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Von Hemert Interiors
October 10,
2012 by in UnCategorized 
By Home Furnishings Business in on October 2012
When recession struck the U.S. economy a couple of years back, furniture retailers were among the first businesses to feel its impact.
As with other stores, Southern California retailer von Hemert Interiors faced the worst business environment since the Great Depression. With so much out of its control, the three-store, Costa Mesa-based company looked to the things it could do something about and found out that at times, attitude is everything.
When asked what strategies von Hemert Interiors used to cope, CFO Kelly von Hemert took a step back to explain how the organization moved away from recession-driven denial, shock, panic and paralysis.
We chose to take an inside-out approach, she said. In my view, you cant experience a recovery without feeling it first. All three of our stores are located near or on Highway 1, which connects with the soul of the Pacific Ocean. During this recession, we found both solitude and inspiration by looking to the ocean for answers. In my office, I have pinned to an inspiration board The Surfers Code by Shaun Tomson.
As a company we soon began to seek clarity and accept that things have changed forever, she continued. And if we were going to survive, we might find the answers again by looking to the ocean.
Along with The Surfers Code, the book Deep Dive by Rich Horwath was another font of inspiration.
His book helped us create a strategy design using what he calls the Seven Salient Aspects, von Hemert said.
Those are:
¢ Purposethe reason you exist in the
marketplace
¢ Valuethe primary type of value you provide (best product, cost, solution)
¢ Contextthe description of the current
situation
¢ Whothe customer groups you are targeting
¢ Whatthe offerings you are providing to customers
¢ Howthe distinct capabilities the company possesses to create value for customers
¢ Advantagethe differentiated value you
provide to customers
That look inside, taking a deep mental breath, helped von Hemert identify success critical factors in dealing with a down economy.
From there we asked ourselves, what are the key insights, where will we focus our resources, and how will we achieve an advantage in the marketplace?, von Hemert said. We took those answers and built a serious strategic planning map that led us to three critical success goals: strengthen our sales team, gain more market share, and enhance our product mix.
A first step was to identify ways von Hemerts high-end customer had changed.
She no longer was willing to make a purchasing mistake, because the cost was too great, von Hemert said. She wasnt as interested in the products that we showed but more interested in how we connected with her on an emotional level. In a nutshell, it really came down to how we wanted to communicate to make her needs and dreams come true. We took that knowledge and refreshed the idea of communicating more effectively.
The company conducted a presentation using strong visuals, quotes and information based on John C. Maxwells book, Everyone Communicates, Few Connect: What the Most Effective People Do Differently.
A quote that that sticks out in my mind is that People will not always remember what you said. They will not always remember what you did. But they will always remember how you made them feel, said von Hemert.
The second step was a move to gain market share by getting closer to the customer.
We leveraged technology by investing in
iPads and iPhones to give our customers instant gratification, von Hemert said. We promoted ourselves by using social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, blogging and Pinterest to stay relevant and alert our customers of upcoming events. We ramped up our e-mail, direct mailers, e-blasts and Web site presence to introduce ourselves and promote our sale periods with our customer base. We created a buzz by getting bloggers, local newspapers and magazines to write about events and grand re-openings that we hosted during the recession.