Brand News

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The majority would agree that it takes both great products/services and a great marketing/sales strategy for kitchen and bath dealers and designers to stay competitive. And while most choose to market their products and services in typical fashion, those who use a creative branding strategy are much more likely to meet with continued success.

Indeed, discovering different ways to distinguish products and services can mean the difference between just getting by and optimum growth.

“It’s about cutting through the clutter as much as anything else,” remarks Melissa Galt, principal of Melissa Galt Inc. in Atlanta, GA.

Galt, who is the great-granddaughter of famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright, encourages designers to learn how to talk about themselves and what they do.

“You have to create taglines. As a brand, you need to come up with what you do in a way that gets people to talk about it,” she advises. “When I’m in a networking group, I say, ‘I make people’s interior visions a reality today.”

Educational Experiences
One way dealers and designers get their names out in front of potential customers is by offering educational opportunities. There’s a lot to learn about kitchen and bath renovation, and many firms want to teach what they know to their clients.

“You probably have a better client when the person knows what the alternatives are,” explains Richard Drewry, owner of Kitchen & Bath Experts in San Diego, CA. “San Diego has a lot of cabinet shops, and there are environmental laws in California that dictate the types of [permitted cabinet] finishes. Being able to explain those things in a seminar is really beneficial to us and to the client.”

“We partner with the continuing education programs in four different surrounding communities,” notes Lorey Cavanaugh, CKD, CBD, owner of Kitchen & Bath Design Consultants LLC in West Hartford, CT. “They advertise on our behalf, and we offer seminars during the spring and fall on kitchen and bath planning, guidelines and trends.”

This program, she says, offers people a chance to see the firm’s showroom and the work of its designers, and “they can have a conversation with a live person, which is certainly more effective in establishing contacts than a print ad.” Drewry agrees: “Customers can spend an hour and a half and get to know one of our designers, and decide if this is something that they want to do.”

Showrooms can also host cooking demos and participatory events.

Clarke, with locations in Milford, MA and South Norwalk, CT, promises visitors an experience they can’t get anywhere else, notes Rick Swanson, the firm’s director of marketing. “People are welcome to test drive our appliances – cook their own recipes, have us cook for them or be part of a cooking demo with a group of people. Our whole campaign is based on the idea that Clarke appliance showrooms are playgrounds for adults.”

In fact, the Milford location is planning a series of grilling demos this month in its outdoor patio area to attract people. “One session will focus on grilling appetizers, another on pizzas and bread, and a third one on fruits and vegetables,” reports Swanson.

Clarke also offers cooking demos done by the showroom’s consultants once a month. “None of them are chefs, but they are all homeowners, so it demystifies the appliances,” he contends.

Providing educational opportunities beyond the showroom walls was a way for Galt to gain some valuable exposure. She taught evening adult classes in Birmingham, AL during her apprenticeship, and continued when she began her own firm in Atlanta.

“I taught design to people who were interested in the profession and interested in dabbling at it in their own homes,” she explains. Though she only planned to teach for a couple of years, her teaching experience at Emory University, Oglethorpe University and the Spruill Arts Center lasted for 10 years due to her love of the classroom experience.