July 2011 Western Retailer

J o u r n a l o f t h e We s t e r n H o m e F u r n i s h i n g s A s s o c i a t i o n

western

July 2011

COOL RETAILERS HOT IDEAS est.1944

Western Home Furnishings Association

www.WHFA.org

Las Vegas Market RRC

Sizzling Summer Showcase

Join Us

Las Vegas Market August 1-5

Patterson

The D175 Patterson Dining Collection offers a construction of rubberwood solids, a natural finish, and upholstered seating.

Christopher

Dining

The U3142 Christopher Chaise features a red, stone, or brown PU cover, no sag springs, and an all wood frame.

Battram

Upholstery

U4026 Cozy

The B478 Battram Bedroom collection features an upholstered bed in chocolate fabric. It has an all wood encased frame.

Bedroom

Visit the Emerald showroom to view many new introductions of winning product. Emerald has always offered excellent hospitality and this year is no exception. We look forward to seeing you! World Market Center, Space B-1350, August 1-5, 2011, 253-922-1400,

w w w. e m e r a l d h o m e . c o m

Table ofCONTENTS

J o u r n a l o f t h e We s t e r n H o m e F u r n i s h i n g s A s s o c i a t i o n

western retailer

EDITORIAL STAFF Managing Editor: Melissa Dressler................................ mdressler@whfa.org DESIGN AND LAYOUT: Lisa Tilley................................................. ltilley@whfa.org

featured articles

Advertising Manager: Cindi Williams..............................cwilliams@whfa.org 2011 WHFA OFFICERS AND EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE WHFA PRESIDENT Angel Lopez - Dearden’s, Los Angeles, CA........................................(213) 362-9600

WHFA Board nominations

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Cool Retailers, Hot ideas

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Five Retailers Share Their Stories

PRESIDENT ELECT

LAS VEGAS MARKET RRC

Chris Sanders - Everton Mattress Factory, Inc., Twin Falls, ID..........(208) 326-3407 Valerie Watters - Valerie’s Furniture and Accents, Cave Creek, AZ....(480) 483-3327

hot products for Vegas

TREASURER SECRETARY

what we are reading

Chuck Kill - Bedmart, Tucson, AZ.......................................................(520) 887-7039 Claudia LeClair - Fiesta Home Furnishings, Scottsdale, AZ...............(480) 951-3239

EXECUTIVE director Sharron Bradley - WHFA, Roseville, CA.............................................(916) 784-7677 AT LARGE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEMBers Gary Absalonson - Walker’s Furniture Inc., Spokane, WA.................(509) 533-5500 Howard Haimsohn - Lawrance Contemporary, San Diego, CA.......... (619) 291-1911

Safety spot

image: www.hstudio.com

George Nader - Nader’s La Popular, Gardena, CA............................(310) 327-8585

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How to Market to People not Like You

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE CHAIR

Marty Cramer - Cramer’s Home Furnishings, Ellensburg, WA...........(509) 933-2172

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Sizzling Summer Showcase

Lael Thompson - Broyhill Home Collections, Aurora, CO...................(303) 360-9653

PAST PRESIDENTS

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Quick Glance Grid

VICE PRESIDENT

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On the Job Safety

how to grow your business

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Through Social Media

online coupons

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Which ones really work?

Marvin Kerby - Kerby’s Furniture, Mesa, AZ.......................................(480) 834-3888

sell more furniture

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selling furniture in the current economy

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Karen Kohlman - West Harvard Furniture, Roseburg. OR.................(541) 673-4221 WHFA/NHFA Liaison David Harkness - Harkness Furniture, Tacoma, WA...........................(253) 473-1234

in every issue

WHFA Board Members Carol Bell - Contents, Tucson, AZ......................................................(520) 881-6900 Gene DeMeerleer - Furniture West, LaGrande, OR...........................(541) 963-5440

Featured Member Benefits

Chris Ehgoetz - Michael Alan, Lake Havasu City, AZ........................(928) 855-6067

Empower Your Business with WHFA’s Exclusive Programs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Mark Flegel - Flegel’s Home Furniture, Menlo Park, CA....................(650) 326-9661 Greg Follett – Follett’s Furniture, Lewiston, ID...................................(208) 743-0177 Eric Foucrier - Linder’s Furniture Mart, Garden Grove, CA................(714) 210-4848 Travis Garrish - Forma Furniture, Fort Collins, CO.............................(970) 204-9700

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Industry Beat:

Giff Gates - Gates Furniture, Grants Pass, OR..................................(541) 476-4627

Awards & Openings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

John Grootegoed - Elite Leather, Chino, CA......................................(800) 826-9971 Eric Harms - Black’s Home Furnishings, Yreka, CA...........................(530) 842-3876

Social Lingo

Tim Koerner - Koerner Furniture, Coeur D’Alene, ID..........................(208) 666-1525 Jeff Lindsley - Lindsley’s Home Furnishings, Grangeville, ID.............(208) 983-1040

Learn the Language of Twitter. . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Mark Navarra - Jerome’s, San Diego, CA..........................................(858) 753-1549 Michael Nermon - Ergo Customized Comfort, Irvine, CA...................(949) 833-0338

contact

Cherie Rose - The Rose Collection, Los Gatos, CA...........................(408) 395-7773 Scott Selden - Selden’s - Tacoma, WA...............................................(253) 922-5700 Mike Shuel - Meredith Furniture, Yakima, WA....................................(509) 452-6221 Tom Slater - Slater’s Home Furnishings, Modesto, CA......................(209) 522-9097 Polly Teeter – Del-Teet, Bellevue, WA.................................................(425) 462-1500 WESTERN HOME FURNISHINGS ASSOCIATION STAFF

Phone:

est.1944

Western Home Furnishings Association

Executive Director: Sharron Bradley................................................(916) 960-0345 Asst. Exec./Membership Director: Kaprice Crawford.....................(916) 960-0346

Online: Fax: Mail:

Business Manager: Janice Carlson..................................................(916) 960-0347

Facebook: Twitter:

Events Manager: Cindi Williams.......................................................(916) 960-0277 Operations/Warehouse Manager: Jef Spencer...............................(916) 960-0386 Editor/Communications Coordinator: Melissa Dressler.................(916) 960-0385

(800) 422-3778 (12 western states) (916) 784-7677 www.WHFA.org (916) 784-7697 500 Giuseppe Court, Suite 6 Roseville, CA 95678 www.facebook.com/WesternRetailer www.twitter.com/WesternRetailer

Western Home Furnishings Association is the western affiliate of National Home Furnishings Association

Graphic Designer & Project Manager: Lisa Tilley...........................(916) 960-0349 Member Services Rep: Michael Hill..................................................(916) 960-0263 Member Services Rep: Adam Gardner............................................(916) 960-0291 Accounting Assistant: Melody King.................................................(916) 960-2476 est.1944

western retailer

WHFA

ACADEMY

RRC RETAILER

RESOURCE CENTER

Contact WHFA at www.WHFA.org or (800) 422-3778 western retailer

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randy StEwart

relationship Manager, GE Money

lEE GOOdMan

President and CEO, Jerome’s Furniture

GE MONEY JErOME’S COMES tO GE MOnEy and thEy COME tO US FOr thE BESt CUStOMEr EXPErIEnCE. Jerome’s Furniture made a number of changes to make buying from them as easy as possible. One change was to offer GE Money financing at the beginning of the sales process so customers knew what they could really afford. Customers appreciate knowing their financing options up front and are more comfortable making a purchase decision. “By staying focused on selling furniture and creating the best customer experience with GE Money,” Lee Goodman says, “we’ll set ourselves apart, stay strong, and gain market share.”

GE Money is invested in Jerome’s Furniture.

gemoney.com

president’s MESSAGE

W

e celebrated our 100th year in business last year, and by all standards that was quite an accomplishment. When people ask us what do we attribute our longevity, our Chairman of the Board (and Dearden’s historian) Raquel Bensimon always gives the same response “adapting to the marketplace”. Through the years, Dearden’s has had to reinvent itself in order to stay in business. In the first half of our existence, it was adapting to the Great Depression and to World War II, and the challenges that these two major world events brought with them. In the second half, we have had to adapt to the changing demographics in Southern California as well as the global sourcing of the merchandise we sell. The Dearden’s of 1910 bears no resemblance to the Dearden’s of 2011. The advances that have been made in our industry would astound our founders. They would be amazed, and I hope pleased, with how we have kept the Dearden’s they founded in the forefront of retailing without losing sight of the core values they spent their lifetimes instilling in all their employees. As we enter the next phase we are once again changing the way we do business. What is exciting about this new phase is that we have so many tools and resources at our disposal.

