Opportunity Knocking

The decorative plumbing and hardware industry is influenced by, and follows, fashion trends.  So what's trending in fashion?  Personalization and luxury brands have an advantage.  More than half of all consumers are interested in purchasing customized products or having a personalized element added to their shopping experience, according to a recent article in Glossy.  

 

Luxury consumers that patronize decorative plumbing and hardware showrooms expect exceptional customer service.  They pay a premium to have their hand held and for showroom professionals to walk them through the process, make recommendations best suited for their project and handle problems that may arise.  But that's not enough to set your showroom apart from the competition or to gain trust or loyalty.  Today's luxury consumers want more.  

 

To capitalize on consumer interest in personal design statements and customization, new niche fashion brands such as Sene offers custom clothing for both men and women. Nike and Adidas let consumers design their own shoes.  Consortium opened a new brick-and-mortar store in New York's Soho neighborhood offering only custom-made clothing.  

 

What are the lessons for decorative plumbing and hardware showrooms?  Partner with brands that enable you to customize their products for specific projects. Split finishes, custom finishes, choices of handles, spouts, systems, etc., enable you to create unique products and solutions for your clients.  Promote the fact that you can create custom products.  Feature a custom products display in your showroom of one-of-a-kind items that you have produced for clients and projects.  

 

Consumers that cross the threshold of a brick-and-mortar decorative plumbing and hardware showroom are looking for a great brand experience.  They are there because they want a professional who can understand their needs and act upon them.  

 

Do you have customization success stories?  If so, share them on the DPHA Facebook page or with our LinkedIn Group.

Is the Future Now?

The goal of Nike's new Manhattan flagship store is to make the brick-and-mortar buying experience as seamless and easy as it is purchasing online.  The store is huge - six floors comprising 68,000 square feet - with two customization studios, a sneaker center with displays on how shoes are designed, tested and manufactured, and a Speed Shop on the basement level with its own entrance where you can reserve shoes in advance that you are considering buying. When you arrive at the store, there is a wall of lockers, one of which will have your name on it. Use a smart phone to open your locker and the shoes you have reserved will be there.  If you decide to buy one of the pairs you reserved, you can simply check out using your phone without having to go to a register or wait in line.

 

To use the Speed Shop, just download the Nike App on a smart device (phone or tablet), which also can be used to reserve other merchandise in the store.  If you like an article of clothing, scan the QR code with the app or any other product in the store and those items will be waiting for you in the size you requested at a fitting room.  Additionally, the fitting rooms have three light settings to reflect how the clothing might look in daylight, at an indoor gym or at a fitness class.  Again, you can use the app to purchase everything without going to a register and Nike has placed small stations throughout the store on each floor as self-checkout points.  It is there that customers can leave hangers and grab a bag for their purchases.

 

To take advantage of the conveniences, consumers will have to become a Nike member (there's no cost for this), download the app and give Nike permission to track their location.  In that way, Nike will know the moment you walk into the store and will send you notifications when you are nearby.  If you don't want Nike to track your daily movements, you can simply turn the app off.  

 

Has Nike upped the ante? It's fans certainly won't mind receiving a constant stream of messages and taking advantage of conveniences that the app offers.  Undoubtedly, other retailers will follow suit, creating enhanced customer expectations that purchasing at a brick-and-mortar business should be fast, easy and fun. If someone came to your showroom to select products for their new bath, would they view the process as fast, easy and fun?  What can you do right now to make it easier and more enjoyable to buy from you as compared to your competition? 

 

You Only Get One Chance to Make a Positive First Impression

Charting the initial steps of your customer's bath or kitchen remodel journey can enable you to stand apart from the competition, establish trust with a potential client and identify opportunities to differentiate your showroom at every touch point. Most customer journeys begin with Google and your website.

 

Your website is the window into the soul of your business. If you visited your website and looked at it through the lens of someone considering a kitchen remodel, what information, message, and/or call to action would attract that person to remain on the site, email you, request information, call your showroom or visit it in person? Your landing page needs to deliver the same impact and make the same impression as the $100,000 "front of the store" display that greets visitors to your showroom. Use your landing page to reflect the most current styles and trends in the marketplace, and answer the question, "why you and not a competitor". 

