DesignCliq Creates New Web Site, Adds Wray to Team

October 20, 2014  by in Executive Changes, Industry, Internet   

DesignCliq’s suite of consumer-centric services focus on increasing traffic in stores, shopper confidence, purchasing and developing a long-term relationship between shoppers and stores. The company’s Style Preference Quiz currently featured on retailer Web sites like Slumberland, Havertys, Star Furniture, Nebraska Furniture Mart, R.C. Willey and La-Z-Boy Galleries, invites site visitors to discover the relationship between their personality, their lifestyle and the home furnishings designs that please them most.   

According to Fred Starr, CEO, the Style Preference Quiz enables retailers to capitalize on existing Web site investments by capturing visitors who typically navigate through a store’s site and depart without leaving a calling card.

“Site visitors have a pleasant experience that keeps them on the retailer’s site longer,” he said. “More importantly, we’ve found that taking the quiz and receiving post-quiz Personalized Product Recommendations from the retailer helps consumers overcome the most significant obstacle in home furnishings purchases—their fear of making costly decorating mistakes.”

Starr said the home furnishings business laments the disconnect with the consumers "yet research has consistently shown that increasing percentages of home furnishings customers have little knowledge of interior design."

"My goal in launching DesignCliq was to connect the dots for consumers, to help them understand the language of home furnishings fashion and build their confidence in the shopping and decorating process," he said. "Additionally, I believed we needed a way to shift the focus away from price. The good news is that the experiences of the retailers we work with prove that understanding style preference helps remove shoppers’ anxiety and builds their interest in the store’s brand as a voice of authority in the marketplace. Retailers using our quizzes find that one in three quiz registrants purchase within 12 months, and average tickets are 30 percent higher.”

Retailers also find that 78 percent of site visitors who take the quiz are new customers with a younger profile, and overwhelmingly female. The majority also provide valuable contact information, effectively growing each dealer’s e-mail database, enabling them to optimize targeted marketing campaigns. 

Lynn Courtade is DesignCliq’s director of creative content. “An accomplished interior designer and former retailer, Lynn brings a trend-forecaster’s eye for style to our team, along with a designer’s unique ability to develop and promote each of our customers’ unique brand images,” Starr said.

Business writer and marketing strategist Kimberley Wray has joined DesignCliq.

“An experienced wordsmith, Kim couples her in-depth understanding of the needs of consumers, retailers and manufacturers with a passion to see our industry innovate and adapt,” Starr said. “She specializes in producing persuasive messaging that inspires, and we’re very pleased to have her collaborating with us on our portfolio of content solutions.”