How to market your showroom.(Darlington on Showrooms)

When I owned my business, marketing was bar far my favorite segment of the overall business management area. Maybe because I had a marketing degree, maybe because I'm fairly creative in that area, maybe because I'm a salesman at heart or maybe because I know we had to attract clients to our business. I also knew that when they did come in, we had to sell them then if we wanted to keep the doors open. Whatever the reason, I love marketing.

All businesses are made up of three separate and distinct business management areas of responsibility: financial, human resource, and marketing. All three are very important and each requires a separate set of skills. In large companies a different person is responsible for each and is the "expert" in that area. In smaller companies the owners/managers may wear all three hats. This is tough, because it's difficult to be well versed in each of these important segments.

Running a successful wholesale operation requires very strong skills in financial management and in human resource management. Being very good at managing the two key asset areas of accounts receivable and inventory plus being proficient in the areas of purchasing and expense control will all add up to a well-run wholesale business. But generally speaking, there is less marketing involved. The wholesale business requires less in the areas of marketing, promotions and public relations than a retail-oriented business.

MARKETING

Wholesalers that operate showrooms have to learn a new skill: how to be good marketers. If the consumer is the No. 1 decision maker on decorative plumbing products, the showroom must be consumer friendly in every way possible. (This is regardless of whether the homeowner, builder or plumber is buying the product.)

Marketing consists of several very important segments: advertising, promotions, public relations and the all-important selling phase of the business. The first three are all directed at driving clients into your showroom. Once they come through your doors the objective is to sell them everything you possibly can at margins that justify the expense, time, effort and value that you bring to the sale. Let's take a look at each area of marketing.

ADVERTISING