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One thing you can’t get online


IN HIS REFRESHINGLY honest opinion piece in the June issue of kbbreview [page 21], Paul Crow wrote about how Ripples showrooms have changed to offer an inspirational shopping experience. We would certainly agree that


stimulating displays, relaxing facilities and somewhere


where you can talk to experts are all essential for capturing today’s discerning homeowner. People thought for a while that online shopping might


undermine the need for showrooms. Certainly, the high street has taken a hammering as consumers change the way they shop. But clicks haven’t replaced the need for bricks – in fact showrooms have become more important than ever. A homeowner looking for a new bathroom will most


likely gather inspiration from a variety of places, ask friends’ advice and then research different options online. But anyone who is about to spend thousands of pounds on a bathroom is going to want to experience how the products look and feel ‘in the fl esh’. Consumers want to check the tangible attributes of a


product before committing to buy, including the size, material, and colours, which don’t always render well on screen. There is one other crucial reason. No matter how good the photography or how compelling the descriptions, there is one thing about a product that’s virtually impossible to convey on a web page – quality. And today’s homeowner places a lot of emphasis on quality. They want to enhance their homes with stylish décor and accessories that look great and will last. Quality is particularly important when it comes to showers, because showering is about so much more than just getting clean. It’s a place to unwind and refresh, a time and space for you – a sanctuary from the world. It’s a holistic experience and


every aspect of the environment has to be right. Attention is often drawn to the fi xtures and fi ttings of a


shower because the shiny hardware is eye-catching – but it’s the things you don’t immediately notice that make the difference in quality. For example, what is the shower tray like? Does it feel reassuringly solid or does it fl ex as you get in? Does the door wobble or clang when shut? Quality is a feeling, and it’s a feeling you only get from the whole experience. When you have an appreciation of how important


these factors are, it’s important to realise, as Mr Crow has, that the way products are presented can make the difference between making a sale or not. Is the glass and hardware clean, scratch- and damage-free? Are the designers knowledgeable? And do they engage in a two-way conversation so they know exactly what the buyers need? From walking into the showroom, the setting, lighting


and surrounding space, to reaching for the handle and opening the door, stepping on to the shower tray, and looking at or through the glass – the whole experience must have a quality feel. Do your showering spaces look right in the display space? Are they lit well? Your eyes are drawn to quality hardware and your hands instinctively reach for the handle. If it’s comfortable and solid in their hand with a pleasing shape, it says quality. Make sure handles are fi tted correctly so they feel sturdy.


Check that doors close smoothly and quietly. If anything feels loose or ill-fi tting, the customer may not say anything, but they’ll question the quality, whatever the price. Think about the showering space holistically. Make


sure every feature enhances the experience and you’ll communicate the quality assurance today’s customers have come to demand.


Mike Tattam, sales and marketing director, Lakes Lakes Bay series


Focus on compact living: bathrooms ‘Clever storage can lift the design to new heights” pg 44


WANT TO TELL US YOUR BUSINESS SUCCESS STORY? EMAIL THE EDITOR: rebecca@kbbreview.com


Cloud


Discrete lines with optimum functionality


Interview:


Michael Rauterkus ‘If European companies are to survive, they need to develop [new] technologies’ pg 32


Focus on compact living: design for yachts ‘The problem with yachts is they’re curvy. It forces us into some cunning solutions’ pg 36


www.novy.co.uk August 2019 · kbbreview 31


Paul Crow | COMMENT AND OPINION


PAUL CROW OPINION


The Ripples MD reveals how they took a long hard look at their showrooms and made important changes to give customers a more enjoyable and relaxing experience. And it’s paid off with increased orders


‘We set out to entertain our customers’ T


Our designers looked like estate agents – sat behind a computer


screen on a wood- effect desk and business chairs that screamed ‘sales environment’


Primark has just opened its largest store in the world and it’s in Birmingham with a whopping 161,000sq ft over five floors. It will employ 500 people. This for a business that does very little advertising, despite its huge social media following. People have not lost the love of shopping, there are just fewer places they love shopping in. Understanding that love is key.


The Primark story confirms that value matters. They are not piling it high and selling it cheap, they are presenting it well, making it relevant and also selling it for great value. Their stores offer cafés, wi-fi and places to charge your phone. They know their customers and exactly what they want. And so do independent traders.


Interactive mood board


The starting point for any business is to understand its own culture. Often this is driven by the owner and if not, it certainly should be. That culture has to be clearly defined and something every member of the team has bought into – supply partners, too. The tone of voice, character, colour and even smell of that business must be something that is deliberate and obvious. We have had to make some tough decisions on how we continue to adapt at Ripples. We’ve maybe been too formal in the past, too snobby even have appeared too expensive. Yet most who visited our stores were surprised at how reasonable our prices were. That meant we’ve had to have a complete rethink on how we present ourselves. We’ve set out to entertain and educate our customers, as we know they need to be stimulated when they visit. We have learnt that some people like to play with products – turn on the lights in the display with Alexa, slide tile samples around on a table like a jigsaw puzzle or play with working shower heads. Some people like to use us to unwind and grab a coffee, so we’ve started introducing tables and chairs in our showrooms so that they now stay longer. These are known as collaboration areas – a safe ‘first base’ for the customer without feeling like they are committing to giving us anything other than their time. The once-hidden coffee machine is now on full view, alongside Ripples-branded biscuits. People like these.


Collaboration area in a Ripples showroom


he demise and re-emergence of Better Bathrooms has prompted a whole new debate on the role of showrooms, their importance and why they need to be better protected. The reality is, though, we must all protect ourselves and to do that, we’ve got to start by getting a bit better at what we do.


We also realised our designers looked like estate agents – sat behind a computer screen on a wood-effect desk and business chairs that screamed ‘sales environment’. Now we have white desks, comfortable, relaxed chairs and behind each designer is a colourful mood board that we change to suit the customer we have the appointment with. Mood boards have become the buzzword for our designers over the past few years as we move more towards the working methods of more ‘regular’ interior designers. Our designers were always good at coming up with schemes, but now our clients want to have more of a say in the process, so we’ve created physical interactive mood board areas for them. The moment we did this, we found they understood our added value much more quickly and order values increased. We all know the right music matters. Just try to match the mood to the customer you know is coming in and perhaps even the time of day. Likewise, another area we were lax on was the aroma of the showroom. And, yes, at times we wrongly greeted the customer with the smell of what someone was having for lunch. Retail guru Mary Portas attended our franchise conference and told us that while she loved buying from Ripples, she felt it could have smelt more like a spa. So we introduced relaxing aromatherapy oils into the showroom.


Our display settings were good, but they weren’t great and neither was the visual merchandising. It was fair to say that 99% of customer bathrooms we sold were better than some of the showroom displays and that wasn’t good enough. We were guilty of building the displays around certain products, manufacturers or even personal preferences, whereas now we have a strategy to ensure that we focus on certain ‘looks’. We have a total of nine that we now aim for, with a 10-point checklist. Technology is obviously playing a big part in the retail experience and is essential, particularly in a small showroom. We are rolling out areas for customers to view case studies on TVs and even play on our iPads. The final piece of the puzzle is that the whole experience, however you choose to make it work for your business, has to be branded. I’ll bang that drum forever, because I truly believe in it – and we’ve put our money where our mouth is. It’s vital that your company has an identity that is represented throughout your store and all your For what it’s worth I b l


it b t


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