Transcript File - Social4retail.com

Old Dog
New Tricks
Me
Me
Again
© 2012 Napier Marketing Group All Rights Reserved
Why is it
Why is it a man wakes up in the morning, after sleeping on his
advertised bed, on his advertised mattress in his advertised pajamas.
He will bathe in his advertised tub, shave with his advertised razor and
shaving cream, have breakfast with his advertised juice, cereal and
toast….toasted in his advertised toaster, put on advertised branded
clothes and quickly glance at his advertised watch. He will catch the
news on his new advertised flat screen that he purchased at a heavily
advertised store. He will ride to work in his advertised car, sit at his
advertised desk and write with his advertised pen or utilize his
advertised computer.
Yet it’s ironic that when he’s approached to advertise his business, he says advertising doesn’t
he’ll gladly advertise the sale and
liquidation of his business……why, so people will come and liquidate his assets.
pay…..until his business fails and then
Why is it
About The Presenter
• 30 Years in Consumer Product Marketing
– Promotion Agency Owner
• Numerous awards for best strategy, creative and tactics.
Engineered many package centered promotions including Patent
#5,571,358
• Partner – Napier Marketing Group, Inc.
• More information on LinkedIn
• 12 years in the Home Furnishing’s Industry
– CMO Ashley Furniture, LeatherTrend, Home Line Furniture & Napier
Marketing Group.
• Winner Gold Reggie - Best Promotion in North America from the
Promotional Marketing Association while at Ashley Furniture –
implemented the largest promotion ever in the HF Industry.
• Published many articles in NHFA Retailer, HFB and more
www.napiermkt.com
www.social4retail.com
Bill Napier
[email protected]
612-217-1297
© 2012 Napier Marketing Group All Rights Reserved
Join My Discussion on
Retail Marketing
A Quick Review of
Marketing Basics
© 2012 Napier Marketing Group All Rights Reserved
Advertising
The Paid For Communication Of A Product
Or Service That Communicates The Desired
Marketing Message Thereby Providing
Reasons For And Motivating The Consumer To
Respond In The Desired Manner.
FUNCTION
To Communicate A Positive Message To The
Consumer About Products And Services
Marketing
Marketing Is The Process Of Planning
And Executing All Of The Elements That
Bring A Product To Market Including
Packaging, Pricing, Advertising,
Promotion, Public Relations; In A
Manner That Satisfies The Perceived
Needs, Wants And Objectives Of The
Target Audience.
Public Relations
The Non-Paid-for Communication Of
Positive Information About The Company Or
Products. PR Messages Or Content Cannot
Be Controlled, But At Best Managed.
Honest, Proactive Reputation Management.
FUNCTION
To Communicate Information At No Media Cost To
The Company.
Promotion
Promotion Is The Act Of Providing A Specific Reason
For A Targeted Consumer To Make An
Immediate/Short Term Decision By The Retailer:
Desired Action
Promotion
Store Visit:
Buy Now:
Provide Name/Address:
Make a Return Visit:
Come in and register to win XXX
Buy X and get Y free
Sign up to win X
Get a coupon good on next
purchase
Promotional Messages Can Be Communicated Via A
Variety Of Mediums.
© 2012 Napier Marketing Group All Rights Reserved
Integrated Marketing
Today’s Consumer “Consume” Marketing (Brand)
Messages From A Wide Variety Of Channels (E.G. TV,
Cable/Satellite TV, Radio, Newspaper, Outdoor,
Internet, Magazines, Direct Mail, Telemarketing, Special
Events, Etc). It Is In The Best Interest Of The Retail
Community To Make Use Of Multiple Marketing
Communications Vehicles And
It Is Equally As Important To Insure The Messages
Conveyed On The Various Channels Are Coordinated
(Integrated) In Order For The Marketing Message To Be
Communicated Clearly And With Adequate Frequency.
Definitions & Terminology
© 2012 Napier Marketing Group All Rights Reserved
Integrated Marketing
What’s Missing ???
© 2012 Napier Marketing Group All Rights Reserved
Old Dog
New Tricks
Me
Me
Again
© 2012 Napier Marketing Group All Rights Reserved
If a retailer does not recognize the
changing dynamics of the consumer;
how they will shop and connect with
brands in the future, they will not
just be punished; they will be
punished with impunity.