Angel Lopez 2011 WHFA President

I, for one, have come to rely on the support and insight I get from other retailers who are always willing to share their best ideas. In this issue you will get some tips from fellow retailers as to how they are injecting fresh ideas into their business. I have had the privilege of meeting hundreds of retailers over the past few years, and I have always come away amazed at the caliber of professionals in our industry. A great time to share and learn new tips from fellow retailers is during the industry furniture Markets and events.

This issue also highlights the Las Vegas Market and all of the educational, buying and networking opportunities that will be taking place at Market.

We have much to learn from each other, and I would like to encourage those of you that are interested in becoming more involved in our association to let us know. We are always looking for new members and people who are eager to participate within the association.

If you ever have questions on the value of joining this association, I would love to hear from you.

Angel Lopez Dearden’s Furniture Los Angeles, CA (213) 362-9600 angel.lopez@deardens.com

J o u r n a l o f t h e We s t e r n H o m e F u r n i s h i n g s A s s o c i a t i o n

western

July 2011

ON THE COVER

Concept : : Home Photo by Diane Maehl www.dianemaehl.com

Contact WHFA at www.WHFA.org or (800) 422-3778 western retailer

COOL RETAILERS HOT IDEAS Las Vegas Market RRC

Sizzling Summer Showcase est.1944

Western Home Furnishings Association

www.WHFA.org

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editor’s MESSAGE I t ’s T i m e t o D i s c o n n e c t

H

ere’s a scenario: You are listening to a conference call on your iPhone, while checking emails on your iPad, looking at the latest sales figures on your laptop and watching CNN in the background? Sound familiar? Is technology running your life? A few years ago while on a cruise in the South Pacific, I realized how much I relied on technology, and how much it was running my daily life. Suddenly I was out in the middle of the ocean with no cell service, no laptop, limited Internet access and television, and it felt great!

After that trip, I realized that I was too attached to technology—most of us are. As most of you know, I love technology. My iPhone is always attached to me so I can tweet, Facebook, email and text. But after this trip, I started to occasionally take “tech free” nights. One night every few months, I would turn off the phone, television, computer, etc. and either read a book or connect with family and friends in person. I found that without my phone attached to me, I was more engaged in my interactions with family and friends. I also realized that nothing vital happened during the few hours that I didn’t have my phone on me. The next day I always woke up refreshed and rejuvenated—ready to tackle whatever was thrown at me.

Melissa Dressler Western Retailer Managing Editor

About a year ago, I made the decision to disconnect from television. Part of this decision was financial, but the main reason was because every weekend I would sit on the sofa catching up on everything I DVRed over the week—and I felt drained. While I do still watch the occasional Netflix movie or stream a show from Hulu, I find I am spending more time being active, enjoying time with family or relaxing with a great book.

I will never completely disconnect from technology (and I don’t recommend anyone does—technology plays a vital role in life today), but I think it is important to take time away from it, whether it is for a few hours or for a week. For me, taking a break from technology helps me focus on myself and my relationships with others. It gives me a chance to breathe and relax, without having to worry about an email that I need to respond to. Most importantly, I feel more present in life. I am not trying to multi-task, solve problems or worry about if we will meet a press deadline.

This issue of Western Retailer focuses on hot business ideas from other home furnishings retailers. From keeping your employees healthy, to using eCommerce or real world events as in-store events, this issue is chock full of creative ideas for your business. So take a few minutes, disconnect from technology and enjoy this issue!

J o u r n a l o f t h e We s t e r n H o m e F u r n i s h i n g s A s s o c i a t i o n

western

JUNE 2011

HFIC HIGHLIGHTS Colleen’s Classic Consignment

Free Marketing Strategies est.1944

Western Home Furnishings Association

www.WHFA.org

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(916) 960-0385 MDressler@whfa.org

Last month’s magazine is available online at www.WHFA.org.

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western retailer

Follow us— www.facebook.com/ westernretailer www.facebook.com/WHFA @westernretailer Contact WHFA at www.WHFA.org or (800) 422-3778

it’s coming

it’s new and it’s yours! it’s super easy to navigate it’s socially integrated

It’s Finally Here!

Check out our site Play our game Win a Prize!

Find the Wrench

ouse Look through the wareh wrench den hid store and find the y at ipp Sk for then call and ask (800) 422-3778

Cool New Site!

Click and Win!

The brand new WHFA website is up and running! The new site features a clean look that is easy to navigate. Find information on membership programs, industry news, business resources and more on the expanded site. The WHFA store has been overhauled and now includes a first-class shopping cart. You can purchase warehouse, touch-up and light bulb products with just a few clicks!

Two ways to win free prizes throughout the month of August.

Visit www.WHFA.org today and check out all we are launching.

Be entered to win a nook color ebook by visiting the new www.WHFA.org website and finding the news article titled “WHFA Website Contest”. Follow the instructions and be entered to win!

Follow us—

Daily Prizes Visit www.WHFA.org and Join Our Mailing List on the home page for a chance to win a daily prize throughout the month. Already on our mailing list? You can still enter your email address and have a chance at winning daily prizes.

Grand Prize

www.facebook.com/WesternHomeFurnishingsAssn http://tinyurl.com/WesternHome

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Thank you to Grey Suit Retail for creating our great website Contact WHFA at www.WHFA.org or (800) 422-3778 western and store. For moreretailer info, visit www.greysuitretail.com.

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Submit Your Nominations for the 2012 WHFA Board of Directors The Board of Directors is a vital part of the progress and growth of your association.

WHFA depends on strong, quality leadership and needs your recommendations for members you feel would represent WHFA and the furniture industry in a professional manner.

Members are free to nominate themselves. A full description of Board Member Benefits and Obligations is available at wwwWHFA.org.

To nominate a WHFA member for the Board of Directors, log on to www.WHFA.org and fill out the form by August 18, 2011. If you have any questions regarding the criteria for the Board of Directors, please call or email Sharron Bradley, WHFA executive director, at (800) 422-3778 or sbradley@whfa.org.

ARE YOU FUN? HAVE GREAT IDEAS? JOIN THIS DYNAMIC GROUP—NOMINATE YOURSELF! PFP-WHFA Ad 0611_Layout 1 6/8/11 9:41 AM Page 1

for participating in the growth and prosperity of our industry. est.1944

GO TO: www.WHFA.org Deadline August 18, 2011

What If You Could Reinvent Yourself Like This Company?

As Sussan Furniture in Dickinson, Texas finished a successful liquidation in February (2011) that marked the end of the three-generation family business, owner Janet Sussan-Berman was establishing a new business, J. Sussan Interiors, which opened in April. She worked on J. Sussan Interiors after hiring Planned Furniture Promotions (PFP) to manage a liquidation sale at Sussan Furniture. “Because Planned Furniture Promotions had such a good and competent management team running the (liquidation) sale, it gave me the freedom to work to develop the new business. I was able to spend several months doing that,” she said “I trusted them completely.”

Call PFP to reinvent your business today!

1-800-472-5242 www.pfpromotions.com

High Impact Events Since 1962

Contact WHFA at www.WHFA.org or (800) 422-3778 western retailer

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9

It’s All About Sales & Marketing

I

cool retailers

Jim Hering and Ron Werner, owners of HW Home in Boulder, Colorado

nnovation and creativity are vital components to keeping a business successful. In the home furnishings industry, we are constantly faced with new challenges on how to build and grow a successful business. This month we look at five retailers who have implemented hot ideas in their stores to help their employees, sales and customers. Check out what makes these retailers cool and discover new opportunities to make your business sizzle.

By Melissa Dressler, Managing Editor, Western Retailer

Incentivizing with Modified Commissions Since day one, HW Home has had salaried salespeople instead of commission-based. We strongly believe in being a salariedbased enterprise because we feel it is beneficial for our team and our customers. We also recognize that we have held employee pay for several years now just because we are dealing with a slow economy. To help keep our employees motivated and selling, we recently created a new incentive plan.

On certain orders, there has to be a minimum size to the order, we are going to start paying an incentive on those sales. The incentive is based on order’s size and discounting.

If a salesperson has an order that meets the minimum order amount, he can lump two orders together. So if you sold a customer something today, and they return within a two week period, you can lump the second sale into the first one and tie the profits together. If there is no discount on the product, then our employees will get a higher payout. If there is an added discount, which is subjective by us, we are going to reduce the payout.

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western retailer

I think this gives our team a huge extra incentive. I guess you would call it modified commission. It is another way for our employees to supplement their current salaries. We wanted a way to help our employees while also helping the business. We needed to create a little extra motivation to get them hustling more. Instead of giving our employees a pay raise, we are now giving them their base salary, and then we now want them out their hustling to make the sale. So if they sell someone a bed, I want the salesperson to remember to ask for the mattress order and the additional add-ons. Is it going to cost us money? Yes. But I believe we will be successful in creating more sales.

