Page 86 - Lighting Magazine December 2017

on the Mark
YOUR ACTION P N
FOR 2018
Showrooms wishing to remain viable in the new year must act quickly to stay relevant in this new market landscape and continue to prosper in 2020.
The goal for this month’s column is to cause thought and provoke some necessary ac- tions that may have yet to be taken.
While the media continues to be con- sumed with negative articles on the state of retail – a er all, bad news sells – the entire focus of this calamity is on “big box” retailers that are way overstored, understa ed, and with a future outlook
that is overall pre y gloomy.
To survive, these behemoths shed locations and
sta in e ort to reinvent themselves. The good news is that there is still an opportunity for niche and specialty retailers like lighting showrooms.
“Will You Do What It Takes to Survive the Changes?”
According to various research organizations, cus- tomers walking into mass market retail showrooms
are disappointed that the store did not deliver an experience that met their current level of expecta- tion. O en this level of expectation is the result of a digital marketing e ort that is in contrast to the real occurrences that happen in the showroom.
Lighting showrooms – along with their sales teams – that can meet the challenge of creating, promoting and then exceeding client expectations will become the victors. This requires actions be taken that simultaneously de ne “who” you are and “why” you are in business.
1. WHo are you?
To be a ractive to clients in your marketplace, de ne precisely who and what the showroom represents to the community that is your market. Determining “who you are” is rst and foremost a self-awareness exercise that requires speci c answers regarding products, services, quality of client experience, and sta performance. This self-administered exercise is only successful when the answers are thought-out and not o the cu .
Companies that continue to focus only on ef- ciently trading boxes for dollars will slowly but surely fall from the ranks of customer approval. This self-destructive activity is placing you in head- to-head competition against various distribution goliaths.
To win at the new retail game, you must promote www.enlightenmentmag.com
BY MARK OKUN
84 enLIGHTenment magazine | december 2017