technology


Friday, June 24th, 2011

The Power of eCommerce When Selling to the Hot Buyers

Do you have a successful business and want to ensure its future success? How secure are you right now? Maybe you think your brick and mortar store is all you need. Think again. Times are changing and you’ve got to follow the trends of today to survive in tomorrow’s marketplace.

Many retailers are changing their eCommerce selling strategies to entice today’s key purchasers: the ‘Under 45s’, Generation X and Y (a.k.a. the Millennials). Keep reading as we outline the top features required in order for your eCommerce solution to gain the attention of the Generation X and Y buyers, while also being a revenue generator. This article provides insight as to how you can increase selling power and market to the younger generations with your online presence.

Sure, you have a website, but are you selling online? If you are not, you are missing out and here’s why. The younger generations have the buying power now and the first place they usually look, before even stepping foot into a store, is on the Web. Technology is a part of their daily lives; it defines these generations. Without an online retail presence, you’re losing valuable customers.

The Importance of a Retail Website is Not to be Ignored
Rich Mitton, director of IT, at Mathis Brothers Furniture recently stated, “There are many customers, especially those in California, who don’t necessarily want to drive to a store. They prefer buying from our site. If they have visited one of our stores, had the Mathis Brothers’ experience and purchased furniture, then they are even more comfortable adding those extra pieces by just buying them online. eCommerce has been a great improvement to our overall business. It’s an evolution.”

Today, it’s so easy to search for a company, business, retail store, etc. on the web and find exactly what you are looking for quickly. The competition is out there creating a brand and making a name for themselves, and making money doing it.

A television commercial for Verizon that is currently running in the New York tri-state area features a local retailer who searches for her company name on the Web and is surprised to find that it’s not listed. This is because she doesn’t have a website or any other presence on the Internet. The Verizon rep tells her, “If you don’t have a website, you’re basically invisible.” He then shows her how to create a small business website to promote her business. In the end the setup was easy, and she is happily branding her retail business via the Web.

Who are the Hot Buyers?
Take a look into the lives of your hot buyers; the statistics may surprise you.
Generation X makes up 75 percent the size of the Baby Boom generation, and just 68 percent the size of Generation Y, according to the Retail & Consumer Insights report. Born 1966-1976, they are entering their peak earning years. This generation is highly-educated and uses caution when purchasing. They are spending money on big ticket items for their children entering college.

They are buying practical products, such as home improvement equipment, furnishings, children’s needs, sports and leisure items.

Generation Y, also known as the Millennials, or the Echo Boomers, are the largest generation compared with the Baby Boomers and Generation X. Born 1977-1994, they are 120 percent the size of the Baby Boom generation, and 170 percent of Generation X. They make up 85 million of the country’s population (Retail & Consumer Insights). This generation was born into technology and image matters to them. They are the primary influencers of all generations because they have information at their fingertips via mobile phones, iPads, YouTube, etc. Constant technological advances are normal to these generations. They are always ready to seize the next big item, the latest trends and to make an upgrade.

Why Do They Buy?
Retailers should understand the needs of their consumers and adapt to each of the different generations. Know how to target these consumers and gain their trust. While the Baby Boomer generation responds to newspaper, radio, print, and TV ads, Generations X & Y respond to mobile technology and social media.

Generation X wants you to help them, not sell them. They are looking to gain more for their money. If you provide evidence as to why your product will benefit them more than your competitor’s and prove it, they will buy. Post testimonials of your products online. These buyers like to research first. The more information you have online, the better the opportunity for you to make sales. Turn your website into a retail atmosphere. Offer easy access to your products and services.

Generation Y consumers are connected to technology. They shop together in groups. They respond to word of mouth. You have to go where they are: Facebook, Twitter, mobile, school, etc. They care about communities. Be a part of their lifestyle. Build loyalty. Enable customers to use their mobile phones to obtain information on a product, download coupons, discounts, etc.

