh colors and intuitive designs appeal to users and help them use your website easily. Tools like augmented reality or 3D technology can help you display your furniture to customers online. Digital renderings give them the option to explore your products and augmented reality gives them the ability to see how those products would look in their own environment.
2. Create a Comprehensive Marketing Strategy
Every good marketing strategy covers all the bases. It leaves no stone unturned and no avenue left unexplored. To create a comprehensive marketing strategy, you must attack from every angle.
Traditional Marketing
Traditional outlets like print, radio, and television have always been the go-to for furniture store marketing. Although many industries are moving away from these types of marketing, it still makes sense to put at least a little ad budget into them. Not everyone is online yet, and you don’t want to isolate older generations of customers. Don’t put all your eggs in this basket though — digital marketing is where your ad spend should be the highest.
Digital Marketing
In the “Age of Amazon,” marketing digitally is a must. Online furniture store marketing simply isn’t a take-it-or-leave-it form of marketing. If you’re not marketing digitally, you’re losing sales. Full stop. Furniture retailers looking to increase online traffic need to find seo services to bring local traffic and ppc services to expand their reach fast.
There are a lot of ways that digital marketing for furniture stores can be done. Some of the basics include search engine optimization, pay per click ads, rich content, social media marketing, podcasting, videos, and more. It’s important that you work with a seasoned marketing agency that can help you utilize all of your marketing assets — both digital and traditional — to their fullest potential. Both types of marketing should work together to drive online and in-store sales.
3. Engage Your Audience Where They Are
One of the most important keys of furniture store marketing is identifying your audience and engaging them where they are. You need to be able to reach out to them instead of trying to get them to reach you — because most likely, they won’t. Not on their own.
Who Is Your Audience?
The first thing you must do is discover who your target market is. Who is your audience? What age group do they fall in? Where do they live and how much money do they make every year? What are their hobbies and what are their pain points? Understanding what drives them helps you to better relate to them and in turn, helps you develop more targeted marketing campaigns.
Using Social Media to Your Advantage
Social media is one of the most powerful marketing tools available today. However, it’s important to find out what channels your target market is on. Does your furniture store sell trendy items but you’re not posting pictures of your products on Instagram? You may be missing the Millennial market. Do you sell classic or traditional furniture and housewares? You may want to target your audience on Facebook or Pinterest. Find out where the people most likely to buy from you are. Then, go meet them there.
4. Keep Your Customers Coming Back
Customer retention is critical for furniture store marketing. The cost of acquiring new customers far exceeds keeping current customers, so it’s important to keep your customers engaged with your brand. Don’t market only to potential customers. Make an effort to market to your current customers to nurture them and make them feel good about their purchases. When your customers feel supported, they will continue to be faithful to your brand. And that means more sales in the future.
5. Give Your Sales Team Good Training
When your furniture store marketing efforts begin to work, it’s important that your sales team knows how to close the deal. The leads coming in only matter if they convert to sales. That means your sales team needs adequate training to help potential customers through their buying journey. That means educating your sales team about your products so they can, in turn, educate the customer and answer their questions. It also means giving your sales team the tools they need to demonstrate the benefits of your products over your competitors. This can be in the form of brochures, demonstrations, or hands-on comparisons. Ask your sales team what they feel they need to make a better impression on the potential customers coming through the door.
Also, don’t forget to give your phone representatives training too. Your sales team should also be able to effectively close a deal on the phone. Your customer service representatives should be able to troubleshoot problems and resolve customer issues in a positive manner. While not directly related to marketing, it’s critical that when your marketing efforts bring people in the door that you’re not pushing them right back out.
What Does Good Furniture Store Marketing Do for Your Business?
While different types of furniture go in and out of style, good marketing will always be in style. Creating a brand image and getting your mission and your story out there to people who are likely to buy from you is the start of creating a solid customer base. Marketing is a never-ending process and it should continually be refined. Review analytics and find out what works and what doesn’t work. Put your ad dollars into marketing tactics that have proven effective for you and keep optimizing your campaigns. Listen to the feedback of customers and potential customers. Listen to the feedback of your sales and customer service representatives. Keep looking for ways to improve your marketing and the service you provide to your community.
When you do this, you cultivate a strong brand and set your business up for growth year over year. For questions about the different tools you can use to up your furniture marketing game, contact us today. We can help you discover exactly what your business needs to create effective marketing campaigns.
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