You’ll know better than anyone that buying a kitchen isn’t an impulse buy. Someone doesn’t just suddenly decide to get a new kitchen, drop by your showroom, and hand over their credit card.

Instead, each customer goes on a journey – from not thinking about a new kitchen at all, to vaguely considering it, to actively researching it, and – finally – to reaching out to a company that can help them.

I’ve repeatedly said that if you run a KBB business, Google is non-negotiable.

The simple truth is that in 2022, Google is where most of your prospects start their journey, and if you’re not there, you’re nowhere.

Chances are you agree with the principle, but it still begs one big question:

HOW?

I’ve been in marketing for many years, but I still know the ultimate truth of this statement:

If you can’t close deals, all the marketing in the world won’t help you grow your kitchen business.

Sounds obvious, maybe, but far too many kitchen retailers are so focused on ‘generating leads’ that they forget to consider the number of sales appointments and deals they actually get over the line.

There’s a question that we regularly get from our clients and other independent kitchen retailers:

How do we compete with the national brands?

It’s not an easy question to answer.

After all, national brands have millions to throw at advertising, plastering themselves all over TV, radio, newspapers and billboards. So what chance have you really got?

Well, you’ve got more hope than you’d think, especially when you deploy the independent kitchen retailer’s secret weapon.

It seems that things may have slowed down a touch.

Working with scores of kitchen businesses and having visibility on search volumes and online activity across multiple platforms, we're seeing a reduction in demand for kitchens and bathrooms over the past month or so.

There'll be several factors…

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again too:

In 2022, Google is vital to successfully marketing a kitchen business.

Maybe a few years ago, you’d have been able to get away without using Google. But, if you’re serious about growing your business beyond word of mouth and your immediate circle, it’s now essential.

The question is: how do you crack it, especially when competing with the big brands?

It’s all systems go here as we prepare for kbb Birmingham this weekend.

After a couple of years stuck behind screens, we’re really looking forward to getting out there, talking to independent kitchen retailers, and helping them improve their marketing, generate more leads and win more business.

And what I’d love to know is: are you coming to the show?

Somebody threw a question to me last week:

"You talk a lot about digital marketing for kitchen retailers; is there any point doing anything offline?"

An important question, with an easy answer: "Yes".

Two different kitchen retailers asked me a very similar question in recent weeks, and it’s one worthy of some serious thought:

“What percentage of my marketing budget should go on people buying right now, and what percentage on people buying in the future?”

Great question.

If you've got plans and goals for 2022, chances are you're keen to hit the ground running this month.

You've probably got a strategy all mapped out for how you're going to get the customers you need this year (if you haven't, hit reply and we'll be happy to assist).

So, I’ll share something with you that isn't really part of a long-term marketing strategy.

We’re already halfway through January.

Before you know it, we’ll be seeing pictures of Cupid as Valentine’s Day rolls around. And it won’t be long after that before the temptation of Creme Eggs rears its ugly head.

Time moves fast, and if you don’t move with it, the chances are you’re not going to achieve all you want to this year.

I did a fair amount of reflecting over the festive break.

I thought a lot about the year we’d just had – what went right, what went wrong, what we’d do differently with that time again.

But I thought even more about the year that we’re right on the cusp of - 2022.

This time of the year is an obvious time to think things through and make plans. That’s why so many people make New Year’s resolutions and decide on big goals for the year ahead.

From speaking to several of our KBB clients over the last couple of days, I know that I’m not alone.

The festive season is well and truly upon us, as the repetition of 'Celebrations' boxes in the office attests to, which means it's not long before the big day itself.

And out on the other side, once the turkey's eaten, the Champagne drunk and the batteries recharged?

2022.

We've been asked a lot recently about what we feel next year holds for KBB retailers. With consensus in the office, here are three of our predictions.

I recently spoke about the importance of making the most of the surge in interest that's coming in January.

Each and every year, demand for new kitchens drops off in December and ratchets up in a big way in the New Year.

Many kitchen retailers recognise that January is a pivotal time to generate new leads, fill your pipeline and book work in for the year ahead. But there's another question: how?

In the world of kitchen marketing, things are starting to slow down about now.

It’s not a shock. In fact, it happens every December.

As the days get shorter and the nights get colder, consumers’ attention turns increasingly towards festive logistics – buying presents, organising family get-togethers and whose turn it is to dress as Santa.

Search volume goes down. Website hits drop too. Clicks, impressions - nearly everything that can be gauged – will be on a descending trajectory.

SEO is perceived to be a dark art.

When we speak with independent kitchen retailers, there seems to be a general misunderstanding of SEO - how it works, how it can help their business, and how long it will take to get results.

As a result, many kitchen retailers neglect the SEO of their website.

I don’t need to tell you that the KBB market is in pretty uncharted territory right now.

The pandemic’s created an unprecedented demand for home improvement, and when you add in the fact that there are loads of people sitting on cash they haven’t been able to spend on holidays, it’s fair to say this wave won’t run its course anytime soon.

Many independent kitchen retailers are used to having to work super exceptionally hard for every sale – sweating blood and tears to generate leads and convert them into clients.

Leads aren’t difficult to come by recently, though, which means a different problem for KBB retailers:

It was JFK who popularised the phrase, “The best time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining”

In other words, when things are going well, take the time to prepare for when things aren’t going quite so swimmingly.

These words should ring true for kitchen retailers right now, for the sun certainly seems to be shining.

Last week I mentioned a statistic I’d heard, suggesting that 85% of the kitchens sold in the UK each year are sold by the big brands – Wren, Magnet, B&Q, etc.

And I had some interesting feedback, with several people forthright in their views as to why the independents’ market share is so small.

However, there’s a second part to this story, which is even more interesting.