Our staff also does a lot of team sales, so we developed a program where there can be two salespeople that can split the incentive. If two people end up helping a customer, we will split it 50/50. We will only split it between two salespeople, not three. We have to manage this thing, which I am sure will be some work. We are just rolling this program out but I feel it is going to be very successful.

–Ron Werner, Owner, HW Home, Boulder, Colorado Contact WHFA at www.WHFA.org or (800) 422-3778

It’s All About Sales & Marketing

The von Hemert family during the Royal Wedding event (l-r): Mickey von Hemert, Kelly von Hemert, Barry von Hemert, Susan von Hemert and Carrie von Hemert

Union Jack Mini Cooper and the Royal Wedding Cake by Christopher Garren’s Cake

Using Real World Events to Inspire In-Store Events My goal for this year was to step outside the box and come up with a unique idea for an in-store event. We have been trying to get out in the community more and bring excitement to our company via social media, events, charities and networking.

With social media, we started to really engage with people through Twitter over the last six months and hired a company called The Kaleidoscope Partnership to help us with our social media strategy.

Right after the Royal Wedding engagement, Leslie Carothers, owner of The Kaleidoscope Partnership, and I had been discussing the excitement surrounding the engagement. She had a few ideas for a Royal Wedding-inspired event to take place. I kept thinking about this idea, and decided we should throw a Royal Wedding event in our store during the month of April, which is historically the slowest month for our store.

We ended up holding the event on April 28, the night before the actual Royal Wedding, which made it even more exciting.

We asked Emily Eerdmans, contributing editor of House Beautiful, to speak about English design during the event. We also wanted to have some fun and unique products from local vendors throughout Orange County, so I reached out to local fashion designer Oday Shakar (who has become well-known in the fashion industry) to see if he would be interested in lending us gowns for the evening. To my surprise, he was very interested and lent us two to three dozen gowns for models to wear throughout the night, as well as one for my sister and I. We were trying to create a hip vibe and bring in a younger audience with this event, and by having Oday Shakar in attendance, this really helped draw in some fun excitement and energy.

Also on hand that night was royally inspired gems from the de Young collection in New York. The models wore the gems throughout the night and there were two tiaras, one of which was a Cartier tiara, on hand for attendees to try on. The Cartier tiara was worth over a million dollars! I also wanted a

fabulous cake for the event, but knew that we couldn’t afford to pay thousands of dollars for one. I remembered seeing an episode of Access Hollywood where they had asked a local Costa Mesa bakery, Christopher Garren’s Bakery, how they would design a wedding cake for William and Catherine. I called him up, and he was willing to loan us the cake for the evening—it was 5 feet tall! We served Hors d’œuvres, red velvet and berry cake (not the one that was on loan!). The 300 people in attendance could walk throughout the showroom and see a beautiful display of over a hundred pieces of English furniture reproductions by manufacturer Theodore Alexander.

We had a Union Jack Mini Cooper in the showroom for people to get in and have a photo taken. The car made quite a statement in the middle of our store!

The event created a lot of online excitement as well. During the night, we gave away a Joanna LHuillier Union Jack Beaded Clutch. Leading up to the event, we also held an online competition for one other person to win the LHuillier clutch on Facebook. We called it The Clutch Wars, and people had to grab an item from our website, post it on our Facebook page and say why they thought Prince William and Catherine should have that piece in their home. The winner of The Clutch Wars was from England.

There was also a lot of blog coverage on our event. One blogger who lived in England had heard about the event and wrote a blog on it—which was featured on the Harrods of London Facebook page as their blog of the week. It was very exciting to get the global attention on our event!

Five percent of von Hemert Interiors sales and jewelry sales from the weekend benefitted the American Red Cross Japanese disaster relief. It has also helped us bring more traffic and sales to our store. We still have people coming in after the event and finalizing their purchases. Overall, it was a magical evening and event.

–Carrie von Hemert, Owner, von Hemert Interiors,

Orange County, CA

Contact WHFA at www.WHFA.org or (800) 422-3778 western retailer

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It’s All About Sales & Marketing

The healthy (and buff!) members of the Michael Alan Furnishings warehouse team

Keeping Staff Physically and Mentally Fit When I took over as warehouse manager about three years ago, I had just lost 70 pounds. I was very into creating a healthy lifestyle for myself, some would say a fitness fanatic, and when I took over the warehouse team, if someone was doing something wrong I would tell them, “OK, drop, we are doing push-ups.” The warehouse team member and I would then do some push-ups.

What was once considered a “punishment” eventually became a fun time for team-building.

Everyone in the warehouse wanted to participate.

We started to have challenges in the warehouse where we would do races up and down the alleyway, or run up and down an aisle. If one person was doing push-ups, others would join in.

We eventually got an abdominal crunch machine for our alleyway, so every time we walk by it, we do some abdominal crunches. Every few months, we have some sort of silly competition within the department, like the best abs or biceps on the team. The sales staff comes out, feels our arms and judges us on the best biceps or stomach.

Along with the time our staff has been dedicating to fitness in the warehouse, we also sit down every day for lunch together, for what we call Family Time. This is the time for our warehouse team to connect and talk about everything—not work stuff, but about our personal lives and what is going on. Slowly, everyone started bringing healthier meals, and we now give each other a

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hard time if one of us is eating badly. We all take care of each other.

We have seen a shift in our team’s mental attitude. The team is healthier mentally and physically. One of our team members has quit drinking and has almost quit smoking. The entire team feels better and works hard—in fact, the exercising has made work easier for everyone. The challenges and abdominal machine are actually making our team stronger, which means they are less likely to get hurt on the job. I am very lucky that the owners of Michael Alan don’t give us a hard time about it and support everything we are doing. They see that it benefits our team to be physically fit and not have hernias or back problems. The stronger the group is, the fewer problems you will have.

–Clint Pastorius, Warehouse Manager, Michael Alan Furnishings,

western retailer

Lake Havasu, Arizona

Contact WHFA at www.WHFA.org or (800) 422-3778

Industry Beat

Shopping @ industryBEAT home from your favorite retailer

Selling Furniture Online For the last six months, Michael’s Furniture Warehouse has been selling furniture online. At first, I will admit that I was hesitant about offering furniture through my website. Now I have seen it benefits my store in two ways. First, there are some people out there that don’t want to come into a store to shop. They don’t want to deal with salespeople and some people just prefer to buy things online. Secondly, the online store acts like another advertisement for my business because we can include the prices online and people can see the inventory our store offers.

We send out promotional flyers, but you can only include so much information—with the site, you can give them an unlimited amount of information to help them make their decision.

The next six days that matter

We have seen an increase in sales. While there aren’t many new customers purchasing online, we are seeing that people who are familiar with our store are using it. It is easy to see what I have in the store, and they can buy it from their living room. I love having eCommerce on my site. It has given us the opportunity to sell furniture to more people online.

–Darin Reisman, Owner, Michael’s Furniture Warehouse,

Van Nuys, California

www.highpointmarket.org/facebook www.highpointmarket.org/linkedin www.highpointmarket.org/twitter www.highpointmarket.org/youtube www.highpointmarket.org | 800.874.6492 | info@highpointmarket.org

MA1105_Rebekah_WR_MECH.indd 1

Contact WHFA at www.WHFA.org or (800) 422-3778 western retailer

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5/31/11

It’s All About Sales & Marketing

Hot Ideas from Other Industries Starbucks: Listening to your customers. Starbucks created a feedback site called MyStarbucksIdea.com, which has received almost 98,000 ideas submitted by customers—and 100 have been adopted. Among the ideas that Starbucks adopted are: donating unsold pastries to local homeless shelters and food ktichens, giving baristas name badges, selling reusable sleeves, and bringing back Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate.

Thom Filicia, Marc Szafran, President of Thom Filicia, Inc., Bob and Cindy Masin at the DIFFA Fundraising Event at Masins

Connecting with Community Organizations Masins Fine Furnishings has been partnering with DIFFA (Design Industry Foundation Fighting AIDS) for the last six years by hosting events in our stores. Our latest event was held last May, and we raised $15,000 for DIFFA through a silent auction that was held in the store. We hired models to walk around the event showing off the latest designer fashions from Barneys. Thom Filicia, known for his time on Queer Eye for the Straight Guy and now his furniture and fabric collections, was the face of our event.

This year’s event drew in a much more sophisticated crowd of clients—I would hope it had something to do with Thom! He is a great guy, very down-to-earth, and spent the event chatting with other attendees. We don’t sell any furniture during the night—it is more our way of allowing a charity we support to host an event in our showroom.

Seattle is a small community, so hosting charity events in our store gives us a chance to give back to the community that has been so giving to us over the years. Masins began partnering with DIFFA because our PR person, John Stevens, was on the board. We support many different charities, but DIFFA is synonymous with design and are very well recognized in the interior ➤ design field, so it is important for us to support them.

