The Retail Observer is an industry leading magazine for INDEPENDENT RETAILERS in Major Appliances, Consumer Electronics and Home Furnishings
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RETAILOBSERVER.COM JUNE 2017 52 H ow many times have you heard customers say, 'Mattress shopping is confusing'? Or, 'I don't want to buy the wrong bed'? With all the options available in today's market, it's no wonder consumers feel this way. In a recent conversation I had with a retailer, we discussed the success they were having at their store. In the last 12 months, they have seen their business increase by 28%, so I asked them the obvious question, "What are you doing to grow your business, when other retailers aren't seeing this type of growth?" I was expecting to hear more advertising, more promotions, more giveaways, or even lower prices. The response I got wasn't even close! He said to me, "We went back to the K.I.S.S rule. Keep It Simple, Silly." But, what did he really mean by this? This got me thinking, what if all the retailers did the same thing? How much growth could we gain as an industry? The consumer is confused, the retail sales associate (RSA) is confused, even the manufacturer reps can get confused. When I started in this business years ago, my manager at the time told me, "Don't over think it." At the time, I felt I needed to know absolutely everything there was to know about mattresses. How are they made? What does four- pound density foam really mean? Is coil count that important? Often when a customer comes in the store, we are so quick to offer up what our favorite bed is on the floor. This could be beds that have a spiff, or ones that we make more commission on. I am all for making the most money, but are we doing a disservice to our customer? In most cases the customer hasn't purchased a new bed for at least eight years. There have been many changes in the products over that time and they really have no idea what to expect. With all the technology introduced over the past five years, we tend to forget that it's still new to the customer. They are going to compare any bed to the old, broken down, sagging, pain-in-the- back that should have been replaced years ago. So, everything will feel good to them, but is it the right bed? One of the best trainers I've worked with, Bob Muenkel, taught me there are just five simple questions we should be asking that will guide us in finding the right mattress for the customer. 1. Is excessive tossing and turning preventing you or your partner from getting a good night's sleep? 2. Are you or your partner experiencing any back pain or stiffness when you wake up? 3. Are you or your partner sleeping too hot or cold? 4. Does one partner's movement disturb the other? 5. Are you or your partner experiencing a 'roll-towards-the-middle' or 'roll-off-the-edge' feeling? It's amazing how much information we learn by asking these questions. Often, we just start throwing up all the information we have on the mattress because we want to be the smartest person in the room. While, there is no doubt that knowing everything about the mattress is a good thing, we just need to know when to use it. How many times do we start talking about a feature because we like it? The customer may not even care that the mattress has cooling features. What if he or she is a cold sleeper? RSAs should start each customer interaction in the store with these five simple questions and then follow the 80/20 rule – listen 80% of the time and talk 20% of the time. Customers will tell us what they want, we just have to listen. Consider the impact on your sales if you implemented this simplified process at every customer interaction. What do you have to lose by giving it a try? My guess is nothing, and just like the retailer I mentioned before, your close rates will increase allowing you to see greater profitability from the same amount of work and size of your team. EVERY K.I.S.S. BEGINS WITH THE RETAIL SALES ASSOCIATE Chad Fischer Furniture Trends RO Chad Fischer, General Manager of Mattress Division of MEGA Group USA RO