Marketing Savvy

While they say a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing, lack of knowledge can be even more dangerous. However, lack of knowledge seems to be a key trend when it comes to marketing in the kitchen and bath industry (see related Editoral).
In fact, many kitchen and bath dealers have no idea how much they are spending in specific areas of marketing. Additionally, many are not tracking leads or sales in relation to spending, making it far more difficult to assess if/how their marketing is working for them.

However, of those who do track their marketing, the Internet is emerging as a key venue for gaining leads and building sales and awareness, while referrals remain the strongest marketing area for generating a positive return on investment. That’s according to a new survey that polled more than 220 kitchen and bath dealers from all across the country. The responses represented a true cross section of the industry, not only geographically, but by business structure and showroom sales volume.

To better understand how kitchen and bath dealers spend their marketing dollars, and what avenues produce the most leads and greatest number of jobs, dealers were asked what percent of their marketing dollars are spent on the following:

• Network TV (local channels)
  
• Cable TV
  
• Radio
  
• Newspapers
  
• Magazines
  
• Yellow Pages
  
• Internet Marketing (Google, banner ads)
  
• Web site (design, development, updates)
  
• Outdoor (billboards, bus signage)
  
• Direct Mail
  
• Other

Lack of Knowledge

Perhaps the most troubling finding of the survey was the response rate for “I don’t know” in each category. Indeed, for each of the 11 marketing channels, the percentage of kitchen and bath dealers who responded “I don’t know” ranged from 43% to a whopping 92%.

As a business owner, it’s critical to know exactly where you are spending your marketing dollars, as well as how much is being allocated to each media. This is especially important because marketing is not a one-size-fits-all science. The best media or marketing channel for a business can vary widely based on location, size, type of jobs, target market, and many other factors, so tracking what works and what doesn’t for your specific firm is key to maximizing your marketing dollars.

Likewise, having a system to track leads and closed jobs is essential so that you can determine what marketing avenues are bringing in leads, and which are translating into sales. For that reason, every business should be asking each person who walks through the door, “Where did you hear about us?”

Tim Aden, CMKBD, principal at Sawhill Custom Kitchens & Design, Inc. in Minneapolis, MN says, “We developed a tracking system that includes a simple pre-printed card to remind everyone on staff of the information we are hoping to collect from showroom visitors. The card has spaces for contact information, the type of project they are interested in pursuing with us and a blank space asking, ‘Where did you hear about Sawhill?’ Without gathering that information, we would have no idea what aspects of our marketing program are paying off.”

’Net Marketing

Of those survey respondents who do track where they spend the marketing dollars, the results were a mix of familiar favorites and newer venues. It’s no surprise that the Yellow Pages, long an industry staple, still accounts for over 50% of where the industry spends its advertising dollars (see Graph 1).