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Using this in your store: Create a customer feedback area on your website or social media pages and ask them what they want. Maybe they would like more design services, or a great assortment of dining tables. You will never know until you ask.

Nordstroms: The flagship Nordstroms in Seattle store created interactive window displays that caught the attention of customers. Using the technology through Microsoft’s Kinect motion controller, Nordstroms allowed passrsby to hand “paint” lighted letters into the display. A sign was posted instructing people walking by to “Please DO touch the glass.” Watch the video at http://tinyurl.com/nordyoutube.

Using this in your store: While using a Microsoft Kinect motion controller in your store windows might be pricey, think about creating window displays that will catch the attention of people walking by. This is especially great if your store is in an area that sees a lot of foot traffic, such as a downtown location. On weekends, hire models to sit in your store windows and showcase the beautiful furniture you are selling.

Contact WHFA at www.WHFA.org or (800) 422-3778

Neil Kapp, Masins' Vanguard representative, with Dave Masin at the DIFFA event.

Most businesses have a charity that they like to give money too.

You can easily reach out to these charities and offer them the opportunity to host an event in your store, and you can offer a certain percentage of sales to go back to the charity organization.

The next six days that matter

Most organizations would be happy to share their mailing list and get a crowd into your store. A celebrity like Thom Felicia might not be a draw for all stores, so find something that will bring customers in for the night. It could even be as simple as wine and cheese. Ultimately, the more people you get into your store and visibility you gain, the better off you are. All of these efforts support the community and your business. –Dave Masin, Vice President, Masins Fine Furniture,

www.highpointmarket.org/facebook www.highpointmarket.org/linkedin www.highpointmarket.org/twitter www.highpointmarket.org/youtube

Seattle, Washington

www.highpointmarket.org | 800.874.6492 | info@highpointmarket.org

MA1105_Interhall_Bed_WR_MECH.indd 1

Contact WHFA at www.WHFA.org or (800) 422-3778 western retailer

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5/31/11

World Market Center Las Vegas Visit us: Building C, 4th floor

AUGUST 1-5

RRC RETAILER

RESOURCE CENTER

Western Home Furnishings Association National Home Furnishings Association

We are your Retailer Resource Center Western Home Furnishings Association

Buyer’s Club • Seminars • Resource Marketplace est.1944

Western Home Furnishings Association

16

Western Home Furnishings Association • www/WHFA.org • 800-422-3778 National Home Furnishings Association • www.NHFA.org • 800-888-9590 j u ly 2 0 11 Contact WHFA at www.WHFA.org or (800) 422-3778 western retailer

Attend sessions during any time frame or for a break visit the Buyer’s Club, the MarketPlace or the WHFA Store...

RRC

Location C-496

RETAILER

RESOURCE CENTER

3:30-4:30pm

2:00-3:00pm

12:30-1:30pm

11:00-12:00pm

9:30-10:30am

National Home Furnishings Association Western Home Furnishings Association

MONDAY August 1

TUESDAY August 2

WEDNESDAY August 3

THURSDAY August 4

8 Great Closings!

Public Relations: The Secrets Revealed

Creation + Sharing + Engagement divided by Marketing = Social Media

The Magic 3’s

Philip Gutsell GutSELL & Associates

Kathy Wall The Media Matters, Inc.

Sally Morse HunterDouglas

Kevin Doran R&A Marketing

We Can’t Wait for Customers, Go Get Them!

Measuring and Maximizing the Value of Your Website

Brad Huisken IAS Training

Steven McLendon MicroD Inc.

Seth Weisblatt Nulution Google Certified Small Business Trainer (repeat)

Profit NOW!

How to Prepare for Today’s Emboldened Mattress Shoppers

Dynamics of a Family Business–What is Your Succession Plan?

Gerry Morris Inner Spring, Inc.

Carolynne Ruccereto, STORIS Management Systems

Web-based Intelligence

Anatomy of a Salesperson

Nobody Notices Normal

True Cost of Home Delivery

Bob George FurnitureCore.com

Joe Milevsky JRM Sales & Management, Inc.

Sally Morse HunterDouglas

Kevin Truett Speedy Delivery

My Associates Have Been Trained; They Don’t Need or Want More Training!

Hire Google!

GenerationSpeak !

Seth Weisblatt Nulution Google Certified Small Business Trainer

Rich Kizer & Georganne Bender Kizer & Bender SPEAKING! 4:00 - 5:00 PM Business Survival Series Hosted by WMC & WHFA

Visit the Buyer’s Club or the MarketPlace—it’s where you belong!

John Egger Profitability Consulting Group

Mark Lacy The Furniture Training Company

Hire Google!

The Real Estate Market is Ready for You! Douglas Kays Douglas Kays Real Estate

Get a Grip on Your Business Financials Bob Moorman JRM Sales & Management, Inc.

Contact WHFA at www.WHFA.org or (800) 422-3778 western retailer

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17

RRC RETAILER

RESOURCE CENTER

National Home Furnishings Association Western Home Furnishings Association

The WHFA RRC MarketPlace is where you can find nearly 30 business service providers eager to help revitalize your operations. Market is the best place to find resources for every part of your business. Your success is more than inventory and the RRC MarketPlace is more of what you need. Check out www.WHFA.org for a complete listing of service providers showing at the August Las Vegas Market.

COMPANY

BOOTH NUMBER

ACA - Advertising Concepts of America................................ 26 Credit Source Insurance & Finance........................................ 31 CrossCheck............................................................................ 35 Custom Design Software....................................................... 13 Delivery Solutions, Inc............................................................ 38 Diakon Logistics..................................................................... 10 Forearm Forklift, Inc.............................................. Launch Pad Furniture Training Company................................................... 19 Furniture Wizard........................................................................1 FurnitureDealer.net.......................................................... 4, 5, 6 FurnServe............................................................................... 28 GE Money............................................................................... 16 Genesis Software Systems.................................................... 27 Guardian Protection Products...................................................7 iFurniture.net.............................................................................2 Impact Consulting Services................................................... 36 JRM Sales & Management..................................................... 40 Mail America........................................................................... 24 MicroD.................................................................................... 11 Myriad Software............................................................14 & 15 NuGuard Surface Protection ................................................. 39 Profitability Consulting Group................................................ 29 PROFITsystems, Inc......................................................32 & 33 RedPrairie.......................................................................... 8 & 9 Speedy Delivery, LLC................................................................3 Springleaf Financial Services................................................. 37 STORIS Management Systems.....................................17 & 18 Truckskin, LLC........................................................................ 23 ViewIT Technologies............................................................... 12 Western Home Furnishings Association WHFA Warehouse Store List as of June 23, 2011—visit www.whfa.org for up-to-date information.

The RRC is brought to you by: est.1944

Western Home Furnishings Association

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Contact WHFA at www.WHFA.org or (800) 422-3778

Join us in Celebrating National Home Furnishings Month this September.

List Your Store. Download the Tools.

Sign up for the Sweepstakes. Capture the Sales.

During Las Vegas Market, visit the National Home Furnishings Month Kiosk in C496 to get your FREE store listing on HomeYet.com. Plus, sign up your store to participate in the Home Mortgage Sweepstakes and download the complimentary online and in-store marketing tools to use this promotion as your own.

HomeYet.com/retailer-login Š 2011 World Market Center Las Vegas LLC

Contact WHFA at www.WHFA.org or (800) 422-3778 western retailer

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Hot Picks for Market

HOTPicks | 2011

The Latest Greatest The Western Retailer is featuring a “Sizzling Summer Showcase” with an exclusive first look at the 2011 August Las Vegas Market.

ASPENHOME aspenhome’s® new Bayfield bedroom group with its rugged distressed solid pine planked boards, finished in dark mahogany is an expression of artisanal luxury.

Casual while maintaining elegance is its ultimate purpose. www.aspenhome.com Las Vegas Showroom B801, B880

NOURISON The Calvin Klein Home Rug Collection represents a modern design approach to floor coverings with an emphasis on distinct colors and subtle textures. With five different collections using fine materials such as New Zealand wool, combined with superior construction, and an exceptional sense of style, the Calvin Klein collection results in a luxurious line of rugs that reflects the refinement and high standards of Calvin Klein Home. The five collections are: Loom Select, Canyon, Prairie, Sequoia and Urban.

www.nourison.com Las Vegas Showroom C112

HOTPicks | 2011

Hot Picks for Market

Trends—see us in Vegas!

SURYA Introduces their new summer 2011 Collections. Dreamscape and Banshee are both bold, fresh, modern lines of rugs made with 100% New Zealand Wool. The new Candice Olson Pillows and Poufs are playful and full of texture, combining movement with sophistication. www.surya.com Las Vegas Showroom B366, B370

STEVE SILVER The Hamlyn dinette is a mix of contemporary and cottage styles. This marble top round dining is a fantastic choice for a bistro-inspired casual dining area. From the round marble top dining table to the sophisticated styling of the upholstered side chairs, your dining area will resonate with a fresh new look and an inviting feel when dining with family and friends.

