Did you know that the
origin of the word "store" is storage? Many decorative plumbing and
hardware showrooms were developed as places to collect and arrange
different components to sell new baths and kitchens. That makes sense.
However, using your showroom simply as a place to show products no
longer jibes with customer expectations. Remember, by the time a
customer comes to your showroom, they have oftentimes traveled 75 to 80
percent of the way down their customer journey path. Retail expert Ken
Nisch argues that today's retail environment calls for imaginative
experiences such as those offered by REI or Patagonia, because those
retailers help prepare their customers for future experiences they want
to have. Kitchen and bath showrooms can take advantage of examples of
successful grocers who are improving experiences by presenting the
ingredients needed to make a complete meal together instead of forcing
their customers to traverse aisle after aisle to find proteins,
vegetables, fruit, spices, herbs, etc.
How can you use the space in your showroom to deliver
experiences that will cause your customers to imagine they are sitting
in their steam shower to relieve aching muscles after a hard workout or
lounging in their soaking tub to wash away the stresses of the day? Can
you take a page out of Best Buy's new loaner program that allows
customers to test drive open-box products before buying them? Amazon
doesn't do that yet, but what stops you from offering showerheads,
faucets and other easy to install fixtures to your customers so that
they can try them out before buying? What prevents you from using your
showroom as a meeting place for neighborhood groups to gather?
Dr. Carmen Simon writes in her book, Impossible to Ignore,
that using the word "imagine" is a powerful way to create anticipation
and emotion. Isn't it time to use your imagination to improve customer
experiences and make them truly remarkable?
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