Come on and Get Social
Facebook, Twitter, YouTube—it’s the Social Network, so get on board. You have to embrace the trends and go where the buyers of today are spending their time. According to www.laptopmag.com, Twitter has gained over 190 million users since its inception in 2006. The average Facebook user has 130 friends, and there are more than 500 million active users today. The average user is connected to 80 community pages, groups, and events. Imagine what kind of marketing impact this can have for your website and your brand.

Create website appeal by making it easy for them to click and buy. Performance matters when it comes to your website. Make your site easy to manage and browse. Become interactive by adding virtual screen options, such as a room planner where one can select a product and preview it in a room for size, color and style. Enable customers to “check-in” with Facebook Places through their mobile phones and reward them for “advertising” your company. Their network of friends can instantly see the places they’ve checked into, triggering more potential customers to notice your brand and strike an interest in visiting your store.
Start a following on Twitter with tweets that grab the consumer’s attention. Twitter runs in real-time, so your response is instantaneous. Offer a one day sale and highlight deals in your tweets. Focus on your local community of followers. You can offer specials to those who follow you on Twitter and in turn, convince them to buy online or in the store.

Keep them engaged and coming back. Give them coupons; offer discounts for referring or sharing with a friend, or donate a portion of their purchase to charity. Create loyalty programs so that they return and invite their friends to shop your store. Social media is huge for advertising in retail.

Post Pricing on Your Products
It’s an instant turn-off to buyers if you don’t have price tags for your products on your website. You are automatically running the risk of losing the potential buyer’s trust. What do you have to hide? Your competitors are listing price tags. If your products are expensive, but well worth the quality, give them the opportunity to shop. If you prove your quality and offer the essential reasons they should purchase your products, young consumers will buy.

“eCommerce was a big move for us because we’ve always been so guarded in protecting our retail pricing. Ironically enough, we found out that people don’t like to look at websites without pricing. So we had to look at the hard facts and make a change for our customers. The younger generations (X & Y) are shopping online and that’s how it’s going to be in the future,” stated Nestor Reyes, Director of IT at City Mattress.

Why is My Website Important to Them?
Consumers feel secure with your business when they can find you on the web. Having a website places your business a step above the competition. Offering the option to buy online makes life easier, and saves the shopper time.

Reyes continues, “Having an online store is a lot less expensive than opening an actual retail store location. It’s a great compliment to our store network because people like to research online first. Then they will come to our store with papers in hand ready to purchase. It also makes it easy to manage products. In store, we update our pricing and it populates directly into our website. We don’t have to update pricing in separate locations. It’s the wave of the future.”
Other smart retailers have jumped on board the eCommerce platform because they know that it can only increase their branding, sales and staying power. The Consumer Behavior Report of Online Purchasing Trends by Generation reported that 69 percent of consumers purchase online as much as they do in store. Also noted, 96 percent of online consumers are confident that the site is safe and secure for purchasing. If your website is suspicious, slow, or quirky, they won’t buy. Web performance can be a killer. If your online retail site is not up to speed, Gen X & Y are not going to stay. They want it to be easy and fast. They are multi-taskers.

Top 100 retailer American Furniture Warehouse has been an innovator with their eCommerce website. They understand that reaching out to the key buyers is important, and they’ve created a website that is consumer friendly. “We’ve been using an eCommerce platform for years. It’s nice to have real-time inventory and order information on our website, and it’s seamless to our store operations. Online sales are really growing for us as we’re projecting record sales online this year,” confirmed Jake Jabs, owner of American Furniture Warehouse.

Why My Website is Important to Them

  • 18 percent of traditional TV campaigns generate a positive ROI
  • 90 percent skip commercials via TiVo or DVR
  • 78 percent consumers trust peer recommendations
  • 14 percent trust ads

The Future is Now
What’s next is already here. Interactive displays in store and online are sweeping the consumers off their feet. This technology offers the ability to use touch screens to find products, view them room by room, share the look with family or friends, and even check into the store online for a coupon.