Hamlyn Marble Top Table 44 Round(31"H) Hamlyn Side Chair 19 x18"x41" Hamlyn Marble Top Bakers Rack 42 x17"x73"

www.stevesilver.com Las Vegas Showroom C1576

Harper Sectional

EMERALD HOME The U2020 Harper sectional features a black bonded leather cover with a contrast stitch.

8-way hand-tied construction with pocket coil seating ensures longevity. The bonded leather cocktail table has great sewing treatments and an inlayed laminate top. Love: 72 x 36 x 39”H, Chaise: 89 x 36 x 39”H. www.emeraldhome.com Las Vegas Showroom B1350

21

What We’re Reading

How to Market to People Not Like You

by Kelly McDonald

T

Kelly McDonald is a recognized expert on multicultural marketing and business trends.

he following is an excerpt from the first chapter of How to Market to People Not like You by Kelly McDonald. In these pages, you will learn how to reach the customer your not getting, but should be.

Tapping into new and diverse market segments means big business. The world is more diverse than ever before. Learn seven steps that will help you grow your sales and profits, while building loyalty with new customers, today and tomorrow. After finishing this excerpt, like or write on the WHFA Facebook page www. facebook.com/WesternHomeFurnishingsAssn and win a FREE copy of How to Market to People Not Like You!*

CHAPTER ONE

Get Out of Your Comfort Zone to Grow Sales

“SPRAY AND PRAY” VERSUS BROAD THINKING AND NARROWCASTING

Marketers are lazy. I should know—I’m a marketer. I don’t mean we don’t work hard. We do. We work our butts off. And we tend to be unappreciated. There’s even a joke about it in my field: “When business is great, the credit goes to the Sales Department. When business is bad, blame Marketing.”

Marketing is hard. It’s not like other disciplines in business that are easily measured or quantified. For example, if you’re in the Product Development Department of a technology company and you develop a new computer system, you can test and test and retest that system to see where the bugs and glitches are before you ever release it for launch. In marketing, we can take certain steps to “test” our thinking, our approach, and our message, but it’s still very hard to anticipate human behavior, desires, and what will ultimately inspire someone to buy something.

Marketers are also highly accountable for the results of their work.

If you’re a marketing executive at a company and your efforts don’t yield the anticipated sales results, your butt’s on the line. If you work for an ad agency and your clients don’t get the results they want or expect, your clients will 22

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probably fire you. If you’re a small business owner, your budget pressure is enormous and you need to make every dollar count.

When I say “marketers are lazy,” what I mean by that is that we are often guilty of being lazy thinkers. We are under so much pressure to hit our numbers (sales targets or budget targets, or both), that we often take the path of least resistance or the easiest route to getting our work done. For example, sometimes marketing executives compromise on doing the right thing and end up doing the safe thing—the thing that makes their boss or their shareholders happy. Instead of marketing to your potential prospect, you end up marketing to yourself (or your boss).

I recently saw a brochure for a midsized accounting firm. Their potential customers are other businesses that need the services of a solid accounting firm.

As a small business owner myself, I can say that some of the things that might be important to other business owners could be personal service, reasonable fees, excellent tax advice, financial problem solving, tax savings strategies, and long-range thinking and planning steps, just to name a few.

However, this brochure touted none of those attributes. Instead, it featured a picture of their building, and inside, a bio of their founder.

It’s hard to believe that anyone would choose an accounting firm based on what their building looks like. And most people are smart enough to know that the founder, if he or she is still alive, will not be the person actually working with you on your business.

The brochure was clearly meant to satisfy the ego of the founder, rather than actually stimulate new business for the firm. I’ll bet it didn’t do much in the way of getting sales results, but by giving the boss what he wanted, the marketing executive probably made his own Contact WHFA at www.WHFA.org or (800) 422-3778

life a lot easier.

That’s what I mean by being lazy. We have so much pressure on us to hit those numbers, hit those deadlines, and keep everyone happy that we compromise. Or we want sales results so badly that we take the broadest approach possible to our marketing efforts, hoping to reach as many people as possible with our message.

I call this “spray and pray.” You spray your message out there as widely as possible and pray it works. It’s the opposite of targeting. It’s “broadcasting” in the truest, most literal sense of the word: casting your net as broadly as possible, hoping to catch a lot of fish.

The first 100 people to “Like” the WHFA Facebook page

A better approach today is narrowcasting—learning as much as possible about your target audience, however small that audience may be, and communicating to them frequently, richly, and relevantly.

or post a quote from this excerpt on the WHFA Facebook page wall

It’s better to reach 10 percent of what I call your “high-potential market” than to reach 90 percent of a market that doesn’t really care about your company or your products.

Most readers of this book have probably never done this, so you’re understandably a little afraid of this concept of narrowcasting. You don’t know how to do it. You don’t know how to find the percentage of the market that represents “high potential,” and you don’t know how to create products, services, or messages that are relevant to that highpotential customer. You’re nervous that you’ll make a mistake, offend somebody, or look bad to your boss. And let’s face it—on top of all that, you’re busy! You’ve got a lot on your plate, and doing thoughtful, careful consumer marketing takes a lot of time. So you continue to “spray and pray” because it’s faster and easier. And it’s “safe.”

But you were smart enough to pick up this book. You know you can, and should, do more to reach new markets. What you may not know is this: every business can grow this way. Narrowcasting and marketing to people’s values can be your “secret sauce.” It will be the thing that differentiates you from your competition and sets you apart in the consumer’s mind. And I promise you this: your competitors are not likely to be developing marketing plans around narrowcasting. No, they are much more likely to stick with spray and pray, which means that you have a wide-open field of opportunity before you.

(www.facebook.com/ WesternHomeFurnishingsAssn)

will win a FREE copy of Kelly McDonald’s book How to Market to People Not Like You. Limited quantities available.

Kelly McDonald is a recognized expert on multicultural marketing and business trends. She was named #1 on the list of “26 Hot Speakers” by Successful Meetings magazine.

As a professional speaker to businesses and organizations, Kelly shares marketing insights and teaches strategies and tactics for cultivating diverse consumers emotionally, rationally and with cultural relevance. Her topics are always customized to the specific industry and localized geographically as appropriate.

*Free book is limited to the first 100 people who like or post an excerpt on the WHFA Facebook page.

For a full excerpt or to order your own copy, visit www.marketingtopeoplenotlikeyou.com.

(www.facebook.com/WesternHomeFurnishingsAssn) (www.facebook.com/WesternHomeFurnishingsAssn) (www.facebook.com/WesternHomeFurnishingsAssn) Contact WHFA at www.WHFA.org or (800) 422-3778 western retailer

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23

Membership

The Importance of Safety Training

R

outine work can dull alertness and a relaxed attitude can replace the caution that existed when the job was new and interesting. In many jobs the same route is traveled daily over the same roads or the same tasks are repeated with little conscious thought.

Without some periodic reawakening to the ever-present hazards, lethargy deepens and the odds of an accident occurring can increase.

Workers may not always recognize the importance of safety training or think of it as unnecessary because they’ve “been doing it for years.” But an important benefit of periodic safety training is the reminder that a danger can exist and that . . .

For more information contact your WHFA Safety Director Kaprice Crawford at (800) 422-3778

Looking for more Safety Information?

Check out our updated online Safety Spot for additional articles, tips and resources to keep your business and employees safe. Visit www.WHFA.org > Education & Resources > Safety Spot.

24

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no one is immune to accidents.

Therefore, it is important for workers to understand the purpose of the training session, why it will be useful to them, and what can result from not following safety rules and procedures.

The safety training should be organized so that the order in which the material is presented will match the steps that should be taken on the job. Make sure every worker understands the training material; not just that they were present or a test was given. Insist on questions from trainees after a session to tell you what did or didn’t sink in. This will let you know what has to be reviewed again. If there’s a general lack of understanding of hazards or safety rules and practices, schedule another safety meeting or plan a refresher course for a later date.

Employees should be able to immediately practice and apply new knowledge and skills.

If workers don’t understand safety training information well enough to use it on the job, the training has not been effective. There should be immediate feedback if workers are doing their job safely or not. Supervisors should watch employees do their jobs and question them, to identify what they do, or don’t, know.

Most of these tips are relatively simple and inexpensive solutions, but the safety payoff can be enormous. Remember, training is only effective when workers understand, and use, what they’ve learned. It takes less than a second to lose the rest of your life.

Contact WHFA at www.WHFA.org or (800) 422-3778

Exclusive programs for WHFA Members

MemberMarketplace Get Started Today!