2005
© 2012 Napier Marketing Group All Rights Reserved
The ability to learn faster
than your competitor may
be the only sustainable
competitive advantage
© 2012 Napier Marketing Group All Rights Reserved
In The 60’s It Was All About
PLASTICS
© 2012 Napier Marketing Group All Rights Reserved
Today & Beyond It’s All About
Being
Connected
© 2012 Napier Marketing Group All Rights Reserved
© 2012 Napier Marketing Group All Rights Reserved
The Internet Is The Change Agent
Then And Now
2000
46% Of Adults Use Internet
5% With Broadband At Home
50% Own A Cell Phone
0% Connect Wirelessly
<10% Use “Cloud”
0% = Tech Social Networkers
THEN: Slow, Stationary
Connections Built Around My
Computer
2010
79% Of Adults Use Internet
64% Have Broadband At Home
82% Own A Cell Phone
59% Connect Wirelessly
66% Use The “Cloud”
48% = Tech Social Networkers
NOW: Faster, Mobile Connections
Built Around Outside Servers And
Storage
June 24, 2010
18
To Reach 50,000,000 Users…
It Took:
Telephone - 38 years
Television - 13 years
Internet - 4 years
iPod - 3 years
Facebook - 2 years
© 2012 Napier Marketing Group All Rights Reserved
How We Are Connected
• The number of internet devices in 1984 was
1,000
• The number of internet devices in 1992 was
1,000,000
• The number of internet devices in 2008 was
1,000,000,000
• The number of internet devices in 2015 will be
15,000,000,000
© 2012 Napier Marketing Group All Rights Reserved
© 2012 Napier Marketing Group All Rights Reserved
© 2012 Napier Marketing Group All Rights Reserved
© 2012 Napier Marketing Group All Rights Reserved
Today
The Internet Has Changed Everything
In a recent survey, 72+% Of
women surveyed said they were
doing online research before
buying shampoo.
The Breck Girl is being replaced by
a “shopping bot”.
© 2012 Napier Marketing Group All Rights Reserved
Traditional Ways to Get “DEALS”
© 2012 Napier Marketing Group All Rights Reserved
The New Way
Click & Print FREE
© 2012 Napier Marketing Group All Rights Reserved
Let’s Get Visual
How
We Market
12 Items
How
We Can
WINOf
Home Furnishings In 30
The
Race
To
The
Seconds AND….
OR
Bottom With 99% Off
The Consumer is Supposed to
Retail
Retain This
Message ???
© 2012 Napier Marketing Group All Rights Reserved
Average Time
Consumers Spend “PER
DAY” With Major Media
“US adults now spend
more time on mobile
devices each day than
they do with print
media.”
Source: e-Marketer December 2011
© 2012 Napier Marketing Group All Rights Reserved
© 2012 Napier Marketing Group All Rights Reserved
© 2012 Napier Marketing Group All Rights Reserved
© 2012 Napier Marketing Group All Rights Reserved
For First Time In History, TV
Ownership Declines
A.C. Nielsen
November 2011
Video – Sharing Site Usage Over Time
2006-2011
Are You Streaming Video on Your Website?
© 2012 Napier Marketing Group All Rights Reserved
Visits To Online Video-sharing Sites By
Regions
© 2012 Napier Marketing Group All Rights Reserved
A Great Way To show off your store, share your brand
platform and more….without trying to cram it into a 30
second spot
Meanwhile
More Than 1,000,000,000,000
(One Trillion)
Playbacks On YouTube
This Year
(Yep, Count ‘Em, 12 Zeroes).
That’s About 140 Views For Every Person On The Earth. More
Than Twice As Many Stars As In The Milky Way.
© 2012 Napier Marketing Group All Rights Reserved
78% Of The U.S. Is Connected
To The Internet
272,100,000 Individuals
© 2012 Napier Marketing Group All Rights Reserved
1 In 2 Smart Phone Users Have Searched On
Their Phones For Nearby Stores
© 2012 Napier Marketing Group All Rights Reserved
© 2012 Napier Marketing Group All Rights Reserved
© 2012 Napier Marketing Group All Rights Reserved
How Are You Marketing Your Store And
To Whom ?
Integrated Marketing?
© 2012 Napier Marketing Group All Rights Reserved
Everything Has Changed
BUT….
