Page 40 - enLIGHTenment Magazine - December 2015

2015
A CONFERENCE
lessons from ala
HUNTINGTON BEACH

“The ProPlus program is Houzz’s source of
One of the from you will not be able to then reply to your

revenue,” Stern explained. “By having a ProPlus ac- response,” he said. Similarly, Houzz also monitors
count, your business will be able to be searched by advantages company responses as well.

area – such as by county or zip code – or by more
of having a goT advIce?
speci c searches such as by brand name.” Partici-
pating in the ProPlus program does not have a set paid page According to Stern, the most active section of

price; instead, the fee is on a sliding scale depend- Houzz.com is the “Advice” section. “This is where
ing on what the company wants to have. “Houzz is that your people are coming to hang out,” he stated. “It’s a

works with the company to customize [features] à very active section because it is made up of people
business can
la carte.”
who are starting to source their project.”
“One of the advantages of having a paid page To get involved, Stern suggested lighting show-
show up in
is that your business can show up in searches of rooms and manufacturers search “lighting” in that
di erent areas if that is one of the features you section. “This is where you can go to jump in. You
searches
wanted. For example, if someone is looking for can narrow your search in Advice by territory [to
of di erent
interior designers in Newport Beach, but you are answer the questions of potential customers], but
located in Irvine, you can pay to have your com- you don’t have to. Basically, when you o er advice
areas if that
pany show up in that search criteria.”
in this section, you are pu ing your brand out
It is important to note that while lighting manu- there with the chance that someone will nd you.
is one of the
facturers can set up a pro le page on Houzz, they Depending on how you answered their questions,

are not allowed to have a “Shop” bu on for con- features you consumers can gauge your level of knowledge on
sumers to buy direct or show pricing.
the topic.”

wanted.
In evaluating the site’s statistics, Stern revealed
The revIews process
that consumers typically take up to six months to

Much like Amazon.com, Houzz o ers a starred decide who they want to work with on their project.

Reviews section. “When a review is submi ed, it “They’ll notice you if you’re very active,” he said.
does not automatically go live,” Stern said. “We

go over it to make sure the person is correctly how To use Idea Books
articulating the experience. Harsh language is not “The cornerstone of Houzz has always been its

allowed. If the review is negative (under 3 stars), Idea Books,” Stern remarked. “You can create

we will call and ask the person submi ing the re- Idea Books on any topic, such as Chandeliers or
view why their experience was negative in order Landscape Lighting, or Pendants. You can then

to be er understand the situation. We want to tell a client in your store, ‘Go to my Houzz page
make sure the problem wasn’t because of some- and look at my Chandelier Idea Book,” he noted.

thing that was out of the provider’s control, such “You can also ‘share’ your Idea Book by using the

as a weather or tra c event. If the complaint is ‘collaborate’ bu on, which will give your client ed-
about service at the store, we will need some sort iting privileges. You can also mark the shared Idea

of proof – like a receipt – that the person actually Book as ‘private,’ so that only you and your cus-
went into that store.”
tomer can see it. By going through the products

The company that provided the service is also you o er in this manner, they can essentially ‘shop’

given the opportunity to respond to the review. your store at home.” As part of the Collaborate
“At Houzz, it’s important that we give you a voice. function, you and your client can also write com-

That helps with the ‘warm relationship’ that you ments to one another (the conversation appears
can build with clients,” Stern noted. Naturally, the in the Comments section that only you and your

more reviews a company receives, the higher up client can see).”

on the list of providers they go. The back-and-forth Participating on Houzz.com gives your company
between customer and company on a review ends additional exposure to consumers regarding your

with that company’s response. “The person who services and product assortment and establishes
writes a negative review and receives a response
your store as an important resource.
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38 enLIGHTenment magazine | December 2015
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