(800) 422-3778 WHFA.ORG

Bankcard Processing

In-Store Financing

Put your membership to work and receive a free, noobligation statement analysis that shows exactly how much you are paying for your current processing. This analysis will uncover any hidden fees and costs that interfere with your potential profits. With superior rates, when compared to competitor pricing with hidden fees, these savings will more than pay for your membership!

Take advantage of these program benefits:

GE Money has been a retail credit provider for over 60 years, offering a full complement of financing programs to meet the needs of the diverse home furnishings industry. WHFA has a tenured client relationship team specialized in servicing our members.

• Straightforward pricing with no conversion or set-up fees • Deposit into your own bank • No minimum volume required • Wide-array of equipment options & wireless terminals available

• Member only pricing and discounts • Volume rebates back to you • 24-48 hour ACH funding • Holiday promotions and special pricing • One-page dealer application • Enroll today, transact in less than 7 days Call for nly Member O! s te a R

• No monthly statement fees

(800) 422-3778

Banner Marketing

Business Intelligence

Banner Marketing helps you grow your business through an integrated marketing approach. They combine digital and traditional marketing strategies to reach your key consumers and inspire them to buy from your store.

Free with membership, this program features high-level statistics to help benchmark and compare your company to other similar companies in the industry (similar to the Retail Performance Report of years past).

Banner provides professional advertising at remarkable savings. They manage the entire marketing process for you, and it’s all under one roof!

• Direct Mail Promotions

• Product Category: Know how your company’s product measures up.

• Promotional Website • In-Store Signage

• Market Profile: Know the potential and understand the customers in your market.

• Industry Model: Learn demographic information for your defined market.

• Circulars

• Digital Media

FurnitureCore.com Business Intelligence Program features:

BANNER MARKETING Integrate.Accelerate.Impact! !t’s what we do.

FREE withip h Members

• Best Practices: Compare your revenue and expense ratios with the industry to identify opportunities.

Contact WHFA at www.WHFA.org or (800) 422-3778 western retailer

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25

How to Grow Your Business Through Social Media Do me a favor.

Grab a sheet of paper and pencil. Go to your desk, the bathroom, outside, or wherever you think the best and write down five ways you think you can sell your product through social media. You got it? Great!

Now throw it away.

There are no right answers on how to make sales from social media. Don’t let anyone tell you they have the greatest solution to start getting you sales from social media. Social media is an ever-changing media. Every single day, something new is introduced or taken away.

You’re competing with a lot of other businesses in the social media marketplace. Facebook recently announced that there are now more than 3 million active business pages on Facebook, and the average user becomes a fan of four pages every month.

What can you do to reach and understand your Facebook marketplace? The

answer to this question will help you increase sales and grow your social media presence.

Social media is exactly that: media that delivers a message. And just like traditional media, you need to get to know your customer and your marketplace. Although social media may be free, social media marketing is not. It’s just a whole new way to do it.

“So,” you ask, “how do I get people to come to my social sites?” The answer is simple—sort of!

You must embrace social media in all aspects of your marketing. Some examples:

• Add your social media logos to your direct mail pieces and print inserts • Announce them on your radio spots

Facebook is still

• Include them in your TV spots

growing: More

• Talk about it in the showroom

than 30 billion

• Add them to your website

pieces of content is shared each month, which is an average of seven billion pieces a week.

• Have a promotion solely focused on social media • Create a direct mail campaign that embraces your offer and a Facebook contest Selling through social media is no different than selling face-to-face on the showroom floor.

Customers must be engaged and interested. They will not respond to random information or a hard sell. Social media is about your customer.

They came to your page for a reason, so give them a reason to keep coming back.

One of social media’s best qualities is content: creating it, sharing it and engaging with it.

Quality content will inspire, inform, educate or even entertain your customers (and if you’re really lucky, it does all four!). So if you’re looking to engage with your customers to keep them coming back for more, follow the tips below to implement social media cohesion:

Establish Your Brand Voice

Brainstorm with your team and establish your social media identity before you set up your social media accounts. Decide what your brand stands for and what you ➤ want to portray on your social media platforms.

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Contact WHFA at www.WHFA.org or (800) 422-3778

Ask yourself the following questions to help identify your social media goals:

• Do you want it to be strictly a selling tool?

• Do you want it to build life-long customer relationships?

• Do you want to increase fans and followers regardless of results?

your weight as an expert on that topic. That’s not to say you should never post about anything else, but keep your subject matter close to your area of expertise to reinforce your image as a leader in that area.

Talk about what you know. You’re a furniture store right? Talk about what you do every day. Tell your fans how this new sofa is a perfect fit for the family. Share decorating tips; give them tips on how to pick out the right bedroom suite. Show them you’re the leading voice of authority in your industry!

Focus on Your Topic

Get to Know Your Fans

Your social media fans may forget a specific post, but they will remember the topics you talk about the most and your subject matter of expertise— assuming that you establish one!

People become fans of your page for a reason. They didn’t happen to “like” your page just because they thought it looked cool. They want relevant and expert information from you. So go ahead and give them what they want!

An effective social media branding strategy should write, talk and share about topics related to your business and industry. This will reinforce

Pay attention to their posts—both positive and negative—and respond appropriately. Allow negative feedback and address Continued p.28 ➤

Contact WHFA at www.WHFA.org or (800) 422-3778 western retailer

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27

It’s All About Sales & Marketing

it head on. Simply say, “I’m sorry,” and don’t make excuses. Be real with your virtual fans, and you’ll create real friends.

Update Moderately

Don’t get caught in the overload zone.

Once your fall into this trap, it’s hard to escape. Overloading your followers and friends with too many updates will annoy them and can cause them to un-like your page.

However, it’s important to update moderately and steadily to help keep your brand fresh and reiterate

your brand personality among your customers.

Okay. Now go back to the trash can and take out the five things you wrote down at the beginning. Take the four above-mentioned ways to produce social media cohesion and apply those to the five you wrote down. It’s about finding the perfect balance between selling and building that fan (customer) relationship.

Remember, you’re a furniture store for a reason and people become fans of your page for that very reason. So give them what they want!

Where do your competitors outshine you?

The audience–your customers–are the judges.

Research you can’t live without 800.826.8868

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furniturecore.com

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Kevin Doran is co-owner of R&A Marketing, a full service traditional and digital marketing company in Columbus, Ohio, which services clients ranging from $500k to $150 mm in top line sales from coast-to-coast. R&A Marketing is a secondgeneration family business that began in 1987. Kevin and his brother Kyle purchased the family business from their father in 2011. Kevin graduated from Capital University with a degree in Public Relations as it pertains to social media and is leading R&A’s initiative to shape the digital strategy of the home furnishings industry, including R&A Web Plus. R&A Web Plus is an online selling solution for independent retailers that include social networking and product catalogs. R&A Web Plus allows retailers to compete head-to-head with the big-box companies in their towns. Through Kevin’s continuing leadership, R&A Marketing is positioned to handle the complete marketing needs for clients now and for many years into the future. For more information visit www. ramarketing.com.

Scan this code with a smartphone for additional information on Retailer Effectiveness.

western retailer

Contact WHFA at www.WHFA.org or (800) 422-3778

Bringing in the Next Generation of Home Furnishings Professionals Tech Savvy & Tuned in—working

together to develop its next group of leaders, Next Generation-NOW will provide professional development, networking and hosted forums to give a voice to the unique needs of young furniture professionals.

Join the group. Join the discussion

Attend the NGN Reception and have a chance to mingle with retailers, vendors and manufacturers who have “been there, done that”. During the event, there will be seasoned home furnishings professionals on hand to share their stories and offer advice for the next generation of the industry.

Meet new people, gain new ideas, and take in the stunning views of Las Vegas.

chatter over cocktails Tuesday August 2nd, 2011 5:00-6:00 p.m. @ One-Six Club World Market Center, Building B, 16th Floor Networking, Cocktails & hors d’ oeuvres Sponsored by:

R SVP

cwilliams@whfa.org facebook.com/NextGenNow

Knowing Which Coupons

& Offers Really Work Online

AS

a furniture retailer, you are navigating a complex digital shopping environment. Getting to know and understand “invisible” online shoppers can be challenging, but as discussed last quarter, one that can be overcome by using applications that monitor and report on website activity.

Consider Trends, Offers Industry-wide

In a survey commissioned in September 2010, the In-Store Marketing Institute reported that U.S. shoppers took advantage of several at-home digital shopping tools:

So what coupons are being requested most online? The Banner Retail Index: A Report on Current Trends in the Retail Furniture Industry, collected data for the 360 days ending Jan. 3, 2011, from more than 126 individual furniture dealers.

It reported on the top 10 offers that resulted in coupon requests across the group. The top offer was a contest entry for a living room group, gift certificate or a free mattress set. Other top trends included financing incentives and taxincluded offers.

