Retail Observer

RETAILOBSERVER.COM NOVEMBER 2020 58 B U Y I N G G R O U P N E W S I f knowledge is power, then AVB and its 5,000 member dealers are unstoppable. That's because the buying group for independent appliance, home furnishings and tech retailers served up three separate educational initiatives last month that tackled a wide swath of critical industry topics. Most recent was a complementary three-day series of 30- minute webinars co-hosted by Google and AVB Marketing – the advertising, digital marketing and e-commerce arm of AVB – in which the partners shared their pre-holiday insights on furniture shopping in the new normal. The program, which was open to all retailers, vendors and friends of the independent home furnishings channel, was designed to give furniture dealers a competitive edge in a vastly different fourth quarter. Co-hosted by Kristen Fox, Strategic Partner Manager, Google Customer Solutions, and AVB Marketing VP Brian Wattier, the "2020 Fall Home Furnishings Insights" series kicked off Oct. 6 with an update on furniture industry trends and a look at the pandemic's impact on today's furniture shopper. The following day, Fox shared furniture retailers' most effective digital strategies, with a focus on video, Google Ad types and targeting the right online audience. The series concluded with a preview of Black Friday and a live Q&A session, giving attendees the chance to put their questions directly to Google. "We are extremely excited about this opportunity to have Google share its insights," Wattier said ahead of the event. "Together with AVB Marketing, the webinars will show how we can all work together to support the independent furniture retail channel." As an added incentive, one lucky retailer who attended all three sessions was randomly chosen to win a best-in-class, custom- designed e-commerce site from AVB Marketing valued at $20,000, plus $2,000 in Google Ad Spend. The "2020 Fall Home Furnishings Insights" series was the latest collaboration between Google and AVB Marketing, one of a select group of Premier Google Partners worldwide. Together they help independent retailers take market share and grow their businesses by sharing industry insights and best marketing practices, and by encouraging consumers to shop local. Another major learning opportunity came in the guise of the BrandSource Service Playbook, which launched mid-month. Long in the making, this exclusive 32-page resource is a comprehensive tactical guide for servicing dealers that addresses everything from tech retention, training and compensation to inventory control and fleet management. The Service Playbook is the brainchild of BrandSource's National Service Committee, which was formed last year to address the unique challenges facing the 75 percent of BrandSource members that perform their own appliance repairs. Among their challenges: billing rates that don't cover costs; finding and keeping qualified techs; and increasingly complex appliances with vendor-specific parts that require multiple – and costly – truck rolls. A prime example of BrandSource's complementary value- adds, the Service Playbook addresses those issues with advice on improving first-call completes, turning house calls into high-margin sales opportunities, and other best practices from BrandSource's servicing members. It also includes a calculator for determining competitive but profitable billing rates, and concludes with a complete listing of key vendors, industry associations, parts distributors, warranty providers and educational outlets, making it an indispensable guide for both new and seasoned servicing dealers. A digital version of the Service Playbook, which will be updated regularly with the latest industry listings and trusted expert guidance, was issued to all BrandSource members, and will be followed by a forthcoming print edition of this essential servicers' guide. Meanwhile, it was back to school for BrandSource members when AVB University reconvened for a new Fall Series of vendor and business training classes this season. The complimentary program, announced by AVB CEO Jim Ristow at the group's recent 2020 Virtual Convention, consisted of a weeks'-long curriculum of online courses by leading vendors IT'S BACK TO SCHOOL FOR AVB/BRANDSOURCE

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