|
Published in Western Reporter, September 2004
Using Room Planning Technology in the Retail Sales Process
Room Planning: an online and in-store opportunity to increase profits and create deep customer relationships.
Room planning is often seen as a convenient but unnecessary and non-beneficial tool for retailers to have available to their staff and customers. New room planning technology is available with features that make this a sales tool that all retailers and manufacturers should reconsider.
Until recently, room planners have been difficult and cumbersome for users. They have required product databases in order to work and the benefits were hard to measure for retailers to justify the cost. This is no longer the case. Today retailers can enjoy benefits such as: quicker sales resulting in a lower cost of sale, an increase in average order sizes, a decrease of product returns and the ability to use your room planner as a marketing and analysis tool.
There are three sales situations where room planning can have a positive impact on the sales process: the online prospect conducting research before visiting stores; the prospect who is kicking tires in your showroom and has no intention of buying that day; and the prospect who is ready to buy, but isn't sure the furniture will fit. Offering a room planner to these customers can convert them all into immediate sales.
Let's explore the first opportunity where a room planner can impact sales: the prospect that is just starting to consider a purchase of new furniture. We know that an increasing number of customers are turning to the Internet to research product and stores in their area as a first step. Let's assume your website, though basic, does a good job of giving store location, hours, and details on what type of store you are as well as what products you carry. While this is very important, keep in mind that most good retailers have done this, so you will need something to differentiate your store from the competition.
Offering users a room planner on your website, branded with your logo and organized to match the types of product you carry will not only engage that prospect in ways your competitors cannot, but will also decrease the average cost of a sale. Your online room planner allows the prospect to define the space they are trying to furnish and save their plan for use at any time.
This means the prospect can plan their space at work, at home during the day or anytime they are not in your store. Once they have planned their space and want to save the room they simply register with their email address and a password. Then customers can email this plan to their spouse, family or friends. The email will include their comments and a link, which will open the room planner and a copy of their plan. Additionally, no software installation is required for new users.
This email feature allows customers to collaborate on your website during the day prior to visiting your store. Everyone who receives an emailed plan has the option to save it onto their personal computers. Those recipients also become potential customers who are already registered on your website, and you have their email address to contact them. We've learned customers are willing to provide an email address in return for a savings plan. Collecting such data increases your prospect list. Now imagine if local interior designers and your customer's family and friends start using your room planner and email each other. Your base of prospects will quickly increase and your store's awareness will be extended. By requiring an email address to save a plan you can start producing reports on who's using the website, start identifying trends and then market back to these customers using email, something that your website alone cannot do.
Customers can also email their plans to your store which allows your designers and sales associates to design rooms together and determine if product will fit prior to any store visit taking place. This is a great use of your sales associate's down time and a means to engage with prospects when they are not in the store.
The prospect can at anytime print a plan which shows the floor plan with walls, furniture icons and a list of the furniture in the room. It also includes their email address and your store information. When a prospect walks into your showroom with a print from your room planner, your sales associate knows a great deal about the potential sales opportunity before they even know the prospect's name. Your customers and sales associates can even bring the customer's plan up on the store computer to further explore the design. It also creates an excellent upsale opportunity by indicating areas for additional products and accessory items.
The second type of situation where a room planner can help is with a prospect who is in the store exploring product and has no intentions of buying that day. By having a room planner ready to use in these situations, your sales associates can help the prospect design the space or simply allow the customer to indicate where the new furniture will be placed.
The sales associate can then email the plan to the customer right then telling the customer that when they go home to check their email they will be able to open up the floor plan. This means that while they are contemplating the purchase, they can begin planning their space. This insures the prospect is staying engaged with your sales force, keeps your brand in front of the prospect, greatly increases the chances that the prospect will ask your staff questions, and dramatically increases the chance of your store getting the sale. For retailers whose competitors do not have a room planner, it's a unique opportunity to capture prospects first. If your competitors do have a room planner, make sure you have the newest room planner available with the important features mentioned above.
A final situation that I'd like to explore which can result in a sale is the customer in the store who is contemplating a purchase. We know that many customers are close to purchasing and choose to wait for a number of factors. This can be costly to a sales associate's time, particularly on busy sales days. A room planner can help those customers who don't purchase because they are concerned the furniture will not fit in their room. By providing the customer with a room planning tool that lets them define the space and visualize the floor plan with new furniture in it, you can convert many of these prospects into customers. A major added benefit of this is that by doing so, you will decrease the number of returns due to furniture that does not fit in the customer's living space. In this scenario, a room planner can convert a hesitant browser into a buyer and can decrease the number of returned merchandise for the retailer.
A few room planner options are available today and the process of selecting and launching one can be very simple. Today's best room planners are affordable to implement, require no additional staff to maintain, do not require that you have a product database or any other type of fabric draping or ecommerce technology on your website and can be very easy to use for your customers and staff. In fact, some retailers do not even have a website and still use room planners effectively in the store.
Utilizing a room planner in your sales process will differentiate your store from competitors and engage the prospect early in the sales process. A room planner will help create lifelong buyers as customers won't need to plan their room a second time when they have already done it with your store. Additional benefits include decreasing the average cost of sales per order, decreasing the number of product returns, increasing store awareness in your sales region and increasing the number of prospects using your website. Room planning also allows your sales and design staff to engage with your customers outside the store experience. All of these reasons create a strong argument why each retailer should explore the inclusion of room planning in their sales process today.
Steve Street is the founder of Hookumu, Inc., a web design and consulting firm that produces the Icovia Room Planner product for retailers and manufacturers. If you have any questions about room planning, designing your website or using technology in the sales process, contact Steve directly: (617) 880-2543 or steve@hookumu.com.
|
