So far this year, everything has been in flux. The housing market has not escaped the unexpected shutdowns and the halt in new construction. However, as the economy recovers and mortgage rates remain low, the market shows no signs of slowing down to a stop. The need...
Working Smarter and Staying Ahead: Adjusting Your Strategy for a Changing Market
This article is the final piece in a series called Working Smarter and Staying Ahead featuring highlights from the annual KBIS Insights Breakfast presentation. Check out our previous posts for Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3. You know that your customer...
Working Smarter and Staying Ahead: How to Sell to Different Customer Segments
This article is part of a series called Working Smarter and Staying Ahead featuring highlights from the annual KBIS Insights Breakfast presentation. Check out our previous posts for Part 1 and Part 2. Once you understand the various segments of your market, then...
The Stress Is Real: Taking Extra Steps to Encourage Your Team
There's no denying the pandemic is taking a toll in a variety of ways. The most obvious, of course, is the health of people around the world who have contracted COVID-19. Statistics on illness and death have become ever-present in our newsfeeds. We can't ignore...
Working Smarter and Staying Ahead: Changes In Your Showroom
This article is part of a series called Working Smarter and Staying Ahead featuring highlights from the annual KBIS Insights Breakfast presentation. Check out our previous post for Part 1. You know that your customer base is growing and changing, and the people...
On Valued but Borrowed Time
The years of experience in your sales force can be a key component to the success of your premium retail business. We repeatedly entrust the most important relationships to the most seasoned, proven professionals on staff. It’s no secret that the results of this...
Working Smarter and Staying Ahead: Know Your Customers
Whether your store has been around for decades or just a few years, your customers are changing. At the bare minimum, they are getting older and their buying habits and needs change as they age. But you have also felt the rapid changes in technology, in your...
Video Appointments for the High-End Sale
This spring we have all adjusted to find new ways of doing things. Like many other businesses, you’ve had to shift to using more online communication tools than you had before. You might just be thinking this is a tool to help keep your business going through...
Take Back Control of Your Showroom
The crisis phase of the COVID-19 situation seems to be behind us. You’re now ready to take back control of your showroom and move forward from a business perspective, while still being sensitive to the changing situation, and in compliance with your local or state...
Adopting an Adaptable Mindset
Adaptability is defined as "the ability to adjust to different conditions or circumstances." I think we'd all agree that the last 18 months have been a crash course in adaptability! It's also made us keenly aware of how important it is to accept that the...
Beyond the Showroom: Rethinking Luxury and Premium Selling
Before the spring of 2020, your showroom was a key part of your sales model. Appliance dealers used their funds to host events and draw people in to see their products in person. Manufacturers used the direct connections that come with showroom events to build their...
High-End Appliance Dealers: The Next Generation
Beginning in the 1970s, independent appliance dealers have enjoyed a great run. As family-owned businesses, they are often cornerstones in their communities. Everyone recognizes their name, and there is a lot of pride in having the second or even third generation...
Adjusting to Recent Housing Market Trends
So far this year, everything has been in flux. The housing market has not escaped the unexpected shutdowns and the halt in new construction. However, as the economy recovers and mortgage rates remain low, the market shows no signs of slowing down to a stop. The need...
Working Smarter and Staying Ahead: Adjusting Your Strategy for a Changing Market
This article is the final piece in a series called Working Smarter and Staying Ahead featuring highlights from the annual KBIS Insights Breakfast presentation. Check out our previous posts for Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3. You know that your customer...
Working Smarter and Staying Ahead: How to Sell to Different Customer Segments
This article is part of a series called Working Smarter and Staying Ahead featuring highlights from the annual KBIS Insights Breakfast presentation. Check out our previous posts for Part 1 and Part 2. Once you understand the various segments of your market, then...
The High-End Appliance Audience Has Changed—Here’s How
Identifying your target audience is one of the first steps in developing a marketing strategy. After all, if you don’t understand who your target audience is, how can you be sure that your marketing efforts will reach the right people? However, simply identifying your...
The Next Generation of Luxury Consumers
Ask many high-end appliance dealers who their target audience is and they'll likely describe what sounds like a typical high-earning Baby Boomer. More specifically, they may describe empty-nesters in their mid-50s or older who have worked hard through their...
Key Takeaways from an Unpredictable Year
Remember when we thought 2021 was going to be the year everything goes back to how it once was? Instead, what is and isn't "normal" has remained in a constant state of flux for both consumers and businesses. We may not know what major changes 2022 holds, if any, but...