Clearview Midlands June 2014 - Issue 151 | Page 32

INDUSTRYNEWS Coming out of the economic downturn, under-investment in showrooms could be costing many installers their share of the recovery, says MIKE CREWDSON, Sales & Marketing Director of Emplas in this article for Clearview. IS YOUR SHOWROOM LETTING YOU DOWN? Ikea is great at getting you to buy stuff you don’t need and most probably struggle to pronounce, when the window industry often fails to get people to buy stuff that they probably do need. How do they do it? They don’t just sell products, they sell a ‘lifestyle’. And if you are wondering about the relevance of a Scandinavian revolution in soft furnishings to window retail showroom design – the fact is, very few people do showrooms better. Ikea may have claimed the flat-pack crown on the back of a perceived offer of ‘value’ but it is the showroom that has undoubtedly made its fortune. Ikea is great at getting you to buy additional ‘stuff’ that you never realised you wanted. The room it allocates to show space works actually pays for itself simply because it drives sales. The showroom sells dreams; relaxed dinner with friends; downtime with the family; home office space; a place to relax and get away from it all. We should be doing the same. I have not only many years in this industry, but also direct experience in the retail sector through T&K, Emplas’ retail arm. Only operating in Northamptonshire, while Emplas only supplies the trade outside it, the fabricator neatly avoids commercial conflict with its own customer base. What it gets is unparalleled insight into the retail market. The G12 Installer of the Year, T&K’s own showroom is, as you might expect, impressive. Attached to Emplas’ state-of-theart manufacturing hub, the Emplas team is true to our word, in that it is laid out to sell lifestyle – orangeries, sun rooms, bi-fold doors – furnished to reflect relaxed and contemporary living space. People still want to be able to touch and feel the product that they are going to buy. A brochure can go so far – but a showroom can really bring a product to life and help the consumer make the leap from passing interest to purchase. As part of what we believe is one of the industry’s most comprehensive customer support packages, Emplas provides a 32 JUN 2014 showroom surgery to our customers, reviewing positioning, products and approach, drawing on what works and what hasn’t worked for T&K, allowing Emplas customers to get their showroom product mix right and to avoid the cost of getting it wrong. Little things can make a huge difference. Providing a play area for kids – if they’re occupied, their parents will be more relaxed and you will have their attention. At Emplas we have the advantage of drawing on direct retail experience and passing that on to our customers. All this however, is just the tip of the iceberg. Showrooms don’t generate leads in isolation whether you’re ‘Joe Bloggs Windows’ or Ikea, you need a holistic approach, mobilising a broader marketing mix to direct traffic to the showroom floor and waiting sales teams. And this is where that retail expertise delivers real value to Emplas’ customer base. Everything that T&K does is made available to its customers from lead generation campaigns that really do produce good results, to over-printable brochures, leaflets, campaigns, open days, website and public relations support. Your showroom has to be visible, you need to advertise its existence, increasing visibility through advertising, flyers and promotional events or PR activity. You cannot expect a showroom to work on its own, you have to get your businesses name and location out and about. This extends to showroom launches and re-launches. T&Ks approach to the launch of its own showroom is successfully to combine charity partnerships and fundraising with strong local positioning and hard-nosed strategic lead generation. Integrating community partnership, radio and newspaper advertising campaigns, alongside direct mail, the approach has since been shared by Emplas within its own customer base as part of its customer support workshop programme. We are happy to share with our customers but some things work just too well to go public with them! With a little investment and used as part of a wider marketing mix, your showroom can play a fundamental part in your lead and conversion strategy. www.emplas.co.uk email [email protected] To read more, visit www.clearview-uk.com