Figuring out which offers provide the greatest incentive for shoppers to walk through your door and buy can be complicated. Savvy furniture buyers are visiting retailer and product websites, reading product reviews, comparing prices and finding discounts, all from the comfort of their home.

• 73% used printable Web coupons • 63% used online circulars • 58% read emails or news from particular brands • 53% used promotions on retailer websites.

Clearly, shoppers are interested not only in seeking out online deals and information, but in receiving the information directly. Knowing which digital elements attract consumers’ attention can help you tailor offers and make marketing dollars more effective.

Monitor Coupon Requests Online promotions are a great way to bring traffic into the store, but these deals require some thought in terms of timing, value and tracking. Using a Web analytics tool like Google Analytics, you can track your website and chart the frequency of coupon requests over time.

Utilizing historical data can help you plan ahead. By reviewing data from the past 360 days, for example, you can pinpoint times of the year when consumers seem focused on their homes and interested in deals that stretch their dollars.

More importantly, you can track which offers generated the most interest. If the same offer gets a great response at any time of year, it’s one to keep and maybe consider for typically slow periods.

By tracking coupon requests online, retailers can get a sense of how many coupons, once printed, are being redeemed in store. If requests are high but redemptions are low, ask some questions: Is the product mix and quality what customers expected? Are other stores running more attractive

promotions? If you collect personal contact information before issuing a coupon, you have the added opportunity of asking customers directly about their buying decisions and even make personalized offers.

The report also cited the popularity of specific offer categories. While the most popular discount offered was up to 10 percent off, the customer conversion was less than half that of the few retailers who offered incentives up to 50 percent off. In essence, the greater discount offer showed twice the conversion rate over the lesser discount—demonstrating that the better the savings, the more effective the promotion. While that may seem intuitive, the supporting statistic shows how powerful a deeper discount can be.

Stay Informed and Stay Ahead Take full advantage of the online tracking tools available.

Information from various sources can help you develop more effective offers, as well as avoid investing valuable time and resources in promotions that don’t deliver. Next time, we’ll consider how online product information can impact sales strategies.

Shirley Griffiths, the vice president of sales, is one of Banner Marketing’s longest tenured employees with 12 years of experience with the integrated marketing company. Griffiths is responsible for overseeing Banner’s sales, creative and operations departments. She can be reached at shirleyg@ bannerretail.com or (800) 843-9271.

Banner Marketing helps businesses grow through integrated marketing; a combination of digital and traditional marketing strategies that reach a company’s key consumers and inspire them to buy. In business since 1983 and based in Spokane, Wash., Banner develops creative content to support its client’s brands—from traditional circulars to cutting edge Web sites—keeps that content up-to-date, tracks program results, and provides reporting to refine and adjust strategies for even greater success.

Contact WHFA at www.WHFA.org or (800) 422-3778 western retailer

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31

Sell MORE Furniture

I

n today’s market, consumers have tremendous online access to information for making better informed decisions on their purchases of big ticket items like

home furnishings. Customers have the ability to compare any number of retailers—ensure customers buy their home furnishings with you by offering in-store financing options and utilizing the following tips.

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Contact WHFA at www.WHFA.org or (800) 422-3778

Financing programs are standard for effectively attracting more customers and increasing their purchasing power.

One of the easiest ways to close more sales is by including financing options as a part of your overall selling process.

Listed below are tips on selling in-store financing and some ideas on involving your sales team in the training process.

Four Training Tips on Selling In-Store Finance Options for Your Sales Team It is important to continuously train your sales team on your available store consumer payment options, the benefits of financing and promoting long-term payment solutions to your customers.

Tip ❶: Offer financing early and often, throughout the whole sales process Ask your team: What can we do differently to ensure that we offer payment solutions to every customer, early and often in the sales process, to avoid missing a sales opportunity?

• Tell every customer about your in-store financing at the beginning of the sales process to get them thinking about payment options.

• Give more detail on long-term payment solutions as the customer decides what to purchase.

• Remind the customer of the benefits of in-store financing before they check out.

Offering financing on long-term payment options early will often help you close larger sales and help customers buy what they really want.

Tip ❷: Discuss the benefits of the different finance promotions you are offering Knowing the terms of your in-store financing promotions— and how your customers can benefit—is essential when answering customer questions and addressing hesitations.

Ask your team: To recite the specific terms of your instore financing promotions (e.g., deferred interest periods, minimum purchase and payment requirements, etc.), and how each of these benefits your customers.

Customers choose long-term payment options for many different reasons. Whether it’s to help pay for a larger purchase or to save their money while delaying the payment in full, customers want different options so they can buy what they really want today.

Tip ❸: Listen to your customers to identify their specific payment solution needs You will have great sales success if you integrate questions early with your customers during the sales process.

Ask your team: What are some questions you can ask a customer to find out more about their purchasing situation?

Your initial interaction with a customer should make them feel comfortable with you as an advisor on their purchase. An important part of this process is asking the right questions to understand the customer’s product and budget needs.

Understanding each customer’s purchasing situation can help you offer in-store financing benefits and solutions that meet their needs. For example, when concerned about cash flow or monthly payments, you can offer affordable promotions that include both minimum monthly payments and deferred interest options.

Tip ❹: Address customer questions and hesitations with confidence Ask your team: To role play scenarios of customer questions and hesitations. Role playing will give sales team members practice addressing customer inquiries with confidence.

It happens to everyone at some point—you get the comment, “No thank you, I don’t want another credit card.” This is a perfect opportunity for you to explain the benefits of your in-store financing program; specifically, how it is different from traditional bankcards, how affordable monthly payments can free up cash and deferred interest promotions that can ultimately save them money.

GE Money offers resources for you and your team to get comfortable using financing to build relationships and increase customer traffic and sales. Obtain best practice solutions for your GE Money consumer finance program by going to the GE Money Real Talk education program at www.gemoney.com/realtalk.

Contact WHFA at www.WHFA.org or (800) 422-3778 western retailer

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Selling Furniture in the Current Economy

NO

longer can a furniture retailer sit back and wait for customers to come to them. A furniture store owner can’t just build the ivory palace and hope for customers to come into the store. Sometimes they aren’t coming. Savvy furniture retailers have to go out and get customers. As a furniture store owner, I would want to take a look at every advertising dollar that I spent and make sure that I am getting a sizable return on the investment. The owner of the store, or the marketing people, has to create selling opportunities.

From a statistical perspective, I would want to know if I need to advertise more, advertise more effectively, and run

more promotions or special events? Do I have customers coming into the store, and does my sales staff need to do a better job of selling them? Has my average sale decreased, and if so why has it decreased? Are my salespeople selling additional items and bumping up the sales that they are making? Bottom line most furniture stores need to do a better job in all areas.

My area of expertise isn’t in advertising and marketing. I know that advertising and marketing has one purpose—to bring customers through the door. My area of expertise is when the customers come in, what the sales staff does with them. A salesperson’s job, quite simply is to convert traffic into sales.

However, today a salesperson also can’t just sit back and wait for customers to come through the door.

They have to do their fair share to create traffic within the store as well.

In other words the salespeople have to make something happen.

This month I thought I would detail my top 10 ways that a salesperson can increase their personal sales.

❶ Make a telephone call to your existing customers with a customer benefited reason for the call. For example, new merchandise arrivals, special events, promotions, holidays, change in seasons, remodeling of the home etc. The secret to a successful telephone program is to get the customer to ask you to call them. Therefore, throughout the course of the year you need to make sure you are capturing contact information with permission for follow-up. For example: “Our buyers are going on a buying trip next month, would you like me to call you when I know what new merchandise we will have coming in?”

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Contact WHFA at www.WHFA.org or (800) 422-3778

❷ Ask every customer for a referral or a recommendation. I know that people that buy furniture tend to hang out with people that may be in the market for new furniture. Who else do you know that may be remodeling soon? Who else do you know that may need new patio furniture this spring? Who else do you know that may be interested in fine furniture? Would you mind giving them one of my business cards? I would love to meet them as well. ❸ Carry and pass out business cards to people that you come in contact with in your personal life. Bank tellers, waiters and waitresses, post office employees, etc. You may encounter hundreds of potential furniture buyers in the next few weeks or months. Everyone is potentially a customer. The more people that know that you are in the furniture business, the more potential customers you may have.

❹ Network within your community. Join the Chamber of Commerce, Red Cross, Civic Clubs and Organizations, Church groups, etc. Not from the standpoint of actually selling to anyone. But I know that the more people you encounter the more potential customers you will have. My Dad always told me if you are going to be successful you have to get out there and meet the people.

Shake hands, kiss babies, get involved in your community and as many various networking opportunities as you possibly can. ❺ Contact your friends & relatives about special events going on in their lives. Friends and relatives are a great source of potential customers and people that might just refer their friends to you. Don’t forget the people that you come in contact with on a personal level. ❻ Ask every customer at least two add-on questions. For example: What other special events do you have coming up? When is your anniversary? What type of accessories will you need to complete the decorating?

