Top Furniture Trade Secrets From "GuildMaster on Tour"

Steve Crowder, GuildMaster CEO,took a 15,000 mile tour across the country, collecting insights from the furniture industry. He set off from the Las Vegas World Market in February, 2009, and finished his 15,000 mile journey just in time for the 2009 Spring High Point Market.

According to a GuildMaster press release he aimed to accomplish three goals: “encourage the GuildMaster team, sales representatives and retailers; connect on a personal and emotional level with GuildMaster customers; and collect market-driven ideas on future GuildMaster products.”

He had a following of over 300 fans who followed his journey on the GuildMaster on Tour Facebook page, and here are some insights that he shared in a press release:

1. When a high-end designer store owner in Colorado realized that her customers were increasingly cost conscious and intimidated by the prices of the expensive products at the front of the store, she changed the entry display by placing less expensive items there and building height and price through her store. Her sales increased.
2. A California retailer has come up with a form of formula selling by approaching local real estate agents to ask for a list of recently purchased homes. She offers the new buyers an in home free design consultation and a $50 gift certificate with purchase. The result? Her in house designers average three appointments per week, with a closure rate of 86%. Even customers who do not initially purchase are introduced to the store through the in-house visits.
3. Another retailer, this one from Florida, also connects with local real estate agents by having parties twice a year so that when they sell homes, they are familiar with the merchandise and can pass on the information about the perfect store to furnish their new homes.
4. A GuildMaster sales representative in Texas is using the GuildMaster on Tour Facebook page to share display and merchandising ideas discovered in the 200-plus stores visited. Some retailers in North Carolina are also using Facebook to share new product arrivals with their customers and to offer special incentives to buy.
5. A Nevada retailer holds an elegant party between Thanksgiving and Christmas to drive holiday sales. The party, dubbed ‘Martinis and Mashed Potatoes’ features mashed potatoes in martini glass with a buffet of toppings, and is a unique and fun event, with some guests arriving in limousines.
6. A Missouri retailer offered this display tip: merchandises vignettes by lifestyle and color. In a downtown location with few walk-in customers, their strategy is to be a ‘Destination Stop’ for designers by providing Wi-Fi, design resources, work areas, meeting areas and a location across the street from Starbucks.
7. An innovative Arkansas retailer sends out 18,000 numbered cards every year to drive traffic. Customers have to come in to match the number with 1,000 discount prizes, worth from $10 to $3,000. A board is strategically placed in the rear of the store, and customers must walk through the furnishings to discover if they are a winner.
8. In Georgia, a retailer has holds free in-store design workshops with inviting titles such as: Color and Design 2009; High Style, Low Budget; and The Comforts of Home through Food. The store also offers design planning for everyday and special occasions, and regularly holds focus groups for input about everything from the store name to where to place merchandise.
9. A great marketing idea from New Mexico had store owners expanding the floor space to include an area for customers to consign select items for sale so they can make room at home for their new purchases.
10. And, last but not least, is the best-entrance-to-a-store idea from Pennsylvania: aerial photographs of surrounding areas are inlayed in the floor entrance. It’s a great ice breaker as customers step in the door.