CONFESSIONS OF A FURNITURE MARKETING MAD

MAN

Brand Rant Part II: Do Brands Matter In The Furniture

Category?

Bill Napier

June 7th, 2016

OK, so you've heard my rant about lack of brands; enough lecturing. Let's discuss the main

subject, your brand.

These are the two most important ideas for you to consider:

Build a website that inspires first. Everything, and I mean everything, reverts back to your

website. If it’s pedestrian looking, difficult to navigate and difficult to search, you are toast. If you

believe in this new “minimalist look,” where you have a cool look with no substance, consider

this: Less is Less.

Consumers want to make their statement; that’s why there are so many DIY home shows,

cooking channels and more. Embrace that.

Take a look at your brand from an outsider’s perspective, and instead of telling consumers what

you think they want, ask them: “How can we inspire you today?”

Then inspire them with color and with design ideas; inspire them to imagine. Think about

Pinterest and why it is so successful. It’s visual. It’s informative. It engages people who are in

turn, inspired to buy.

Think Pinterest in your website’s design and communication because:

Remember, consumers are very visual first, content/conversation inspired second, idea focused

third, functionality-minded fourth, and all that wraps up into the “complete value equation.”

Let’s discuss the “visual” elements of Pinterest. If you’re shooting that piece, group or collection

on the cheap, don’t bother. We’ve all seen those types of room shots and had the reaction: “Not

in my home.”

And while you’re thinking about the photography, who decides what type of product shot should

be represented: traditional, transitional, modern, contemporary? Do you shoot it as an item, a

group or a collection? Do you shoot it with other SKUs so people can visualize how to create a

unique space?

The simplest answer is all of the above. You need to show multiple product images and

configurations in all those environments to inspire consumers’ personal sense of design, or

you’ll lose those whose inspiration is different than yours.

Think engagement for every lifestyle, for every life stage. Study successful Pinterest boards.

Check out the interactions, the followers, the shares. What are the common denominators, and

how can your brand emulate that? If consumers become engaged with your brand, the next step

is: Where can they buy it locally?

Please tell me you have a “where to buy” on your website … please, please?