Who do you know that may be interested in new bedding soon? Offer to sketch every customer’s home. As you are laying out the sketch of the home you never know when an additional furniture need may arise. ❼ Attempt to sell every customer higher quality merchandise through increasing their perception of value. The easiest way to bump up a sale is through increasing the customer perception of value in the higher priced and higher quality goods. Everyone wants items that will last well into the future. Through selling higher quality goods you are actually providing a great customer service.

Contact WHFA at www.WHFA.org or (800) 422-3778 western retailer

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❽ Attempt to convert every service or repair customer into a furniture buyer. Ask every service and repair customer questions to get them involved in looking at furniture. As long as the customer is in your store for a repair, you might just as well ask them to look at merchandise or determine any current furniture needs. ❾ Sell based on the emotional reason that customers buy, not just the technical. In this way, you are developing personal trade customers that feel that you are their friend in the furniture business. Furniture is very personal, it represents how they live, entertain, relax, etc. Share in the excitement of the emotional reasons behind the purchase and the likelihood of developing a friendship, not just a customer, is far greater. ❿ Turnover sales that you cannot complete to another salesperson and give them a chance to complete the sale. The reasons that people don’t buy are as numerous as the reasons that people do buy! Just because the customer didn’t like anything that you have shown them doesn’t mean that they may not like something another salesperson shows them. They could even buy the same piece you were showing, they just liked the next person more. If you look at your very best customer, and think about everything that you know about that human being, I would guess you know their name, spouses name, where they live, where they work, how many children they have and their names as well as knowing

the name of their pet. Then think about the customer you didn’t sell. What do you know about that person? Probably not much. It all comes down to your ability to befriend another human being. If you can’t befriend that human being, then give somebody else a shot at it. I know that half of something is far better than all of nothing.

Good luck and work every minute of everyday to increase your personal sales and productivity. Don’t fall into the sea of mediocrity that I see so many salespeople fall into. You really can and do make a difference in the success of your organization. A salesperson is one that causes the exchange of ownership of a product or service based on the wants and needs of the customer, with integrity!

Author, trainer, consultant, and speaker Brad Huisken is President of IAS Training. Mr. Huisken authored the books I’M A Salesman! Not a PhD. and Munchies For Salespeople, Selling Tips That You Can Sink Your Teeth Into, he developed the PMSA Relationship Selling Program, the PSMC Professional Sales Management Course, The Mystery Shoppers Kit, The Employee Handbook and Policy & Procedures Manual, The Weekly Sales Training Meeting video series along with Aptitude Tests and Proficiency Exams for new hires, current sales staff and sales managers. In addition, he publishes a free weekly newsletter called “Sales Insight”. For a free subscription or more information contact IAS Training at (800)248-7703, www.iastraining.com or fax (303)936-9581.

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Industry Beat

industryBEAT C.S. Wo & Sons Ltd. Opens Two Ashley Furniture HomeStores

Sleep Train Voted #1 “Best Mattress” Store on KCRA A-List and Best of Baylist Online Polls!

Last May, C.S. Wo & Sons opened two new Ashley Furniture HomeStores in Hawaii.

The islands have not had an Ashley Furniture HomeStore since late 2006, when a former store abruptly closed, leaving customers without furnishings they had ordered and already paid for.

For the third year in a row, Sleep Train has taken top honors in the prestigious “Best of the KCRA 3 A-List” designation, “Best Mattresses 2011”.

When the former stores closed, C.S. Wo was called on to help the national brand take care of the customers that were left hanging and many former Ashley employees are currently employed with C.S. Wo.

“Ashley is the No. 1 brand name; it sells the most furniture in the nation. In the world they’re No. 2,” said C.S. Wo Division Manager Daphne Oliveros.

KCRA, a Northern California television station, polled its online readers to find out which companies are the best in their category. Sleep Train was voted Sacramento’s Number 1 in the “Best Mattress” store category. Sleep Train also received this honor in 2009 and 2010. Sleep Train also received top honors in the Bay Area’s San Francisco BayList for the second year in a row.

The “Best of the KCRA 3 A-List” annual competition had over 9,045 nominated businesses in the Sacramento area that fall into in many categories such as Arts and Entertainment, Beauty, Cheap Eats, Fashion, Great Meals, Health and Fitness, Nightlife, Shopping, Specialty Food and Drink, and Weddings.

More that 297,000 votes in 151 categories were cast.

Sleep Train is proud to have been graciously voted to such an esteemed list by their loyal customers and will continue to strive to provide the best customer service.

Contact WHFA at www.WHFA.org or (800) 422-3778 western retailer

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Social Lingo You’ve read articles, attended educational sessions, watched webinars but you still can’t quite figure it out! This Social Media Dictionary is your guide to all the lingo you need to know to successfully tweet, like, share and connect through social media.

Twitter With Twitter, you only have 140 characters to get your message across, so every word counts!

Here are a few fundamental Twitter words: • Follow: To follow someone on Twitter means to subscribe to their Tweets or updates on the site.

• Follower: A follower is another Twitter user who has followed you.

• Mention: You can talk to, or mention, another Twitter user in your Tweets by preceding it with the @ symbol, e.g.: “Glad your delivery went well @janesmith!” You do not have to follow someone to mention them.

• Retweet: When you see a Tweet by another user that you want to share, click Retweet below it to forward it to your followers instantly.

• Direct Message: If you want to privately Tweet to a particular user who’s already following you, start your Tweet with DM or D to direct-message them, e.g.: “DM @joesmith234 what is your order number?”

• Hashtag (#): Users often attach # to words in their Tweets to categorize them for others (e.g.: “Check out our new products for the Fall: http://t.co/link2 #fallsale”) Think of hashtags as the theme of your Tweet. Users can then click on a hashtag to see other similarly-themed tweets and find yours in search.

• Lists: Curated groups of other Twitter users. Used to tie specific individuals into a group on your Twitter account. This is displayed on the right side menu of your homepage.

Advertisers Index Please support the advertisers that support your magazine.

Advertiser

Page

Phone/Website

Aspenhome.......................................................................... 20............................. www.aspenhome.com Diakon.................................................................................... 36.............................................(703) 530-0677 Emerald Home Furnishings.........................................2 & 20.........................................(800) 685-6646 FurnitureCore.com............................................................ 28.............................................(800) 826-8868 FurnitureDealer.net........................................................... 35.............................................(651) 287-0700 Furniture Wizard.............................................................29 & 37........................................(619) 869-7200 GE Money................................................................................4..............................................(800) 422-3778 High Point Market..........................................................13 & 15........................................(800) 874-6492 MicroD........................................................................... back cover....................................(800) 964-3876 Next Generation-Now...................................................... 30................. facebook.com/NextGenNow Nourison................................................................................ 20................................... www.nourison.com Planned Furniture Promotions........................................9..............................................(800) 472-5242 PROFITsystems ................................................................... 39.............................................(800) 888-5565 Retailer Resource Center ................................................ 16.............................................(800) 422-3778 Steve Silver........................................................................... 21................................ www.stevesilver.com Surya....................................................................................7 & 21.........................................(877) 275-7847 Truckskin............................................................................... 27.............................................(866) 368-1733 WHFA.org................................................................................8.............................................. www.whfa.org World Market Center........................................................ 19.............................................(800) 422-3778

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Advertising Inquiries & Rates Contact:

Cindi Williams, WHFA Events Manager, 500 Giuseppe Court, Ste. 6, Roseville, CA 95678 Phone: (916) 960-0277 E-mail: cwilliams@whfa.org.

Subscriptions: $35.00/year USA.

Published by Western Home Furnishings Association, a National Home Furnishings Association affiliate, in the interests of retail home furnishings dealers, manufacturers, ­distributors and sales people.

Distributed to retail merchants handling ­furniture, ­accessories, bedding, floor coverings, and specialty home furnishings in ­Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming. Mailing list compiled by WHFA. Official publication of Western Home Furnishings Association, which is responsible for editorial content and advertising policy. The views expressed in articles appearing in Western Retailer are not necessarily those of Western Home ­Furnishings ­Association. Western Retailer magazine is copyrighted by Western Home Furnishings Association. July 2011, all rights reserved.

Western Retailer

Read by furniture retailers in the West.

Distribution

Western Retailer is read by more than 10,000 home furnishing retail store personnel handling furniture, accessories, bedding, floorcovering and specialty home furnishings in Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.

Marketing Philosophy

Western Retailer focuses on western market trends in the furniture, bedding, flooring and accessories industry. It highlights industry finance, state legislation, retail store layout and design, transportation, retail advertising trends, retail store computerization, insurance, succession planning and industry social events.

www.whfa.org Contact WHFA at www.WHFA.org or (800) 422-3778

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