Hint: She wants upholstery. Show her upholstery.
TIt's 1999. Spring is but a few months away. And too often, home furnishings dealers give away valuable promotional weeks in March, April and May because they believe they can best invest in their communications during Memorial Day weekend and high profile holidays. These dealers are wrong.
Today, every day is a good day to promote your business. And television is the key to your success. Most specifically, cable television is the key to your success. Here are a number of things to consider:
- Spring is the last time you can reach her at home before school lets out for the summer. It's your time. Connect with her. In a few months, she will be more difficult to get a hold of.
- Big viewing months happen in this period. HUT (household's using television) levels are high and once summer begins, they will drop.
- The price is right. The spring is one of the most affordable times of the year to be on television. It is not like the Fall where new programs demand higher rates because the audience is coming back to television after the summer. Television is a good value in the spring.
- Cable television continues to have new programming consistently not just during the Fall and winter months when network programming concentrates their efforts. Plus, what is old to some is new to many as cable has so many offerings to select from.
- Selection is not a bad thing. It concentrates your targeted audience in a more refined manner.
Understand each cable network's programming philosophy and you will understand how easy it is to reach her when you want to reach her with the message that you want to convey.
- Offer her excitement. Cabin fever makes her go crazy. Offer her an opportunity to escape. Offer her an opportunity to come into your store and have one of the greatest experiences of her life.
According to the exclusive Lance Benefield A.T.T.I.T.U.D.E.S. Survey, she wants to buy upholstery.
Offer upholstery to her. She wants to make an intelligent decision about her home. Offer her upholstery. She wants to buy it now. Sell her upholstery.
She wants upholstery. She is demanding upholstery. Why aren't we selling her upholstery?
Spring is coming. Offer her the freshness and vibrancy of spring.
What is spring? Spring is what she thinks spring is in her mind. It is flowers and comfort, warm breezes, softness and light. Spring is vibrant colors compared to the pewter gray days she is living in right now. Spring is life.
Spring is having the windows open in the house and the screen doors allowing fresh air to come through. Most of all it is about fresh air blowing away the staleness of winter and the confinement a long, cold season brings. Spring is about living and making her house a home.
All you have to do is offer her that hope.
Spring is a selling time for home furnishings professionals everywhere. It is all about fashion and styleflair and mobility. It is about wanting and sharing. Spring is about "April In Paris" and spring "flowers that bloom in May".
Offer her hope. Offer her affordability. Offer her color and light. Offer her fashion. Offer her upholstery.
Go on CNN and CNN Headline and inform her of what you are doing tell her who you are. Go on Discovery and show her what's new and go on USA when her mood is blue. Go on HGTV and show her fashion and style and go on TLC, to teach her how to smile. Go on A&E and wrap yourself around "Biography". Go on Lifetime and cry with her awhile. Go on cable and win today. Because you really can sell upholstery during March, April and May.
But what ever you do, don't go to newspaper. Remember, "Nobody reads the newspaper anymore."
Next Month
They've done it again. An exclusive look at Robb & Stucky's new Naples store.
Lance G. Hanish is the President of Lance Benefield & Co., Inc. Worldwide, a leading marketing communications firm serving home furnishings retailers. Questions on any aspect of television media management or production can be direct to Mr. Hanish care of FURNITURE WORLD Magazine at lhanish@furninfo.com.