Luxury Furniture Dealer Marketing Tips – Give ‘em the Feels!
We thought this post might be a good place to expand on the furnishing dealer tips we shared in an earlier post. In what may seem to be a contradictory article about marketing strategies in the shifting retail world, the folks at FurnitureToday.com published a piece titled “Customers want the furniture shopping experience, so ‘submerge’ them in it”.
Why do we say the two articles seem to contradict each other? Well, because the first one tells us that fewer customers are shopping for luxury furniture in person, while the second one tells us that luxury furniture buyers want a fuller shopping experience.
According to the article, “That begins with product presentation.”
It seems the (apparently ancient) ritual of displaying furniture by category; that is, sofas with sofas, beds with beds, and dining tables with dining tables has become a thing of the past. Now, furniture must be displayed in “curated vignettes” (despite the actual definition of vignettes).
Work Smarter, Not Harder
Perhaps we’ve been asking too much of the furniture-buying public by expecting them to imagine how separate pieces would look and feel when placed in their space. After all, it’s hard to argue with the basic premise of the second article and what is meant by the phrase “Submerge them” in the luxury furniture shopping experience.
If the first premise is true, then the second logically follows. This means that: as a dealer of luxury furniture and designer accent pieces, it behooves you to present your products in carefully selected groups of furnishings – as opposed to simply offering “furniture”.
For example:
Asking a prospective buyer to imagine how their living room would look and feel when filled with these individual pieces would be virtually impossible. However, if you chose to present them as explicitly contrasting spaces like these two stunning Kravet presentations, there would be far less for them to merely imagine.
No, yeah! This is the sort of presentation that allows your in-person client a truly hands-on experience. They are able to enjoy the look and feel of the products in a curated setting and to virtually “SEE” the potential of such a grouping in their home!
No more (or very little) running around your showroom from category to category trying desperately to pick sofas and chairs, tables and lamps, and myriad other accent pieces that could work together for them to create a completely new living room for their home. Yay, you!
Now, suppose the group isn’t their perfect choice. In that case, you can simply offer different designer fabrics for the furniture, an alternate artisanal rug design, or different accent pieces, all while maintaining the overall look and feel of the group they have already “SEEN” in their home. (You dang genius, you!)
Get Creative With Curated Furniture “Vignettes”
Here at TD Fall & Company, we can help. With our collective knowledge of various markets and our stunning variety of luxury furnishings, we can help you create curated presentations that are specifically targeted to appeal to your client base.
In addition to our group of sales reps, Ted remains available for design business coaching and luxury furniture dealer marketing consulting. With more than 30 years of experience, from the East Coast to the Rocky Mountain Region, Ted offers invaluable consulting services to the trade. Simply… Contact TD Fall today.