Who Are You?

January 12, 2015  by in Customer Service, Industry   

Whether you know it or not, like it or not, your store is a brand.

Maybe not a brand in the classic sense of mega names such as Coca Cola or Apple, but everything you say in your advertising, every touch point you make with shoppers, gives consumers a sense of what you’re all about.

You’re projecting an image to the people in the markets you serve. Working to ensure that projection lives up to what you offer—and vice versa—is what we’re talking about this month in Home Furnishings Business’ first issue of the New Year.

We asked several retailers to describe the brand image they want potential customers to associate with their store; and whether that’s changed over the years, or remained consistent.

Keeping it Real

“The image we project and want to be perceived as being is one of offering quality products at a great value with the best customer service available,” said Woody Whichard, president of Midtown Furniture Superstore & Mattress Center, Madison, N.C. “We strive daily to meet these expectations. This has been part of our vision since we opened in 1977. Even though I am a second-generation retailer this has not changed.  We believe that this is why people call Midtown Furniture their furniture store, and come back again and again.”

Whichard’s been front and center in Midtown’s promotions (see Sidebar: Personal ID) for years, but lately Midtown has let its customers do some of the talking.

“For the past year we have run most of our TV ads with our customers in them,” he said. “We called a few customers, and had a few walk in during production, and asked if they would like to do a testimonial for us on TV. All that were asked and available when we produced were excited to help us out.

“Now we are talking about real people talking to real people. That is about as personal as you can get. These commercials have no sense of urgency.  They are only brand-building ads that allow new customers to hear from a real person, like them, that we offer quality products at a great value with the best customer service.”

Dealing with the Big Guys

Hillside Furniture, a high-end contemporary furniture specialist, operates in the Detroit market, home of one of furniture retailing’s regional giants, Art Van Furniture.

President Jeff Selik has all the respect in the world for what he called the area’s “brand leader,” but said a retailer such as Hillside has to work that much harder to tell its story to potential customers.

Hillside’s brand image has been consistent: family owned, local, small, geared toward people who want to “shop local

“We project 'unique, very contemporary,'” Selik said. “We want to have that as our overall brand, and private labeling is a key to keeping your store exclusive in your market. When people walk into Crate & Barrel or Pottery Barn, they ask 'who makes that sofa?' They're able to say 'They make that for us.' It creates an exclusive outlet for that brand.”

Hillside’s association with the Contemporary Design Group merchandising consortium has helped in that regard. The buying group has worked hard to help members identify themselves as the go-to resource for upscale contemporary goods in their respective markets.

One example: CDG negotiated a deal to offer members the chance to create customized, magazine-format mailings—or “magalogs”—to a targeted list of customers. (Disclaimer: Home Furnishings Business created and published the magalogs for the group and continues to work with a number furniture retailers on similar projects.)

“The magalogs are a total brand-builder,” Selik said. “When people flip through those pages at home, they should get a sense of what it's like to visit and explore Hillside.”

Staking a (Believable) Claim

“Our brand image from the beginning has been ‘the best furniture value in Alaska,’ and that continues to this day,” said Ron Bailey, president of Anchorage-based Bailey’s Furniture. “We endeavor to buy wisely, contain our expenses and offer the best possible prices, everyday, for our customers.”  

Bailey’s also isn’t afraid to point fingers to differentiate itself from the competition.

“Our brand is believability and trust,” Bailey said. “We constantly advertise and educate our customers about the ‘unbelievable’ price swings of our competitors, and I believe that we are making headway.”

On that note, it should surprise no one that consumer research from Impact Consulting's FurnitureCore arm says "believability" is a key part of making furniture stores' advertising connect with shoppers.

Consumers don’t resent ads that seem too good to be true, they just ignore the stores running them, said Lance Hanish, principal of Scottsdale, Ariz., agency Sophis.

“They don't hold it against them, they just won't go to that retailer,” he said. “It's an immediate, visceral attraction as to what you believe in.”

Brad Lebow, president of Horich, Parks, Lebow Advertising, Baltimore, Md., said believability can depend on the messages consumers in particular markets are accustomed to.

“We want to be credible and believable, but we also want to promote and entice. At the end of the day, consumers want a deal,” he said. “It depends on the playing field, and it's a question of what consumers in a market are used to seeing.”

When people see ‘70 percent off,' they know that’ just to get them into the store, said Jason Pires, CEO and senior creative director at MVC Agency in Los Angeles.

“I think overall ads are believable,” he said. “For me, it's more than just being an offer or promotion. The brands that are smart create a lifestyle-centric approach that respects the consumer.

“We bought furniture for our office the other day, and the company had these catalogs showing this sexy—fully clothed—woman on the back cover. The spine of the chair looked, how do I say, like a part of a woman's anatomy. If that looks condescending to me as a guy, imagine how that looks to a woman. For you to treat a woman in an ad the way they were in the '50s or '60s, that's just unbelievable.”

Whose Voice?

FunitureCore’s consumer research also indicates that celebrity endorsements don’t resonate with consumers, and the industry certainly has its share of licenses with high-profile names.

One reason Whichard plays his on starring role in Midtown’s promotions is that “I am real.”

“The customer can come in the store almost any day we are open and meet me.  I have passion about our store,” he said. “A celebrity has passion for doing their job and being paid for it without a clue as to who or what your store is about. This works for some customers, but I feel that our customer wants a real person.”

While Hillside has invited local athletes to participate in its charitable work, the store doesn’t depend much on linking well-known names to its promotional efforts.

“I don't have a budget for celebrity 'endorsement.' For me, a lot of it's your image and branding,” Selik said. “Charitable efforts are a brand builder, and it does good in the communities where you operate.