The Most Profound Change
Relates To The Demographic
Shift in the Past 7 Years
© 2012 Napier Marketing Group All Rights Reserved
Older BOOMERS
58 – 63 Years of Age
PAST - Primary
Target Market for
Home Furnishings
Total BOOMER Population 76,985,270
© 2012 Napier Marketing Group All Rights Reserved
Young BOOMERS
45 – 50 Years of Age
PAST - Primary
Target Market for
Home Furnishings
Total BOOMER Population 76,985,270
Middle BOOMERS
51 – 57 Years of Age
PAST - Primary
Target Market for
Home Furnishings
Total BOOMER Population 76,985,270
© 2012 Napier Marketing Group All Rights Reserved
Gen “X”
33 – 44 Years of Age
NEW Primary Target
Market for Home
Furnishings
Total “X” Population 49,660,301
© 2012 Napier Marketing Group All Rights Reserved
15– 32 Years of Age
NEW Upcoming &
Secondary Target
Market for Home
Furnishings
Total GEN “Y” Population 76,370,030
© 2012 Napier Marketing Group All Rights Reserved
Total Gen “X” + Gen “Y”
Population
126,030,331
Are You Prepared For This
Consumer?
© 2012 Napier Marketing Group All Rights Reserved
The Vast Majority Of Gen X Is Already Online (88%) And,
By 2015, That Figure Will Have Topped 90%.
In Fact, The Report Found That Gen X's Digital Media Consumption
Is Strikingly Similar To That Of Gen “Y” - Millennials.
They Use Social Networks, Watch Video On Their Computers And Mobile Devices, And Enjoy
Shopping Online. They Methodically Research And Evaluate Products Prior To Purchase And Place
Great Value On The Opinions Of Their Friends And Family.
E-Marketer
December 2011
© 2012 Napier Marketing Group All Rights Reserved
When It Comes To Your
Business Model, Who
Would You Rather Be?
Little Dog
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Big Dog
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© 2012 Napier Marketing Group All Rights Reserved
© 2012 Napier Marketing Group All Rights Reserved
© 2012 Napier Marketing Group All Rights Reserved
Everyone is doing it…..Is Your Store or Brand
There to Participate IF They want To Find
You?
© 2012 Napier Marketing Group All Rights Reserved
© 2012 Napier Marketing Group All Rights Reserved
© 2012 Napier Marketing Group All Rights Reserved
© 2012 Napier Marketing Group All Rights Reserved
3 Fundamentals Of a Great Internet
Marketing Strategy
• Attract - Getting found
• Engage – engaging them with lots of content
and information so they can make an
“informed” decision
• Connect – consumers with your sales
people/store with sales, marketing and
communication tools
© 2012 Napier Marketing Group All Rights Reserved
Internet Marketing
The Basics….
1) Get Found
There are 3 fundamental ways Consumers
search for Home Furnishings
General Searches
Category Searches
Branded Searches
42% Of Organic Searches In The Last Year Are 4+ Words
© 2012 Napier Marketing Group All Rights Reserved
Search
Attracting Consumers
General Searches
General searches are the most common search phrases among non dealer-specific
furniture searches. These phrases use terms such as "furniture" or "furniture store"
combined with a geographic term such as "Minneapolis" or "Twin Cities."
Category Searches
Category searches are the next most common type of furniture search. Category or
"room" searches are comprised of furniture specific keywords such as "bedroom
furniture" or "reclining sofa" combined with geographic terms.
Branded Searches
Manufacturer branded searches are made up of a manufacturer's brand name,
collection name or specific item/SKU name combined with a geographic term.
You MUST Have Content That
Addresses All 3 To Be Successful !!!
© 2012 Napier Marketing Group All Rights Reserved
Over the past few years, Google has
attracted 65-70% of all internet
searches.
Around three quarters of all internet users perform local searches while an
astonishing 82% of these searches result in an offline phone call, in-store visit or
purchase.
• 97% of American internet users use the internet to shop of which 57%
characterize their behavior as shop online, purchase offline (NPD Group)
• 90% of online commercial searches result in offline purchases (comScore)
• 82% of local searchers follow up offline via an in-store visit, phone call or
purchase (TMP/comScore)
• 74% of Internet users perform local searches (Kelsey Group)
• 61% of local searches result in purchases (TMP/comScore)
• 54% of Internet users would rather use the Internet and local search then
phone books (comScore)
• 35% of all searches are local (DM News)
March 11, 2011
© 2012 Napier Marketing Group All Rights Reserved
Once They Find You…
Now What?
