Furniture stores make a profit by purchasing products from a factory dealer at a wholesaler price point and selling them to customers with a higher markup. Most furniture stores have an 80% markup from their supplier’s price. If you can control your operating costs efficiently (such as marketing costs, rental costs, payroll, etc.), you can have a good profit margin selling furniture. Check this article on how to start a furniture business if you’re interested.
Marketing furniture to the public can be a challenging venture for a small business owner. Furniture pieces are items that consumers purchase only on occasion. Most furniture items have a higher price point than other retail goods and convincing the consumer to make an investment is crucial to an effective advertising campaign. There are several furniture promotion ideas that can be used to help you reach your target market.
Networking with real estate agents allows you the ability to showcase your furniture in a new home or open house setting. Empty houses may not sell as well as ones that are properly staged and typically you will be able to work out an arrangement that will benefit both parties. This is a good way to reach a key target market -- new home buyers -- who may need new furniture for their future homes.
Increasing foot traffic is vital for a furniture store. This is typically not the type of store that the average customer visits on a regular basis. To get more people in the door, advertise a giveaway or raffle event. You can pick older inventory that isn't moving and use this as your giveaway. Promote this event in your local media and through direct mail campaigns or door hanger advertisements to generate more interest.
Free refreshments are a powerful enticement to many people. Holding an annual customer appreciation event with free food is a way to thank existing customers and entice potential new customers to come into your store. Send out personalized invitations to your existing customers and utilize your local media to promote the event. You can also contact the local chamber of commerce for assistance in holding a customer appreciation event -- they may even work with you to supply the food.
In tough economic times, retailers with high-ticket items often suffer the brunt of slow consumer spending. To combat this, you have to make it easier for your customers to buy furniture. If you can, offer in-store financing with no credit approval, or drop the interest rate on your company's credit terms. Consider lowering your prices and holding two-for-one events to generate more consumer interest.
The furniture industry is undeniably competitive. Given the growth of smartphones, the internet and social media, an online presence today is, without a doubt, essential in marketing any furniture brand effectively.
With a surge in online purchases over the last decade, furniture companies have been pushed to propel their digital presence to drive better returns, stronger branding and a greater digital presence.
Yet for smaller businesses, running an effective digital marketing campaign in-house can be challenging. At the end of the day, marketing invested wisely first comes from sound strategy. Without proper planning, marketing campaigns could end up in jeopardy, resulting in a negative ROI (return on investment).
Consider this, in a small country such as Singapore, we have a multitude of stores selling furniture. Furniture of all sorts parade stores, and a single search on Google for that sleek piece of furniture, would flood your customers’ search results with never-ending alternatives.
Bear in mind that regardless of your marketing objective, i.e. branding or store visits, the final goal should contribute to generating revenue, in the long term, at least.
Are customers able to purchase directly off your website? Or do interested buyers have to travel all the way to your outlet before they can make a purchase?
The very first step in furniture marketing would be to identify your objectives. Needless to say, this is the crux of every strategy as you can better plan, adapt and optimise your marketing.
There’s no sin in being 100% retail. Neither is there any glory in an eCommerce strategy that is ROI negative. A retail focus simply means that your digital strategy is poised towards driving store traffic.
Naturally, having the option to purchase online is a game-changer. This game-changer provides highly demanded benefits unseen by the naked eye, convenience and, as your reputation grows, reliability.
Well, that’s true, to a certain degree. Most people would certainly love to get a feel of the furniture before they buy it.
However, we’ve also seen new customers buying high-end furniture directly off our client’s website. These could be customers who would first drop by your retail outlet, and then purchase online days later. The reason? Convenience and reliability would be the simple way to put it.
Having the option of online purchases indisputably increases the chances of a sale, and of course, the chances of you being one step closer to that hitting that monthly sales target that’s ever-demanding.
Who knows? Perhaps you’ll get a huge bonus at the end of the year too, having surpassed your annual sales target. But furniture marketing isn’t about luck. It’s about precision, analysis and calibration. And this, first starts with accurately determining your marketing objectives.
Furniture Moving SaleAlas, if you answer ‘no’ to any of these questions, it can only mean one thing. There is likely more that you can do with your current digital marketing strategy. This applies even if your furniture is exquisite, extravagant and tailored only for the crazy rich, pun intended.
Whichever your niche, having a strong online presence is extremely important. A game-changing online marketing campaign with accurate tracking can be executed within days. Yet assembling quality data takes time to complete.
As with all other industries, reaching out to potential customers for brand and product awareness is the first step to grow your furniture business.
Within every marketing strategy, having a crystal clear comprehension of your products and the type of audience they cater to is of utmost importance. A fundamental understanding of your audience allows you to plan, execute and achieve results with greater efficacy.
For example, if your products appeal better to people with higher income aged between 35-65, we should make sure that we cater our messaging, budget and targeting towards this demographic.
Perhaps it’s choosing KOLs (key opinion leaders) that your audience will resonate with or having a presence on relevant websites or placements. From content writing to social media creatives, and social media creatives to ad copies, knowing the likes and dislikes of your customers is the first step towards successful furniture marketing.
Just like how the allied forces defeated the Nazis during the 2nd world war, victory came only after a good understanding of the enemy. Similarly, a good furniture marketing strategy does not target a broad-based audience aged 18-65 at all income ranges unless the goal is long term branding.
Just like how the allied forces defeated the Nazis during the 2nd world war, victory came only after a good understanding of the enemy. Similarly, a good furniture marketing strategy does not target a broad-based audience aged 18-65 at all income ranges unless the goal is long term branding.
While you might welcome walk-ins and new customers, you’ll want to take that one step further. After all, branding success comes from building a solid base of returning clients who become advocates that refer your brand to their friends and family.
Discounts and promotions can be effective at bringing in purchases. However, these customers may not drive recurring purchases if they ultimately feel that your products aren’t the right fit.
With today’s intense competition, it’s no longer profitable to market to just anyone, especially with the increasing digital cost per click (CPC). Implementing an effective strategy by understanding your target audience would truly differentiate your brand from the never-ending sea of alternatives.
Understanding your competitors’ marketing strategy is crucial to say the least. For instance, identifying the marketing platforms that our competitors consistently invest in allows us to monitor the marketing channels that they find effective.
Take SEM for example, we can observe which keywords are driving results simply by seeing how many ads appear on top of the SERP.
In today’s digital landscape, having a performing website is crucial to every business. It is also important to have a high functioning website that is both mobile and user friendly.
This means that your chances of ranking on the 1st page of Google will not be high if your website isn’t mobile-friendly. This also means that potential customers will not be able to find you easily since you’re not on the 1st page of Google.
Take a look at your mobile loading speed, page alignment, images, and even the checkout page on your website. Does your website resize automatically with a different device or screen?
People spend more time on mobile devices to browse the internet. In fact, 80% of Singaporeans check their smartphones before waking up and going to bed.