 

Whet your potential customers' appetites and generate enthusiasm by explaining how their new kitchen will improve their life. And demonstrate how you can deliver the kitchen of their dreams. Finally, have a call to action. Provide a buying guide, a renovation step-by-step guide, a budget guide or other information that makes the customer journey easier. 

 

That being said, do not allow prospects to simply download the information that will help them make their renovation easier, or any other material, without providing you with their name, email and phone number. Finally, remember the website needs to be focused on your potential client's needs and not on you. Potential customers want to know how you can help them and why you they should trust you versus someone else.

 

Don't Get Overwhelmed by E-Mail!

How much time every day do you spend looking at and responding to emails? A recent study found that on average professionals spend 4.1 hours per day responding to email messages. That's half the day for many of you. And if you are like many others, chances are that your email Inbox is never completely empty. 

 

How can you manage your email Inbox more effectively? One way is to be judicious with what you agree to do. Every time you say "yes" to helping someone, making a referral, assisting a colleague or doing favors for others, you are committing additional time that will most likely involve having to respond to additional emails. If you want to get a better grip on your time and email obligations, try tracking for a two week period the number of emails you receive that ask you to do something you had not previously committed to. Doing so will help you focus on your most important priorities such as responding to clients and marketing your business.

The Value of a Good Night's Sleep

Operating a bath and kitchen showroom is not easy. There are constant demands and the fact for many is that the "to-do" list is never completely done. You put in long hours and the demands of your position likely come at the cost of a good night's sleep. What's the trade off? Research shows that when leaders trade sleep in order to work more, they become less effective, are more hostile, have less effective relationships with team members, are less likely to inspire others and experience declining engagement rates on the teams that they manage. When you are tired, you become more impulsive, less creative and innovative, and less likely to make the best decisions.

If you regularly put off sleep in order to accomplish one more task or cross another item off the "to-do" list, reconsider. Working 15 and 18 hour days might enable you to get more done, but it also will cause you to make more mistakes, which in turn will cause you to waste time making corrections (provided the mistakes are caught). The longer you work, the less productive you become. Most executives and leaders are more productive, creative and profitable if they dedicate their days to performing high-quality work instead of trying to get as much done as possible.

Caffeine is an effective barometer of your sleep needs. If you need to drink a pot of coffee every morning to prevent sluggishness, that raises a major red flag that you are not getting a sufficient among of sleep. The same warning signs flash if you need caffeine in the afternoon to make it through the end of the day.

Delegating some of your tasks to team members is another tool you should use to make sure you produce high quality work every day that does not compromise your ability and desire to get the proper amount of sleep each night.

Develop a plan when you intend to arrive at, and leave, the office every day and stick to it. Have a daily "to-do" list and prioritize your most important tasks. Recognize that on most days there likely will be items remaining on your list when you leave work. Ask yourself this question before making the decision to stay or leave, "If I don't finish this task before leaving, will my world come to an end?" Most likely the answer is no! Research shows that when highly productive leaders sleep well, they are more effective.

Improving Out-of-Office Messaging

There are times of the year when you go on vacation, attend the annual DPHA Conference or are away from the showroom to celebrate births, weddings and other milestone events. Too often, many of us create an out of office message similar to the following, "Your correspondence is important to me. However, I am out of the office and have limited access to email. I will respond as quickly as I can when I return. If you need immediate help, email or call, xyz person." The odds are that this type of message is probably used 98 percent of the time. However, there are better options that enable you to connect with those who email you if you simply provide a few more details. This will enable you to better engage with your email senders when you return to work. For example, "I am out of the office to attend the annual Decorative Plumbing & Hardware Association Annual Conference where I will spend a considerable amount of time exchanging and learning trends and best industry practices that will bring additional value to you and our clients. If you need immediate assistance contact xyz person." In a similar vein, if you are celebrating a milestone consider the following, "I am out of the office celebrating the birth of our first grandson, Jake. In honor of this momentous event, I will not be checking my emails until (date). If you need immediate assistance, contact xyz person."

 

Experiment with your messaging. When you add a bit more information and make it personal, chances are that when you return, you will have great conversation starters and be able to better connect with your clients, team members and prospects.