Are you convinced yet? Sure you’d like to keep marketing to the Baby Boom Generation. They respond to TV commercials, newspaper and print ads. But the up-and-coming buyers do not. They skip TV commercials on recorded shows, using TiVo and DVR technology. They view content on iPhones, iPads, and the web. Gen X is emailing and instant messaging, while Gen Y is texting, blogging, tweeting and so on… The best way to succeed is to stay at the forefront of technology, by connecting and interacting with these active buyers.

Michelle Beres Skyta has over 10 years of industry experience with Advertising and PR. She has been with STORIS Management Systems, a leading retail software solutions and services provider for Big Ticket retailers, for the past five years. Currently, a Marketing Communications Specialist, Michelle is a Millennial embracing new technology and social advancements. She holds a degree in Mass Communications and Media from Ramapo College of New Jersey. For additional information please contact Michelle at (888) 478-6747 x286 or mlb@storis.com.

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Wednesday, June 22nd, 2011

Incorporating Technology into Your Showroom Design

You walk into a showroom and a digital sign welcomes you with an interactive map of the store and information about the current promotion. You click on the map and are directed to the dining room displays. As you move into the formal dining room an electric fireplace lights up and images of candlelight appear on the walls, giving the room the soft glow of an elegant dinner party. In the home office area, financial news streams across a ticker, interspersed with the latest product and sale information. In the casual dining area, images of freshly-baked pastries and fresh fruit appear on the walls, evoking a feeling of that perfect family brunch. Touch-screen panels invite you to click for more information and send a signal to the sales desk that a sales associate is needed for assistance.

This interactive, visually dynamic and creative showroom is a little bit of theater, a little bit of merchandising and a lot of technology combined into a customer experience that engages, entertains, educates and sells.

Customers want a great shopping experience, and new research from the Retail Council of Canada shows that several key elements — engagement, product knowledge and brand experience (exciting displays and atmosphere) — are at the heart of how customers define their ultimate shopping experience. Without adding a lot of staff, however, can a furniture showroom provide these elements? Yes, by designing technology into the showroom.

When designing a showroom, most of us think of the physical layout, wall placement, lighting and where to place the customer service desk. If technology is considered, it’s usually no more than a list of how many computers we need and where they belong. When planning a customer-centric showroom, however, it’s critical to keep technology in the forefront. With a little creativity and planning, technology can be used to increase visual impact, establish ambiance and keep your showroom fresh and exciting while building brand and store loyalty.

Set the Stage and the Mood

Customers buy furniture when they feel an emotional attachment to an item, or when they can imagine that sofa, wall unit or chair being part of special times in their homes. Use technology to help create these feelings by setting the mood and creating ambiance. Keep using your wide-screen televisions for display, but consider changing what you show. Instead of the latest action film, match the movie to the style of the furniture. A black and white silent movie is a great way to add old-fashioned ambiance to a traditional leather room setting. (Silent movies also eliminate the loud volumes that can be distracting for some customers and for your sales team.)

If a wide-screen TV doesn’t fit the décor, use flat-panel screens, which can be hung on virtually any wall in the store. Loop the latest cooking show in your casual dining area. Have an old-fashioned love story from the 20s or 30s (think Casablanca) playing in the bedroom area with the sound turned down. Show muted images of stars and clouds in a sleep center.

Warm up your dining area by projecting images of lit candles onto a simple screen made from wax paper. The wax paper softens and diffuses the light, creating background interest and ambiance. The dance of the candles’ fire will catch the customer’s eye, yet it won’t distract from the furniture. In the bar area, use flat-panel screens to show wine being poured, glasses raised in a toast or other animated images to help set the tone of “good friends, good times”. All of these techniques help create an emotional attachment to your products and emotions sell.