2.) Engage Them
© 2012 Napier Marketing Group All Rights Reserved
© 2012 Napier Marketing Group All Rights Reserved
Lance Hanish • Taking it a step further, part of the success of the mobile sales
is due to the interactivity QR Codes bring.
57% of consumers who have scanned a QR code say they shared the
information with someone and 18% who made a purchase, according to a
survey released in January 2012 by Chadwick Martin Bailey (CMB).
Those who have scanned a QR code, 41% said that they found the information
they received useful.
70% of these consumers found QR codes easy to scan, compared to just 7%
who found them difficult.
Overall, just 21% of the survey respondents said they had heard of QR codes,
although 81% recalled seeing one when presented with an image. According to
an October 2011 survey from strategic marketing firm Russell Herder, 72% of
consumers said they had seen a QR code, but nearly 30% did not know what it
was.
Home furnishings has to get on top of this issue in order to create new sales.
© 2012 Napier Marketing Group All Rights Reserved
© 2012 Napier Marketing Group All Rights Reserved
Once They Find What They
Want……
3.) Connect With Them Offering The Consumer a “Variety” of Tools
For Communication, Your Promotions, Specials and More….
Contact us form
Contact us form on every page
Call the store
Call the store on every page
Sign up for email
Sign up for email on every page
Visit the store
Turn by turn directions to your store
Add to wish-list - Add to favorites
Request information with product info
Print this page
Forward to friend
Send to social media
View current ad page
Current ad-promotion on every page
Apply for financing
Product tagging for clearance, special, hot buy
More to Come
At The Las Vegas Furniture Market
Bldg “C” – 4th Floor Retail Resource Center
February 2, 2012
12:30PM – 1:30PM
© 2012 Napier Marketing Group All Rights Reserved
Final Presentation Will Be Available For Download On
February 7th, 2012
Now What?
Choosing a Home Furnishing
Web Site Development Team
&
How To Create a RFP
© FurnitureDealer.net 2012 All Rights Reserved
Excerpts From Andy Bernstein’s Furniture Today Conference 2011
What’s In This Presentation….
FOR YOU
You think you've clearly explained the type of Web site you want
for your company, yet the quotes you get back from Web
developers range from a few thousand dollars to tens of
thousands of dollars.
How could the price be so different? What other criteria are
critical when selecting a Web development firm to work for your
company?
What questions must you ask to be sure your Web project is
delivered on time, in budget and works the way you intended?
In this document, you'll get the straight answers and tools you
need to feel confident when selecting a vendor for your next
Web-based project.
Every Retailer NEEDS a Successful Website
- BUT It’s Not Easy or Inexpensive
•
•
•
•
•
•
More than 3 out of 4 furniture purchases are influenced by online research
81% of home furnishings shoppers cite the internet as their #1 source of
information
An online shopper can visit 10 websites in 15 minutes
and consumers have NO patience for bad websites.
Very few furniture companies have implemented successful internet
strategies.
Approximately 92.3% of local brick and mortar furniture retailers have
poor websites that disappoint consumers.
Making a good internet strategy and website decision is very difficult to
do.
BUT…..
Why Have So Many Retailers Failed With
Their Website?
•
Good websites are expensive – they require a lot of time, money and skill.
–
But, money alone cannot buy a good website.
•
Most home furnishings executives (people above the age of 35) simply are not expert
about the internet. They do not understand it well.
•
It's tough to tell the difference between great, average and bad website providers
–
yet, this decision will have a major impact on your company’s business.
•
To make matters worse, it is very easy to build a website (any kid can do it) and it is
easy to throw around internet buzz words (like social networking, blog, e-commerce,
search engine optimization, pay per click, analytics, etc.) that can make some
salesman seem expert to someone who is not experienced or confident.
•
The fact of the matter is that big talk is much easier than big success when it comes to
furniture websites.
What makes a retail website bad?
There are a lot of things that make great websites great.
However, there are really two things that are hands down the
most important at separating good (or successful) websites
from bad (unsuccessful) ones.
