Page 58 - Lighting Magazine October 2019

retail spotlight
56 enLIGHTenment Magazine | october 2019
www.enlightenmentmag.com
future purchase. Instead, the gift certificates cre- ate a greater likelihood that those customers will return to buy additional furnishings.
GIve a reason to come In
These designers agree that giving people an en- ticement to visit is important for growing both a client base and sales. Bernal suggested holding a simply themed event, such as “How to Style Your Shelves,” and hiring a designer to provide tips that homeowners can apply right away.
“We have events called The Girls at Garber’s where members of the community can hold their book club meetings or garden group gatherings at the store,” Tuff explained. “We put out hors d’oeuvres and refreshments for them.” Before and after the meeting, guests inevitably explore the showroom and typically find something intriguing to buy on impulse or come back later to purchase. “We have people fighting for the slots available to hold a Girl’s Night Out at our store,” Priest added.
“We grew up with mothers who loved to shop,” Priest said of his and Tuff’s backgrounds. As a result, these business partners embrace the old-fashioned shopping experience of white glove-type customer service offered at upscale stores of years past. They also value the power of exclusivity. “We don’t buy multiples of things; we buy ones and twos — and we don’t reorder. We’ve been scolded for that sometimes by customers who saw something they love at the home of a friend [who bought from us] and come in saying, “I want that, too!’ We reassure them, ‘No you don’t want what everyone else has. You want something unique to you!” Therefore, Garber’s customers quickly learn to buy an item that catches their eye immediately when they see it, or risk not having it available when they come back.
Creative thinking – a trait that’s instinctive to interior designers and many retailers – can go a long way in devising a successful and memorable event. “Before Valentine’s Day, I ran a report of our top 25 spenders – those customers who have either come in frequently or made a sizable pur- chase – and sent them an email that stated the month of February is all about love, thanked them for their business and loyalty, and signed the email from my husband and myself,” Bernal explained, noting, “Anything you can do in a grassroots way is [especially memorable].”
stay In toucH reGuLarLy
Regular communication that is helpful, rather than a sales reminder, is another practice that has worked well for these panelists. “My salespeople all have work cell phones and they have even made sales via text,” Bernal commented. A sales- person might snap a photo of a new vase and text the image to a customer with the message, “Hey I know you were wanting to update your living room and thought of you when this came in.”
Tuff is a firm believer in using his cell phone to contact clients. “It might look like I’m just play- ing on my phone, but I’m really texting a client about some new drapery that came in or about an upcoming event,” he said. “It literally takes two seconds to contact your clients this way and it doesn’t cost you anything.”
Geyer hosts a highly anticipated, all-day event in her showroom called “Day of Design,” which high- lights the work of her 36 designers and typically draws 400 to 500 people. “I hold a Meet the Designers Open House, complete with designers giving relevant seminars. I also have eight of our designers take over the vignettes and style them using items we have in stock,” she recounted. The creative vignettes often inspire purchases as well as design projects.
With such a sizable business, Geyer is able to deliver another source of design inspiration to customers. Her firm produces an 88-page quar- terly magazine from scratch. “I put our design projects out there [for customers to see] plus I partner with vendors to showcase their products,” she shared. “I shoot on a white background for the style stories and have our designers writing the captions because they’re the ones who know [the project or products] best. Our subscription list is from all over the country, not just our local area. Yes, it does cost us [a lot] to print, but it really impresses clients to see their designers’ work and,
Jonathan Tuff and Brad Priest of Garber’s Interior Design
Tips From Retail Superstars