A Lesson in Capturing the Attention and Trust of Designers

Almost every decorative plumbing and hardware showroom wants to know the secret sauce of becoming the go-to-resource for their local design community. 1stdibs has become the trusted online source for thousands of designers tasked with sourcing furniture, antiques, art, rugs and other furnishing for the home. The company’s website has more than 800,000 pieces that are individually vetted by a 1stdbis team member. Why has a website selling luxury products captured the attention and support of the design community? One reason is that 1stdibs makes it easy to search and to buy, streamlining the designers’ process tremendously.

Second, there are 100 1stdibs team members dedicated to the trade who help designers find specific products that may not be featured on the site. This gives a personal touch that most websites don’t offer. Third, 1stdibs eliminates much of the ordinary risk that would come from sourcing unique, limited edition or one-of-a-kind products. The company accepts returns for any domestic product, ala Amazon, and gives designers up to 90 days for returns.

The company also leverages its editorial platforms, a monthly magazine, a blog, email newsletters and social media to promote designers’ work.

So how can we apply these lessons in DPH showrooms?

• Make it easy for the design community to buy from you. 
• Allow returns within 90 days even for custom orders, just for design clients.
• Use your website, social media and other communication mediums to promote your good designers’ work.
• Have at least one team member as the go-to resource for the design community.
• Create a special designer-only section on your website that features customization capabilities, unique products and projects and limited-distribution lines that you feature.
• Use the DPHA Connections blog to help promote local designers’ projects and their partnerships with your showroom.