Identify customer tastes and preferences to develop a winning advertising strategy.
Use strategy and creativity to maximize advertising for furniture to make your retail location the one customers prefer. Develop advertising that highlights special services and takes advantage of key buying seasons like Thanksgiving and Christmas. Use promotions, discounts and incentives to generate sales. Create furniture arrangements and displays that entice customers and help them visualize how your furniture is the perfect choice to reflect their preferences and tastes for their home or apartment.
Develop a Theme for Targeted Print Advertising
Reach furniture shoppers in magazines that focus on home improvement, decorating and real estate. Use these highly targeted media vehicles to promote discounts, specialties and services. For example, develop a print campaign to sell antique furniture for historic holidays like President's Day or Columbus Day. Decorate room settings with period artwork, flags and accessories that tie-in to the period.
"Be sure to use any low-cost advertising media available in the local community for marketing the antique furniture, such as free penny-saver classified ads," advises Entrepreneur magazine. If you provide free delivery or interior designer assistance, make sure that readers of your ad know about your service.
Let Customers Vote on Your Furniture Lines
Invite shoppers to select items to create a fully furnished room and offer discounts or furniture for the best design. Engage customers online by having them vote on items you're considering carrying and having sample pieces inside the store for them to view. Feature shopper recommended winning designs in your store windows.
Model Homes, Apartments and Makeovers
Develop relationships with homebuilders, apartment managers and real estate agents to showcase your furniture in model homes and apartments. Maximize the opportunity by providing business cards, flyers and brochures on kitchen counters and in various rooms. Offer a discount to all model home and apartment viewers that is not dependent on them buying a home or renting an apartment. However, you should develop special, higher discounts and incentives for those who do buy or rent to solidify your relationship with the homebuilders and apartment owners and managers. Extend this idea further by advertising a home makeover contest to model home and apartment visitors and customers on your website and inside your store with free furnishings as the prize.
Partnership and Sponsorship Advertising
Explore partnerships with those in the real estate, mortgage financing and media. Structure a program for real estate agents to provide a discount on furniture as a gift to homebuyers. Develop an incentive program with mortgage companies to provide a discount coupon for those who make timely mortgage payments. Talk to advertising directors at newspapers, radio and television stations about offering products for contests in exchange for free advertising. Offer free furniture to use to design the sets for local television talk shows in exchange for a "sponsored by" tag at the close of the show.
Relocation Specialists and Employee Incentives
Network with relocation specialists to advertise your furniture. New employees often have to replace or update furniture or start from scratch. Structure a program to provide the relocation specialist with a commission for each new customer that makes a purchase.
Contact human resources departments to implement an employee discount program. Discuss opportunities for employee incentives. For example, seek companies that have a sizeable sales team like a car dealership. Structure a program to provide the year's top seller with new living room, dining room or bedroom furniture as the prize for achieving the most sales.
Tags: real estate, home apartment, Structure program, your furniture, antique furniture