Help set the mood and you’re a lot closer to making the sale.

Uptick the Level of Interest in Your Home Office Area

Create interest in the home office area by streaming Wall Street news or stock prices on a ticker. There are companies that specialize in customizing the news stream (see TickerTech.com for their line of customizable tickers) so you can also include promotions, company news and other information. (Use the same technology to stream sports scores in your home entertainment area.)

When it comes to engaging customers in a home-office environment, prop electronics just don’t cut it. Replace the fakes with real computers and wide-screen monitors. Invite the customer to log on to learn more about the configurations available in that setting. By encouraging your customer to sit at the desk and “play” on the computer, they’re actively engaged in the product experience and engagement helps make the sale.

Pique their interest. Engage them. Let them play. Use technology to draw them in then use it to educate — and sell.

Use Digital Signage to Inform and Educate

The old days of paper POP, product signs and the weekly ad pinned to a poster frame are gone, replaced by digital signs and interactive media used to inform and educate customers. This fast-growing segment of retail media allows you to relay product, store and brand messages specifically targeted at different customers in different areas of the store — at different times of the day. You may choose to have a digital ad promoting the latest bedroom line or product features, while simultaneously airing a recliner promotion in another part of the store.

But don’t stop with promotions — use digital signage to educate your customer on product features and benefits. Better yet, incorporate touch-screen technology that allows the customer to choose from a menu of information, from special-order options to the latest payment plan.

Kiosks — Silent Salespeople

Kiosks are great “silent salespeople” and should be prominently and conveniently placed throughout your showroom. Have a good web designer build you some interactive Flash-based modules to give your customers access to product information, room-planning tools or interior design tips. Interactive is the key here!

Conveniently placed kiosks can help make special order transactions easier by allowing the customer to search for more product information or search for trim and finish options. In fact, kiosks can be used for almost any form of communication from advertising messages to requests for assistance or information on a delivery date and time.

Take the Pain out of Accessorizing

Walking a customer all over the store to pick out accessories is likely to result in tired feet (yours and theirs) and lost sales. Once a customer has chosen their primary furniture pieces, lead them to a conveniently-located kiosk to surf your accessories offering via a website or intranet. Make sure you include images of the accessories used in numerous settings so your customer can visualize the final effect. Build your accessories site with a “wish list” feature so customers can tag the items they like while they surf through their options. (This is also a good way to build future business. Your sales team can use the wish list to let customers know when their favorites are on sale, or when you receive a shipment of new accessories that fits the customer’s style and budget.) You may even want to create an “Accessories Register” so friends and family can pick out a piece for a housewarming or anniversary gift.

Use Automatic Sensors to Spotlight Products

Automatic lighting sensors, easily installed in walls, can turn on spotlights or lamps when a customer walks into a vignette. Strategically-placed spots can help you focus the customer’s attention on a given product setting, and the sensors allow you to keep your energy costs in line because the lights can be turned off once the customer leaves the room setting. Sensors can also be used to turn music on or off when a customer leaves an area.

Putting it All Together

Today’s customers are tech-savvy and easily bored. The creative use of technology in your showroom can turn your store into an experience that entertains and engages the customer. Whether you use computer-generated images to create ambiance in a room or the latest in digital signage and touch-screen technology to educate your customer about products or promotions, technology should be one of the first things you consider when planning your showroom or store layout. Make sure you have a comprehensive plan that encompasses visual imaging, digital signage, Internet-based music and an interactive website. Bring the IT team into the very beginning of the design stages so they can understand your vision and help you plan for the technology that will take your store, and your sales, profitably into the future.

Create visual impact. Engage your customers. Let them play and educate them at the same time. Set the mood. Sell more product. It’s all possible through the creative use of technology.

Pat Ferrell is a consultant specializing in merchandising and marketing for Profitability Consulting Group. Combining an extensive background in furniture merchandising with experience as a corporate trainer and college instructor, she is extremely effective at helping her clients address today’s merchandising and marketing challenges and in coaching others to maximize performance.

