'Grabbing' your customers

<i>Point of purchase, end cap and other creative displays have a great impact on counter sales, especially impulse buys. What makes a good display, a real attention-getter?</i>

'Grabbing' your customers
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Chris Parra, HCS-Cutler, Canoga Park, CA
In these days of cell phones, faxes and high-speed Internet, it's easy to see people's time has become more valuable than ever. Consumers don't have time to wait for a salesman to answer their questions; they want answers and they want them now! The consumer doesn't just want to know how much the product costs; they want to know what makes this product better than its competitor.
When I think of end caps, there are several that come to mind. The one that stands out the most is the power tool end cap display with a designed to look like a home framing structure. This gives you the ability to show off tools in a working environment. You can display a framing nailer for the rough framing, tie in an impact nailer for hold-downs along with various saws and drills and finishing tools.
The best thing is that each tool works so you can see how easy it is to use and handle. There is plenty of reading material for each tool on display and master catalogs in case customers are interested in other items in the line.
The key to making a great end cap is having an idea of what you want the consumer to feel, and go for it! The bigger the better — never stop adding to your presentation. Use your co-workers input as well as customers' ideas — they are key. Not only is it good customer relations, nothing makes a customer feel better than coming in and seeing their ideas come to life, the customer is usually the best at putting a finger on what buyers are looking for.
When building an end cap, there are some key things to remember: vendors, vendors and vendors! Get them involved. All vendors are willing to help promote their products. It's a great way for them to show off their latest and greatest ideas. Ask for logo items, banners, literature, catalogs and promotional items to give away with a purchase.
Some vendors have customer-driven raffles, or you might want to ask if they have any rebate programs or a program to get something free with a purchase. These promos are great to incorporate into your end cap display.
Every chance you have to walk a customer over to an end cap display, by all means do it. This is in almost a guaranteed sale. You have the opportunity to put the tool in the customer's hands and show off key features of the tool that the customer might not have understood until you pointed them out. Customers love demonstrations and how-to clinics. Schedule a few demo days using your end cap. And, always use your end cap displays for one-on-one mini demo days with a prospect. Some people think an end cap is just for show rather than go. We've proven that nothing is further from the truth — end caps are sales tools!
Cal Martin, Tools-r-us & eToolsrus.com, Montclair, CA
In a world of mass merchant competitors, differentiation is a definite challenge. We have to be price competitive; that's a given to capture any market share. We also have to employ salespeople who are capable of handling customer concerns while delivering product information and application solutions. Continuing to devote major resources to the arenas of advertising and promotion can lead to reduced profits and arguably poor results as the advertising power of our big box competitors easily overwhelms any presence our single location can bring to the marketplace. The challenge is how to be different; how to deliver a look unique to the barrage of presentations assaulting potential customers.
We chose to differentiate ourselves by elevating our presentation. Effective presentation has proven its value in the marketplace. You only have to look at Lowes' impact in markets once dominated by Home Depot. While often sharp on key items in their pricing matrix strategy, Lowes usually asks more for items than their major rival. Yet they continue their surge in markets that were once exclusive to Depot. The obvious difference is presentation.
Though Lowes is cleaner, better lighted and signed than Home Depot, we decided we could improve upon the Lowes offering and moved to elevate the presentation of our display through cooperation with our principal vendors. In 2004 we implemented a Store-in-Store concept.
Borrowing the concept from the existing trends in the grocery and soft goods industries, we proposed a partnership to key manufacturers to establish a dedicated section of our sales floor exclusive to their product line. The manufacturer would receive an improved selling space inclusive of carpeting, custom designed fixtures, thematic corporate color coordination, superior lighting and elevated in-store marketing. In return for supporting these improvements, the manufacturer had the tangible opportunity to broaden presence, increase revenues, and lock-up distribution at a major regional distributor.
Our Store-in-Store concept addressed what the manufacturer needs most — control, and therefore guaranteed distribution, but it is primarily a showcase for individual product lines. In our business the tools are the main attraction and we wanted emphasis focused on our major brands. We planned to deliver buyer excitement by applying high-end retailing concepts to the hard goods industry. On Memorial Day weekend we moved into a new facility, merchandised so that everyday at Tools-r-us could be an exhibit day.
Our Store-in-Store venues now include Bosch, Fein, Makita, Milwaukee, Jet/Powermatic, DeWalt, Delta and Porter Cable. We quantified our project with a targeted sales goal of $600 per square foot based on annual revenues. By example, Milwaukee Power Tools elected to participate in a 1,000-square-foot Store-in-Store venue. In 2005 our Milwaukee sales were $807 per square foot, exceeding the goal by 25 percent.
We don't claim that our change in location, sales personnel and marketing activities did not greatly contribute to our increased sales, for surely it is a total company effort. However we're certain that customers like what they see. We regularly get spontaneous compliments. Many of our vendors have continued to enthusiastically support the project by contributing merchandising materials generated specifically for their space in our location.
We chose to be different from our competitors in our look. The minimal investment needed to accomplish the goal pales compared to the long-term rewards. We knew we could improve the presentation of our display to excel in our marketplace. To that end we succeeded. What's that idiom? you never get a second chance to make a good first impression?



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