WEB SITES EMERGE AS ESSENTIAL MARKETING TOOLS FOR LIGHTING SHOWROOMS.

It used to be that when I talked to lighting showroom owners about their web sites, the conversation immediately turned to e-commerce. Today, many showrooms are thinking twice before rushing into an e-commerce application for their showroom. E-commerce requires a well-maintained data base of product SKUs and images that reside at the showroom’s hosting site. It requires instantaneous knowledge of shipping costs and time frames. And e-commerce involves the risk of damage and returns, which can run as high as 15% to 20% of items shipped. Many showrooms have come to the conclusion that if they do offer e-commerce, it will be a customer service rather than the development of a new profit center.

So why have a web site at all?  A well-functioning web site allows the consumer to search a broad range of products. It educates consumers about different ways to light the home. It creates a higher level of passion for lighting. And it serves as a marketing platform for the efficient distribution of marketing information.

Recently, Clark Communications Group has been using mainstream media such as newspaper, radio and television to direct customers to go to the lighting showroom web site to download valuable discount coupons, coupons for Gift Cards, and even inserts that greatly expand upon the amount of product that can be shown in an ad.

Here are two examples:

Last summer we were working a campaign for Stewart Lighting One in Jacksonville during the August heat wave. We chose to run “Dog Days,” an advertising concept that works well when the heat begins to slow things down. Normally this campaign is done as a newspaper ad, but this time we advertised on TV and asked customers to go to the web site to print out their insert. With color printers as cheap as they are today, nearly everyone has one. And the quality of the printed piece is incredible. Stewart Lighting One reported increased sales that energized the showroom during a normally slow month.

Over Labor Day Weekend we ran a “Double Your Savings” campaign for Connecticut Lighting Centers, featuring a 6% off coupon in the newspaper with an additional web site coupon 6% off the web site for a total of 12%. Over 200 web customers signed up to receive future email promotions and downloaded the 6% online coupon.

The key to a great site is to have a good web team working with you. Once you do, there’s no limit to what you can do on the web. In the future Clark Communications Group will offer video clips as a part of our web sites.  We will also feature an “Ask a Designer” section where visitors to the site can ask their lighting questions. We all know that the best sales relationship usually starts with an opening question from the customer.  A good web site provides information that makes it easy for the consumer to approach a lighting showroom with intelligent questions.

Clark Communications Group still works with the mainstream media of newspaper, television, radio and magazines to get the showroom message out. But the web site is quickly emerging as the central link in the advertising chain and has become the repository of information for the customer. Invest in a great web site and you will reward your showroom many times over with more efficient business processes and increased sales in the years ahead.

Dave Clark is President of Clark Communication Group, an advertising agency specializing in the lighting showroom business. For more information visit  www.lightads.com or contact Dave at 800-886-2522.

Dave Clark
Clark Communications Group
800-886-2522