Pat’s career in retailing includes over 15 years of merchandising as a senior buyer in case goods, bedding and upholstery for several major retailers, including 11 years with federated department stores. Visit Profitability Consulting Group’s website at www.profitabilityconsulting.com or call (801) 763-7663.

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Wednesday, June 22nd, 2011

Technology — The Future of Design Centers

In an uncertain retail climate, today’s design center can be a major source of profitability. This is a major opportunity to attract tech savvy consumers with disposable income who want to be sure, before they invest, that their decisions will be right the first time.

The tech savvy consumer wants and expects the bells and whistles they know exist online from an industry that professes to sell “fashion and design.” If you give consumers the necessary means to visualize their home environment as it could be in an environment that is stimulating and creative — you will win their loyalty.

The Buying Experience

Experience is best described as something that you “go or live through.” Most can be described as either good or bad. If the experience is fun and exciting, chances are you will want to do it again and will rave about it to your friends. But if it was a bad one — well, think about your first roller-coaster ride, it either thrilled or petrified you. Now equate this to the furniture buying experience — do your customers return weekend after weekend to have fun and see what’s new? Do they recommend your store to their friends?

Leslie Carothers, from the retail consulting group Kaleidoscope Partnership, said, “Having a beautiful home creates a sense of inner harmony — something that is sorely needed in our world today. Being able to take the stress out of the furniture buying experience by being able to visualize options in an environment that is friendly, creative and comfortable is very important for today’s consumers. They will purchase when they know that they’ve reviewed all of their choices and have made the best decision possible for themselves and their families. This peace of mind is key to their purchasing decision. Anything that technology offers that can enhance their sense that they’re making the right decision is critical for retailers to offer to today’s consumer.”

By creating a useful design center, you can create a great buying experience for your customers — one that they will want to share with their friends.

A Successful Design Center
The design center concept is certainly not new. Ethan Allen refers to theirs as “Design Centers” and Thomasville bills theirs as “Idea Centers.” There are many unique variations but whatever the name is, a well-appointed design center is your opportunity to entice customers to shop in your store and not your competitor’s.

Your design center should be your signature or fingerprint of uniqueness. Staff it with your best employees and make it a place that they aspire to work in. It should reflect your design mission and special abilities. It should be inviting but private, comfortable and efficient. Most of all, it should be inspiring. A haven where guests can view samples and catalogs, work with your designers while using visual tools to make confident design decisions and place orders. They can see it, visualize it and buy it — all while having an enjoyable and personalized experience tailored just for them.

Design centers can, and should be, a very important aspect of your retail business.

In addition to promoting your design center in your advertising, you should promote it on your website. Make sure your website entices your customers to come into your design center. Get your customers excited about the sensory experience an in-store visit will bring to them. By creating a professional, personalized design destination for your customers, you can help them unlock their dreams and drive sales.

It’s All About Their Experience
It’s not about us — it’s about them. We hear it repeatedly but we often don’t listen.

That elusive customer is out there waiting to visit your place of business and give you a chance to earn their business.

But why should they visit your store? What makes your store different? After visiting three to four traditional furniture stores, many customers feel confused and tired as they all tend to look similar. It seems everyone is selling furniture these days; customers can shop for veggies and furniture at their local grocer or big-box store, or shop from the comfort of their own home, ordering from catalogs and websites. It’s no wonder the industry is worried.

With a multitude of design decisions to be made, having a beautiful, comfortable and inspiring design center with professional guidance available is one way that your store can become a preferred destination once more. Your customers will return again and again because they enjoy the experience, and the once daunting task of shopping for furniture becomes easy and fun.

Inspiration
Design centers are a source for styles, colors and trends. The physical design and materials used in your design center should be state-of-the-art and reflect the image that your store wishes to portray.

