D-i-y education spurs sales

-ESPITE the economic ills

Eplaguing the industry, repair and remodeling is expected to continue as a lucrative market in the months ahead. Statistics still show that when money is tight homeowners improve their present homes rather than move to costlier new ones.

Research in the consumer market projects 519o of those contacted in recent surveys planning to increase home repairs and improvements this year. Further surveys indicate a strong do-it-yourself market with 8590 of the families queried reporting at least one do-it-yourselfer in the household. Average spending last year by d-i-y homeowners for repairs and maintenance reportedly was close to $1000 with just under $500 being the median figure spent.

SAMPLEB of consumer education malerials available from manulacturers and associations includes wall charts, audio-visual presentations and take home literature. Thev can help you upgrade your customer servic6 and increase sales.

If you need further proof that the merging of home improvement and do-it-yourself trends will be

Story at a Glance

Growing d.i.y market requires moro consumer education lrom the retailer. manulac. turers and associations pro vide variety of educational materials . suggestions lor incorporating them into your selling situation.

beneficial to your business, take a look at the figures released by the Bureau of Building Marketing Research. They show more than $5 billion spent to re-do kitchens alone last year. Do-it-yourself work

Bulldlng Products Dtgest represents a big share of that, they emphasize. In fact, they report that d-i-y projects have been growing twice as fast as professional jobs.

To take advantage of this big market opportunity, you must set up your store as the community's remodeling and repair education center. Customers with more knowledge will be more inclined to tackle the big jobs they need or want to do at home. Plan to capitalize on the interest created by the consumer magazines for home improvement projects. Stand ready to teach, advise, and guide. The more your customers know about home improvement projects, the more products you are able to sell.

Enrich your in-store education programs by using the aids offered by manufacturers. Film cassettes, brochures, charts, diagrams will augment x-ray houses, cut-away walls, mock-ups and other how-to instructional materials. Ctinics, seminars, and salespeople who are experts can take the mystery out of home improvement. A library of read-on-the-spot or take-home-on-

ELECTHCAL CEilTEN

loan self-help books such as ?'fte Better Homes and GardensComplete Guide to Home Repair, Maintenance & Improvemenl and the Reader's Digest Complete Do-ItYourself Manual can augment the expertise of your staff.

Materials for consumer education are out there. You need only to become aware of them and the importance of incorporating them into your d-i-y educational programs. Once you start using them, you'll become more aware of the excellent take-home literature, cassette programs, informational headers, charts and diagrams, and special offers such as plan books available.

Start the process by having your buyers ask sales reps what is available. Have a member of your staff read the New Literature section of the Digest and send for the materials listed. Be sure that someone scans the mail for sPecial promotions of educational value such as Home Plonning, editorial matter on home building and remodeling. Appoint a staff member to follow up on book reviews, selecting literature to be put into your lending library or offered for sale in your book department.

Once you have the materials, it is important that your salespeople utilize them. Stress the importance to them of studying the material and applying the knowledge to their sales efforts. A well informed salesman is a teacher for the do-ityourself customer.