During the previous articles, we have looked a lot at people and processes.
But what about the touch and feel of your showroom ?
What should it look like ?
How many displays should you have ?
How should it be set out ?
There are several points to consider when looking at your showroom.
Visual
Firstly, and most important of all, how does it look ?
If I was walking past the showroom, would it look inviting? And would I be comfortable walking around once I was inside?
One of my biggest annoyances is where I see stock littering an otherwise fantastic looking showroom.
Now I understand that not everyone has storage space, and sometimes a box is there because a customer is due to pick it up, but it isn’t always the case.
The amount of times I have walked into the same showroom, several days apart, and the same box is leant against one of the displays.
Think of how that looks to the customer? They will either assume that it is to replace something damaged, it was missing from the original order, or it has been brought back because it wasn’t needed.
And it takes away from what could be a fantastic looking display, but with a brown box sat in front of it.
Also, how do the desks look?
Are they clear of clutter and organised? If so, the customer will have a lot more confidence that their sales process will run a lot more smoothly.
If everything is messy and in chaos, the customer assumes that this is how their project will be run.
So keep everything looking good, hide the empty coffee cups, cigarette packets and empty lunch cartons off the desks.
And while I am talking about mealtimes, DON’T STORE YOUR LUNCH IN THE WORKING FRIDGE ON DISPLAY !!! There is nothing worse when showing a customer around a display, than opening up the fridge to find a three day old sandwich in there.
Products
So, what do you display?
Firstly, I think I would rather have two large displays than ten small ones.
Giving a customer a couple of different layouts is fine, especially if they show off all of the hidden storage.
I do think it’s very important to get as many working items as possible.
Induction hobs are great pieces of apparatus to demonstrate, and a picture speaks a thousand words. Trying to describe how good an induction hob is will also take second place to actually showing it.
And if you are making the customer a cup of coffee, there is no point telling the customer how good the Quooker product is, and then going to make them a coffee from a kettle.
Technology is one of the greatest advancements in the KBB world, and the customer is not often aware of what is possible.
Do you have an oven that can be controlled remotely? Have you invested in VR headsets? Will the fridge compile your shopping list? Can the customer charge their phone by leaving it on the corian worktop? Will the washing machine email the manufacturer to let them know it’s due a service. Show them !
The Window
What does the window tell me about the business?
Some customers will be walking past outside of business hours, what will they learn from stopping to look?
Opening hours, website address, contact details, social media handles should all be there if possible.
QR codes are a very good way of getting a lot of information across very quickly, so every showroom should have one in my opinion.
Lighting is also very important, especially in winter. If you have a customer walking past your showroom at night, you want your wow kitchen to be lit up! Highlight the best things about your showroom.
Accessibility
I visit a lot of showrooms in areas I’m not always familiar with. Some are on nice trading estates with plenty of parking, but a lot are on the high street.
When I go into showrooms and speak with the owners, the conversation about parking is generally me saying I’ve parked on “Acacia Avenue” and it’s very expensive.
I’m then told “oh, you should have parked on “Festive Road”, it’s free for two hours.
If a customer is visiting your showroom, and you don’t have your own parking, put the location of the best parking spaces on the website, a map on social media and all emails. It will be one less stress for the customer when they come and see you.
Feedback
One of the best tips I can give you is to get somebody neutral to have a look around and give you some feedback.
It could be the person from the burger wagon in the car park, or the postman, or the meter reader.
These are the people who will be looking at things from the perspective of the customer, and they will give you the most honest feedback.
Sometimes we only ask people from within the KBB sector for their thoughts, but they will also look at things from the same angle.
Some of the best display advice I have ever been given are from people who have never worked a day in the industry.
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