•
SEO – Search Engine Optimization
Does the site get found on Google, Yahoo, MSN and Bing by local consumers
who are searching for the products and services that the retailer sells. If not, it
doesn’t matter how good everything else is on the site. You don’t get a chance
at that business.
•
Product Shopping Environment
The vast majority of local retailer websites hardly show any product. If you
don’t show it, the consumer will assume that you don’t offer it. It sounds
obvious, but it is crazy how many retailer websites don’t even show their entire
inventoried offering, let alone the extended special order options available from
their key suppliers. If you take a look at which sites are influencing the most
business, you will see extensive and well done product catalogs.
Your Internet Marketing Plan
What should your top priorities be?
•
•
•
•
•
Product Content
Search Engine Optimization
Software/Site Features
Service and Maintenance
Your Contract is Key
What Should Your Top Priorities Be?
Hands Down…..Product Content
•
Perhaps the single most important driver of a successful website is the product
content.
•
Furniture products are complex and information rich.
•
You make your money by selling products. The primary purpose consumers visit
retail websites is because they are considering purchasing products.
•
Search engines read words…. NOT PICTURES or Flash Videos!!! Selection is
key for attracting more visitors.
•
Your site navigation will be based on good data structure and disciplined data entry.
•
Suppliers introduce and discontinue products all the time but they are not good at
providing dealers with that product information for websites.
What Should Your Top Priorities Be?
Product Content
Breadth and Depth of Selection From Your Key Brands
•
•
•
Does your web provider have content for the products and brands you carry?
If not, what is your strategy for creating or obtaining it? It is a lot of work.
If you do NOT show it, consumers will assume you do NOT offer it.
•
You need to show your inventory plus your extended offering from key suppliers?
Commitment to Updating and Maintaining Merchandise Content
•
•
How good is your web provider at updating and maintaining the product
information? It changes often. Are they on top of it, or will you need to be? How
much will that cost?
If your web provider does not have a content library, are you prepared?
– Additional cost: Time & Resources
What Should Your Top Priorities Be?
Product Content
Quality of Product Presentations
• How good are their product presentations? Home Furnishings products are complicated
and there is a lot to show, tell, explain and demonstrate about them. Are they
“Content/Attribute” Rich or are they like a simple catalog page with bare minimum
content?
– Do they provide good descriptive information, dimensions, features and construction to help
your people show, tell & sell so consumers have enough information to decide?
• Does your web provider have multiple images to show alternate views, configuration
options, style options, room settings, details, quality.
• Do they incorporate video and PDF rich media?
Original Descriptive Copy is Extremely Important
• Are the descriptions original and keyword rich to come up when consumers
search on Google, or are they scraped and copied from manufacturer sites?
Prove It – Do your homework.
You’ll be glad you did.
How To Check The Content Library?
• Ask to see the current unfiltered content library. Seeing a list of brands
can be misleading. Many brands are incomplete and not kept
current.
• If the web developer is unable to give you access to the content library,
provide them with a confidential list of your lineup and ask them to
provide you with an inventory of what they have in it and what they
don’t.
• Make sure new collections are published. Look at the collections and see
if they are well done. Original romance copy is important too.
What
Should
Your
Top
•If your website does not get found when
Priorities
Be? SEO
local consumers
are searching
online for
what you sell, your store probably will not
be considered by them.
•Sometimes consumers search for your
company by name. Most of the time, they
get specific and ask Google to find what it
is that they are looking for.
•On our network of sites, more than 70%
Prove It – Do Your Homework. You’ll Be
Glad You Did.
How To Inspect SEO?
• Try to see analytics for a couple clients of theirs who are similar sized to your company
and who operate in a similar sized market. Those are the two main variables that have
a big impact on traffic volume.
• Reports to look at:
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Non-Branded/Unpaid Search - Percentage of traffic that comes through unpaid search that
excludes the retailer’s own name.
Number of Keywords – VERY IMPORTANT
Number of Landing Pages
Before and After Comparison - Ideally, you could see analytics before and after developer
launched.
Check Google – do searches in nearby towns for brands and items
Ask a competitor to evaluate the SEO of those sites
Use online tools like our FREE 93 Point Assessment
http://furnituredealer.net/assessment/
What Should Your Top Priorities Be?
Product Content
Data Structure Allows for Site Navigation and
Usefulness
• Data structure allows for site navigation,
categorization, narrow your search, compare,
coordinating items, alternate finish.
