We had a question in a month ago from a really decent guy who runs a kitchen design company with his wife.
She’s an expert designer, with two decades of experience, loads of integrity, and a steady stream of glowing testimonials.
But they have a problem:
They’re losing business to ‘respected’ companies in their local market, promising the world, but delivering precious little.
And it’s the age-old question:
How do independent KBB retailers, with bona fide intentions and high integrity, compete against companies, offering attractive but fake discounts?
It’s a difficult question, and to pretend there are easy answers would be a disservice.
That said, there are some things you can do to combat this issue.
Refuse to compete
Make no bones about it; the KBB market is BIG. (President Trump might even call it “huge”.)
What this means is that there are plenty of clients to go around. And if you’re ending up with the kind of people that turn up at your showroom with a quote they want you to beat, you’re serving the wrong segment of the market.
So, here’s my advice: don’t serve them.
When someone comes to you to try and get you to beat a quote, just don’t engage with it, they probably aren’t the right client for you. This sends the message that what you do isn’t easily comparable to other companies – that alone differentiates you, and it stops you being sucked into the price game.
Understand what it is that makes you unique
You’ll know the concept of a ‘unique selling proposition’ – a USP – and it’s crucial in this particular situation.
What’s vital to remember is that the ideal clients for you are the ones that appreciate working directly with the owner of the business, or at least a well-qualified designer.
They aren’t the ones looking for the deal in Wren or B&Q. So, if you’re attracting a load of those sorts of prospects, then something’s off with your marketing message.
Market prior to need
This is something we talk a lot about, and for good reason: it’s a critical component of successful marketing for independent KBB retailers.
In the marketplace right now, you’ve got ‘today customers’ – those who are in the market for a kitchen today – and ‘tomorrow customers’ – those who aren’t currently in the market but will be at some point in the future.
Clearly, you need to service the ‘today’ pool of customers, but you can’t forget about the ‘tomorrow’ customers.
Get to them early enough and go out of your way to demonstrate your value and expertise. When the right customers for you begin actively looking, you’re in the box seat, regardless of discounts and promises from other retailers.
Tell your prospects the truth about your competitors (subtly)
In the case of the husband and wife team that submitted the question, they knew that the discounts on offer from their competitors were B.S.
But if you go ahead and directly call the discounts out for what they are, you could come across as bitter.
Instead, capture your client testimonials that include the fact that the big promises from other retailers aren’t what they say are. That way, it’s not you saying it, but someone else your prospects can resonate with.
As I mentioned, there’s no simple answer to this question, but working out a solution is critical – it could be the most significant difference between you winning and losing work when you’re up against the other guys.
And as a result, we’re dedicating an hour to this subject on The Big KBB Marketing Call, this Friday, 14th August, at 11.30am.
Join in, or just sit back and listen. It’s content, conversation and community for independent KBB retailers.
And if you’ve got any questions you’d like answered, on any topic, at any time, just drop me a line, and I’ll make sure we cover them off: david.barker@inspirekbb.com
Finally, feel free to forward this invitation to anyone you think would benefit from being on the call.
