Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

I own an import furniture business within a community of roughly 50,000 residents.  We are a wholesale company that opened a retail location 14 months ago.  I would guess that less than 5% of the local residents know about us.  If you were me and did not have a lot of $ to spend on marketing, what would you do?

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Perfect advice Erin!

Yep, Erin is right on.  You`ve got to just get out there and press some palms.  Could you temporarily "donate" some furniture to a high traffic lobby or area just to show people what you have?  My husband is a builder (on the side.. that`s not his "real" job) but he is doing some townhouse conversions and will have 2 "model  units".  If a local company wanted to display their furniture in the model home along w/ some ads etc... I`m sure he`d jump on that.  Erin`s idea about getting in with the interior design crowd is awesome!  Best of luck, let us know how it goes.

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Leslie
Founder and President
Charmed Life Products LLC
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 Obviously you need to be wary of putting your product in a position
to get damaged by the public.

 I`ve built custom furniture on-and-off over the years so I know
a thing or two about the industry.

 Primarily you need traffic to your store and you can do this with
publicity stunts, special offers and especially giveaways.

 If you can get a new customer at break-even or better, you are in
good shape, because s/he will likely come back and send more customers
to you for free.

 There`s a lot to doing this.  Marketing online is probably a waste of time
for you.  Knocking on doors one day a week or doing telemarketing may
seem like a lot of work, and old-fashioned to boot... but hey, you need the
business.

 There is nothing, I mean nothing, like a personal invitation, to bring the
folks in.

Excellent ideas so far; let me contribute another. 

Host an event at your retail location...  business after hours (chamber), homebuilders association meeting, other business group with industry connections.

Excellent PR and opportunities to be face-to-face with customers and build word-of-mouth.  Make sure you get to make a brief introductory speech to welcome everyone and talk about your store/product line.

Thanks for the advice everyone.  Okay, specifically what advice do you have regarding advertising in magazine (like a home & garden type), local paper and direct mail (say to new home buyers)?  Are these cost effective methods?

In addition, we have a website ( www.bahariimports.com ) in which we use as an online catalog.  Whenever we get new shipments in or have a sale, we promote this via email to roughly 1600 individuals on our email list.

You need to have a well thought-out advertising strategy on a continuous basis (12 months).  Just can`t a one-time placements and expect results.  You don`t indicate your location, but here are a couple of questions I`d ask:

Is there a regional magazine in your area? If so, what is the subscriber base? Do they have sections and/or special editions dedicated to trends in architecture and interior design? 

Is the local newspaper well-respected with community wide distribution?  Here`s were you might need to work with an Ad agency to plan an advertising schedule and negotiate rates.  You`ll want to look for editions and/or sync with editorial that touches upon your product and the customers you`re trying to reach. 

You mention that you handle imported furniture.  I haven`t seen your product line but most of the imports I see can be very creative/artistic.  Is there a weekly paper in your area that tends to be outside the mainstream?  A little more avant garde?

If you do consider a mailing...  do a postcard or fold over piece no larger than 6x9" 

Do you have high-quality, professionally photographed images? Showcase the furniture and accessories to their fullest potential.  Consult with a designer for your advertising and marketing materials so you can elevate your image with the goal of bringing customers in and making a sale.