• Modular components and packages may be
necessary for your pricing and selling needs.
What Should Your Top Priorities Be?
Software Features
It Is Important That Your Software Have The Features That You Want And
Need To Tell Your Story And Sell Your Products. Important Features To
Consider Include:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Site design and page layouts
Product Coordinating Items to show the related items in a collection – i.e. if a bed has matching case
pieces or if a sofa has matching chair, ottoman, loveseat and sectional
Multiple Image Viewer and Rich Media to better show and demonstrate products
Site Navigation – it should be logical, easy to use and simple to understand
Merchandise Tagging and Sort Order
Inventory Data Integration – ability to show what’s on the floor and/or availability
Administrative tools to make changes and updates on your site
Integrated Marketing to Communicate Promotions and Marketing Messages on Every Page of the Site –
Do You Have an Internet Presence/Policy or Strategy?
•
•
•
Wish List/Save Projects – tools that enable consumers to save their favorites and salespeople to save client
projects
Store location and information page with interactive maps
Financing tools like online special financing applications are important for retailers that offer this
What Should Your Top Priorities Be? Service
and Maintenance
•
•
•
•
What are my full service, self service and
integration/automation maintenance options?
What is NOT included, and how much does it cost?
How are requests submitted? Will I be able to
speak to a person? How long does it take to get a
response and a completion?
What sorts of training and support are included or
available?
What Should Your Top Priorities Be?
Service and Maintenance
Merchandising
• Tell me about my merchandising controls? Do I have control of adding and
removing products? How long do updates take to get published on the site?
• Can I tag inventory, enter prices, tag clearance, tag specials, identify special
order only, private label, package products, append materials in content
library?
• What is the process, cost and timing for adding new products to the site? Self
publish, You publish?
• Do you offer inventory data integration/automation service? How much does
it cost and what is involved?
Marketing
• Self service, full service options for ad posting and ad scheduling?
• Email signup offer and list. How do those work?
• Access to Analytics?
What Should Your Top
Priorities
Be?
Service
and
Other or Static Pages (Additional
Maintenance
Pages In The Site)
•What’s included?
How much do
they cost? How do we create and
manage them? Full service or self
service?
Customization and
What Should Your Top Priorities Be?
Service and Maintenance
Hosting/Site Uptime
•
•
•
How reliable is your network? What kind of outages and slowness have
you have experienced in the past 6 months?
What happens if the network becomes unavailable or slow? Do you
notify clients? How do you respond? How long does it take to fix?
What steps have you taken to ensure reliable service and prevent
problems?
How much training, strategic advice and idea sharing can I
expect? Do I have a “Support Team” that are experts in their
field to make my site ROCK?
Prove It – Do Your Homework. You’ll
Be Glad You Did.
Advice About Checking References?
• Do NOT take anyone’s word on it. Check references.
• Do NOT accept the hand picked references or recorded testimonials that a web developer provides to
you. Everyone has a few happy customers.
• Require seeing their entire client list and you choose who to talk with. That’s the only way to get a
sense of their true track record. Get between 5 and 10 references.
• Ask how many clients have terminated or switched in the past year? Why?
Questions to ask?
• Is the site having an impact on your business?
• How responsive is their service? Is their product content up to date?
• What are the two most frustrating things about your site?
• If you could change anything, what would it be?
• Are there a lot of hidden fees?
Talk to Salespeople
• Call the stores and talk with salespeople.
Questions to Ask the Developer
• How many clients has the company lost in the past 18 months?
Who and why.
Ask for contact information and contact them.
• What sorts of problems and complaints have they had from clients in the past six
months? Why?
• What do they see as the biggest weaknesses, deficiencies with their product or
service?
• What are the three reasons that I am most likely to be frustrated with your service
– if I sign with you?
• How likely is it that I will NOT incur any costs other than the monthly fee and setup
that I’m signing up for? What additional expense items might come up? Please
list all. I don’t like surprises. Think about all your clients. What kinds of additional
costs have come up? How much do they cost?
What Should Your Top Priorities Be?
Your Contract Is Key
• What is the cost?
• Up-front setup fees
• Ongoing licensing and subscription
• When do you start paying?
• How long is the term?
• What’s NOT included “hidden fees” that you may want or
need (like site redesigns, product content maintenance, ad
posting, training and support)? What will it cost?
