tips, or other customer-friendly communication. But don’t overuse it. Just as you wouldn’t email a customer five times a day, do not send Facebook direct messages five times either. 7. Get new email subscribers: Facebook provides a powerful static FBML. This tool allows you (with a very small amount of help from your webmaster) to create a landing page designed to help you communicate directly with your potential customers what you want them to do. I suggest this is the perfect opportunity to build the size of your email list. 8. Know your fan base: The Insights tool allows you to see metrics on your fans, such as how many comments and interactions you have, the number of active fans you have in various age categories, the growth of your fan base, where your fans live, and more. I’m not telling you this is the only research information you will ever need, but it is a nice high-level view of the people who are following you. 9. Shop your competition: You better be shopping your competitors everywhere else, so why not on Facebook? See what they’re doing to promote their page and engage fans. Take note of the features they’re using, how they interact with visitors, the type of content and how frequently they post and
their growth rate. 10. Use every feature: Facebook is packed with tools for sharing videos, importing your blog posts, listing events, conducting polls, starting conversations, and on and on. Literally there are hundreds of ways to interact use them all to your advantage. Don’t expect to gain maximum following without maximum effort. Facebook is a powerful tool. Take a few hours to learn how to use its many options to drive traffic to your business. Don’t fall into the trap of companies like Concord or Bennett. “Who?” you ask. In 1907, these buggy companies believed they would always have a customer base. Three years later the number of automobiles surpassed buggies in the United States. If traditional media is all you’re willing to consider, perhaps you should buy a Bennett wagon on eBay to deliver it.
David Lively has over 20 year’s hands-on experience in the home furnishings industry. Twice named to Furniture Today’s “Beyond the Top 100” list of independent retailers and 1997 “Ohio Retailer of the Year,” David’s wisdom was won on the front lines and his battle scars have given him compassion for counseling today’s retail warrior. David is on the forefront of a new phenomenon that will soon rock the home furnishings industry: the transfer of authority, responsibility and wealth from one generation to the next. Four out of five family-owned furniture stores are still led by their founder, and 40 percent of them will change hands in the next five years. David has developed a proprietary and unparalleled system for helping identify goals, strengths and opportunities during this crucial time. You can reach David at (740) 415-3192, david@thelivelymerchant.com or visit www.thelivelymerchant.com.
Industry Beat Mor Furniture For Less Opens in Riverside Mor Furniture For Less opened a 46,000-square-foot store in Riverside, CA in May. The new location took over a former Wickes showroom. Despite the current economic climate, Mor Furniture For Less has been steadily growing over the last year. The new store is the latest in Mor Furniture’s recent expansion into new markets in Murrieta, CA, Portland, OR and Mesa, AZ.
Bedmart Named “Retail Giant of Bedding”
Chet Goldberg, founder and owner, and Chuck Kill, CEO of Bedmart
“We’re the little store who could,” chuckled Chet Goldberg, founder and owner of Bedmart. Bedmart, which started in Tucson, AZ in 1988, was honored as a “Retail Giant of Bedding” at the Fifth Annual Bedding Conference held by Furniture/Today magazine. “Chet Goldberg’s family has a long and impressive history on the Arizona retail scene, and the founder and owner of Bedmart has made his mark in the mattress business in the last two decades,” said David Perry, executive editor of Furniture/Today, who recently named Bedmart as one of four Retail Giants of Bedding for 2010. “Under Chet’s leadership, Bedmart has grown to be a major player in the mattress arena. The company strives to fully satisfy each customer, a key to its success.” Bedmart has grown to 29 stores throughout Arizona and is the state’s largest family-owned bedding chain. When Goldberg started Bedmart, he was following in the steps of his great-grandfather who opened the first Goldberg business in Arizona, a general store, in 1862. “Arizona has been very good to my family and to me,” Goldberg continued. “We are very proud to receive this honor and think it is a tribute to treating every customer like who they are — our neighbors.” Goldberg said the stores success has been built on three founding principals. “We wanted our customers to have the best selection, the best price and the best service. Our goal was — and still is — to give every customer the best mattress buying experience they’ve ever had,” he continued. “And, that means we have to keep raising the bar because our customers come back to us again and again.”
Contact WHFA at www.WHFA.org or (800) 422-3778.
western retailer
JUne/July 2010
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