“Paid spokespeople are clearly just that. In general, they don't come across as credible. I'm president of this company, and I'm second generation here, so I'm committed.”

Hanish pointed out that celebrities such as Cindy Crawford and Oscar De la Renta have met with success in furnitureland.

“There are two things about celebrity endorsements,” he said. “One, the company who is proposing to use a celebrity; and two, it depends on the celebrity. The key here is you have a client who really wants to make it work. Their magic can't just rub on off on you.

“Anything can work if it works in a unified message, and you'd better make the investment to support that effort--his or her aura alone won't take you to a new level.”

Lebow at Horichs Parks said that from its

client base's experience, a celebrity association raises awareness for a short period of time, but most haven't stuck with it for the long term.

Done with a strategic approach, famous names can help, believes Pires at MVC.

“They can be fantastic if it's in combination with the rest of your strategy. I believe they do work if it's done right,” he said. “It's always better to have someone refer people to you versus saying it yourself.”

Where to Promote

It might surprise some in this digital age, but FurnitureCore’s consumer research indicates direct mail and newspapers remain effective media, with more than 30 percent of consumers saying those would encourage them to shop for furniture instead of other media—i.e. television, radio, social media, e-mail.

Whichard says direct mail print has worked very well at Midtown.

“You have to do a lot of planning for this type of advertising,” he said. “You have one shot to get their attention from the mailbox to the trash can.  Direct mail is usually a onetime shot so you better make sure you are offering them something they desire or you will be forgotten tomorrow.  Most people do not leave their mail out like they will a newspaper. You can get a few days and extra eyes on a newspaper advertisement. Direct mail can be substantially more expensive way to advertise compared to newspaper.

He doesn’t feel newspaper advertising is as effective as it used to be.

“I like to use newspaper to reinforce the message I have on TV,” Whichard said. “Also newspaper gives you an opportunity to reach your direct-mail recipients a second time with a reduction of the cost. There are effective newspapers and other newspapers. Make sure that the newspaper and the ad placements are a reflection of your business and that they reach the target audience you desire. 

“We have a small local paper that is very effective.  The price is less than the large city papers and it targets the same customers that we do.  It is a weekly paper that is well read by its readership.  It is direct mailed to their homes at no charge, and this a great bonus.  My prospective customer did not have to buy my ad to see it, nor were they only given an ad to throw in the trash.  It has value.   What I see is most effective is a good mix of all medias. We have a diverse customer base and different demographics are reached in different ways.  We try different things to reach customers in unique ways, but we keep our main focus and our budget on what customers are responding to right now.”

Selik at Hillside also believes in a discriminating approach to print.

“I certainly see that if it's in the right newspapers, it's still effective,” he said. “I'm very selective, and the one I work with, the Detroit Free Press, gets a lot of response.”

He also is a fan of printed post card mailings: “It's tangible, something people still hold in their hands, and it's pretty inexpensive.”

Bailey is more sold on the airwaves for promotion.

“We are 80 percent TV, 10 percent radio, 10 percent Web and others,” he said. “Our traffic continues to be strong,  and we are up double digits for the year in sales. We do not offer huge discounts and mark prices up and down,  but rather everyday low prices and offer the same prices on our Web site.”

Lebow at Horichs Parks Lebow said Impact’s findings don’t quite jive with what he’s seen in the marketplace, but that direct mail absolutely remains an important component of a promotional strategy.

“Our clients do that eight to 12 times a year, and that's more than it used to be,” he said. “Number one, direct mail retains existing customers. We also use it as a customer-acquisition tool for people who aren't our customers, but who should be.”

He suggests that retailers should use direct mail to target people who've shopped for the products they offer, but for whatever reason haven't checked out their store or Web site.

Regarding newspaper advertising, Lebow said the issue today is how fast circulation numbers are shrinking.

“Newspaper (advertising) is one of the first things to go when people have to fund other channels,” he noted. “We find we're lessening print advertising to fund digital initiatives. That's the trend within our client base now.

Print does remain viable, said MVC’s Pires.

“If a particular type of media doesn't work, it's a matter of how they're using that media and delivering an overall consistent message,” he said.

“It's all about strategy, positioning and knowing what you're about as a company. It's not what you're telling people, it's what they experience. You can't fool people for very long, and in a competitive market like LA, you can't fool them at all.”

Whatever your advertising mix, make you’re you pay attention to where a lot of shoppers get their first impression of your store—online. Hanish noted that the Web site is to shoppers today what store window displays were in the 1950s.

“Web site traffic is today's window-shopping,” he said, adding that the key is to put that vehicle to work in new, innovative ways to ask shoppers to come into the store. “In our industry, too many don't understand what she's doing today. The data from all this information we're accumulating--we're going to have to adapt that information to our approach.”

Closing the Deal

A believable, real impression is the key to brand-building promotion that makes for repeat customers.

“You have to be believable, because when they do come to shop they want to have the same emotion you created in your advertisement,” Whichard said. “You better not over sell your store, or they will be disappointed and never return. We shoot our commercials in our store, and the advertisements show people what they will expect when the walk in. We do not use product shots to show furniture, we use the furniture with the background showing more of the store. We want to be believable and create the same emotions that brought them in in the first place.”

Especially in markets with a dominant player, independents have to differentiate through advertising, product assortment and culture. Dealing with an 800-pound furniture gorilla in your market?

“His size means I have to be more nimble--where we spend our advertising dollars, our product assortment,” said Hillside’s Selik. “We have to offer the furniture, service and experience that's different from any place else in our market. When your brand can be 'the best at what you do,' you can differentiate. You don't have to be the biggest, but you want to be consistent.”