• Require clearly defined responsibilities and services. Are
there guarantees?
• What sorts of maintenance and upgrades are included.
• How quickly you can expect response time? What is the
update schedule?
Stay Focused On Your
Top Priorities
What Should Your SECONDARY
Priorities Be?
The Following Are Secondary Priorities – Don’t Make The Mistake
Of Making These Top Priorities.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Branding / Look and Feel -- (your web developer should be able to work with you)
Shopping cart
Blogs
Facebook
Room planner
Financing
Reporting and analytics
Project management and wish list
Fabric draping?
E-mail marketing
Marketing networks
Private labeling
Label printing
Admin Tools
Innovation - technology, training, content, ideas
Open publishing
Be careful not to make these higher priorities than the top
priorities.
Want a winning
website? Choose
the right partner.
Area of Expertise Wish List For
Your Web Developer
Multi-Channel
Retailing &
Customer
Experience
Retail
Furnishings
Know How
Technology,
Software &
Hosting
Integrated
Marketing
Search Engine
Optimization
Web Developer
Online
Marketing,
Social Media,
e-Mail
Marketing
Great
Customer
Service –good
with NonTechnical
Clients
Who Has
The Ideal Skills
Furnishings
Product
Content
Graphic Design
& Branding
Retail Call
Center Selling
Expertise
Passionate
about
Learning,
Innovating &
Sharing
The 6 Most
Common Mistakes
Made On Retailer
Websites
1 - The Sizzle vs. Steak Mistake
The most common mistake
is designing a website to
look great at the expense
of it being search engine
friendly.
It can also mean spending
too much budget on visual
branding versus other
more important things like
product presentation and
navigation.
2 - Who Put the IT Guy In Charge
Mistake
Another common mistake is
placing too much emphasis on
computer integration with the
inventory / POS system and having
e-Commerce - instead of product
content (navigation, selection and
explanation).
The internet is much more about
marketing and selling than it is
about creating operational
efficiencies.
3 - We Need to Control and
Own Everything Mistake
Another common mistake is under
estimating how much time, money
and effort it is going to be to create
and maintain your digital product
presentations and software.
People often don’t realize how much
maintenance and ongoing
improvements are required for
success. This is often a function of
wanting to own and control the site.
4 - Get Caught Up In The
Hype Mistake
Buzzwords can act like an intoxicant
and drive emotional decisions that
get decision makers focused on the
wrong things.
There is limited time and money.
Don’t be fooled by the hype.
The only people making money on
some of this stuff are the guys
selling it.
5. I Hate Paying Salespeople’s Mistakes
Websites with shopping carts are better order takers
than people are.
Cost reductions and a lack of
consumer loyalty have
eroded the sales profession.
Commissions are costly. Bad
salespeople are a problem
Business today is being won
before consumers ever step
in the store. Expert
salespeople are your key to
winning.
Furniture is NOT a self service product category. The vast majority of customers
want and need assistance buying big ticket home furnishings.
5 - I Hate Paying
Salespeople's
Is your
goal to build a Mistakes
SELF SERVICE
Vending Machine?
Do you really think many
consumers will visit your
site, select a living room
set, enter their credit
card, and purchase it
unassisted?
Furniture is NOT a self service product category. The vast majority of customers want and
need assistance buying big ticket home furnishings.
6 - Let’s Go National
Mistake
Everybody’s doing it. You’ve heard
about some guy who is selling a
bunch of stuff all across the country.
Most local retailers do NOT have the
core competencies to compete and
win over the long run as a national
shipper.
National shippers do so well largely
because local retailers do internet so
poorly.
What Can
Manufacturers
Do To Help?
What Should Manufacturers Do?
•Invest heavily to help prevent their retailers from
getting this so wrong,
•Create and provide better content (portable digital
assets) and make it easier for retailers to show, tell
and sell your products.
•Make it easy for web developers and people
maintaining the retail websites to know when
products are introduced and discontinued.
• Don’t favor the national shippers.
• MAP (Minimum Advertised Price)
It’s Much Easier To SPEND
A Lot Of Money On A
Furniture Website Than It
Is To MAKE Money With
One.
Thank You
http://www.furnituredealer.net
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Bill Napier
612-217-1297
FurnitureDealer.net Clients