To inspire your customers, your design center must have:

  • A technology hub containing a wall-mounted LCD Screen (bigger is better) and a computer connected to the Internet.
  • Proper lighting to view fabrics, paints and finishes.
  • A comfortable “idea-generating” seating area.
  • Shelter magazines, catalogs and books.
  • Spare magazines or books for clipping and copying.
  • Visual, hands-on magnetic planners and sketch pads to create accurate room plans.
  • Design assistance available to help organize or copy ideas, folders to save projects, notepads, etc.
  • Design seminars and educational events to encourage conversation, sharing and a sense of community.

Knowledge is Key
For anyone contemplating large purchases, Internet research has quickly become the first step. Although they cannot touch items via the Internet, consumers have immediate access to mountains of relevant product information and resources. Your staff must be educated and more knowledgeable than your customers regarding what’s available on your website — otherwise customers will not see the added value of your “personalized” service. Product information in the way of specifications, manufacturing processes, warranties and safety information should be right at the tip of your consultant’s tongue.

Design Technology
Your technology hub should be the focal point of your modern design center. The wall-mounted LCD screen connected to the computer can be used to display product images and information, room planning software, fabric draping technology and the latest technology — software that lets your customers create virtual three dimensional views of their room. With these technologies your customer can no longer say to your design consultant, “But, I don’t know what it’s going to look like in my room.”

By visually guiding your customer’s selection process, answering questions, helping them through the process and creating a strong relationship, your customer will realize the value of working with a trained and knowledgeable design person.

“When you are selling as a retail sales consultant, it’s very tough for consumers to visualize what their whole room will look like. The sales consultant’s special gift is the ability to visualize in three dimensions. Most consumers don’t have that ability… by utilizing the new technology that is available you’re actually putting the consumer on an equal playing field. The consumer will feel more in control of the sales process and be able to make a more informed, educated decision,” said Carothers. “In addition, your customers will be willing to spend more money at one time and with less negotiating because they can actually visualize the final product and realize the enhanced value that the creativity of the design consultant brings to the process.”

The main benefits of showcasing your design abilities within a technologically enhanced design center format are:

  • An increase in average sale.
  • Increased productivity per employee.
  • Lower return rates and increased margins.
  • The ability to differentiate your store from your competitors.
  • When your potential customers become aware of your store’s ability to offer them these services in this type of environment, watch your consultants get excited and your sales explode.

The Final Presentation and Closing the Sale
Now that the space planning is completed and the furniture has been selected, it’s time to put it all together in a clear, concise manner. Today’s consumer wants to spend money but they want to do it right the first time. If the customer has any uncertainty, the deal may fall through or get delayed.

The presentation is really just a step-by-step explanation of the many design decisions the customer has made up to this point. Previously “storyboards” were used to finalize the design phase, and its explanation would begin something like, “this fabric, on this sofa, with this trim,” which would often lead to your customer being confused or overwhelmed.

Today, by using technology for space planning, fabric application and 3D virtual walk-throughs, the possible confusion can be eliminated.

To finalize the experience, consumers should be presented a personalized design report listing every possible detail in their project. If further changes are required, it’s easier to complete it at this point than after the delivery. Your next question will be, “When do you want it delivered?”

The benefits of having a technologically up-to-date design center are many. The tools are all available — it’s now up to you to use them and position your store for your customer’s excitement and your sustainable success!

Donna and Ross Barlett, co-founders of ViewIT Technologies Inc. and creators of “The Board” magnetic room planners, have used their combined 45 years of experience in the furniture industry to design and develop a series of interactive sales tools to enhance the consumer experience. In touch with the evolution of technology,  they developed and recently introduced www.3dream.net, an “online” virtual design tool.

Interview excerpts from Leslie Carothers, Principal, The Kaleidoscope Partnership — specializing in creative design sales training, coaching and strategic consulting for retailers and manufacturers.

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