BUSINESS ADVICE | Paul Da Silva
SHOWROOM CHIC: The do’s and don’ts of success
Your showroom is the first thing your customers will judge you by, so it has to be the best it can be. Paul Da Silva has some handy pointers
F
irst impressions count so having a showroom that looks good is crucial. But what should it look like? How many displays should you have? There are several points to consider when looking at your showroom.
Visual Most important of all is how does it look? If I were walking past the showroom, would it look inviting? And would I be comfortable walking around inside? One of my biggest annoyances is where I see stock littering an otherwise fantastic looking showroom. Now I understand that not everyone has storage space, and sometimes a box is there because a customer is due to pick it up, but it isn’t always the case.
Think of how that looks to the customer. They will either assume that it is to replace something damaged, it was missing from the original order, or it has been brought back because it wasn’t needed. And it takes away from what could be a fantastic- looking display.
Also, how do the desks look? Are they clear of
clutter and organised? If so, the customer will have a lot more confidence that their sales process will run smoother. If everything is messy and in chaos, the customer assumes that this is how their project will be run. So get those empty coffee cups, cigarette packets and empty lunch cartons off the desks.
And don’t store your lunch in the working fridge on display! There is nothing worse when showing a customer around a display, than opening up the fridge to find a three-day old sandwich.
Products
If everything is messy and in chaos, the customer assumes that this is how their project will be run
So, what do you display? Firstly, I would rather have two large displays than 10 small ones. Giving a customer a couple of different layouts is fine, especially if they show off all of the hidden storage. It’s very important to have as many working items as possible. Induction hobs are great pieces of apparatus to demonstrate. Trying to describe how good an induction hob is will always take second place to actually showing it.
And if you are making the customer a cup of coffee, there is no point telling the customer how good the Quooker product is, and then going to make them a coffee from a kettle.
Do you have an oven that can be controlled remotely? Have you invested in VR headsets? Will the fridge compile your shopping list? Can the customer charge their phone by leaving it on the Corian worktop?
Show them these things! The Window
What will customers walking past outside of business hours learn from stopping to look?
Opening hours, website address, contact details, social media handles should all be there if possible. QR codes are a very good way of getting a lot of information across very quickly, so every showroom should have one in my opinion. Lighting is also very important, especially in winter. If you have a customer walking past at night, you want your wow kitchen to be lit up. Highlight the best things about your showroom.
Accessibility
When I go into showrooms and speak with the owners, the conversation about parking is generally me saying I’ve parked on Acacia Avenue and it’s very expensive. I’m then told “oh, you should have parked on Festive Road, it’s free for two hours. If a customer is visiting your showroom, and you don’t have your own parking, put the location of the best parking spaces on the website, a map on social media and all emails. It will be one less stress for the customer when they come and see you.
Feedback
One of the best tips I can give you is to get somebody neutral to have a look around and give you some feedback – the postman, or the meter reader. These people will be looking at things from the perspective of a customer and will give you the most honest feedback.
Don’t get buried under boxes that will distract customers from your beautiful showroom
24 Some of the best display advice I have ever been
given has been from people who have never worked a day in the industry.
· November 2022
•
B
S
U
S
I
N
E
S
•
A
D
V
I
C
E
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88
