1
Working Displays, Extras, Viewed As Traffic-Builders for
Showrooms
Installing working displays that include extras, as well as taking
the time to price and package everything, are effective ways to
draw potential clients into your showroom.
That’s according to Jeff Cannata of Designer’s Showcase Kitchens
& Baths and Ric Caccavello of Central Kitchen & Bath, two
dealer-members of the Houston, TX-based Bath & Kitchen Buying
Group (BKBG).
Cannata and Caccavello offered numerous suggestions for building
traffic at kitchen and bath showrooms. Among their tips were the
following:
- Install ancillary products into your displays and make them
work. Cannata and Caccavello suggest including working versions of
pedal-valve faucets and water-purification units, as well as bar
stools, pot racks and decorative lighting over all eating
areas.
- Include bar stools in the price of your projects. As an
example, when pricing kitchen cabinets, include the cost of four
bar stools, a pot rack and a butcher block island.
- When you price the wet water fixtures, the sink, faucet and
disposal, include a pedal valve and water-purification unit.
Similarly, when pricing a bath, include the cost of a lighted wall
mirror and hairdryer. “While your pricing may be more than what
other competitors have given, the perceived value will be more in
the eye of the customer,” note Cannata and Caccavello.
- Move hardware and ceramic tile boards to the front of the
showroom.
- Price all displays and items in your showroom. “When you go
shopping, don’t you expect to see the price of what you are looking
at?” ask Cannata and Caccavello. They say the same principle should
apply to kitchen and bath showrooms.
- Additionally, price a single display, listing all of the items
in it.
- Provide a listing of all the secondary items you sell so that
customers can easily see them. “Many times they do not realize you
sell lighting, appliances, bar stools, etc.,” explain Cannata and
Caccavello.
- Group items together into a more concise presentation, such as
six or 10 bar stools.
- To make the displays even more realistic, integrate fake food
and fill cabinets with empty food boxes and cans. Purchase from
garage sales dish sets, mixers, toasters, pots and pans, and put
them in the cabinet displays.
Finally, according to Cannata and Caccavello, another technique to
consider is “sending out letters to your clients telling them about
all of the other products you have available to them,” which they
note will increase traffic, improve business and draw additional
customers to the showroom.