Think of your kitchen and bath showroom as an island in a sea of potential customers.  There were times you felt stranded on that island, and like “the Professor”, used all your creative [and marketing] resources to grab a passer-by’s attention.   You employed every form of outgoing marketing and advertising you could – TV, radio, magazines, newspapers, home shows, direct mail, even yellow pages – just to cajole a customer to your island.

Eventually, although it took a made for TV movie sequel, the gang from Gilligan’s Island was rescued, employing science and technology (details on Wikipedia).  To make a long story longer and add another made for TV movie sequel (or two) – the castaways end up back on the island, only this time it becomes a resort where visitors find them.

…and now, back to our analogy…

Technology came to your rescue at the height of the economic downturn … in the form of smart phones, mobile devices, social media and the convergence of it all!  The Professor would be lovin’ it!

Your showroom is still an island in a sea of potential customers, but now they are searching you out.  They are “Googling” you, searching for you on apps, looking for your social media links, unearthing your blogs and researching as much as they can, just to find you.

Can you be found?

Shopping has changed.  By the time a customer shows up in your showroom, they are yours to lose.  They have done their research, they know you, and they are ready to work with you – just as long as you measure up to what they found during their due diligence.

Your marketing needs to change to keep up.  You still need to employ outgoing marketing efforts, but you also need to create an incoming marketing strategy.  For the kitchen and bath professional, that means reallocating your resources (personnel and cash) and developing an integrated marketing program.

Are you ready for the challenge today? …or do you need a few made for TV movie sequels to benefit from your rescue?

There was a time when we had the time to warm up to a new technology before we “needed” to employ it.  According to Advertising Age’s History of Advertising 1704-1999, 1704 saw the first newspaper ad; it took 218 years, until 1922, when the first radio broadcast was sold to an advertiser.   19 years later, in 1941, the first TV commercial, featuring a Bulova watch hit the air.  Ahhh… a simpler time.  We could take our time to get comfortable with the new-fangled fads.

But today, we are required to move at warp speed – consider that the first web browser was born in 1990, by 1995 the web had an estimated 16 million users, three years later there were 147 million users that went to 500 million by 2001.  Facebook launched in 2004; YouTube in 2005; Twitter in 2006; the iPhone in 2007; the first Android smartphone in 2008; and the iPad in 2010.  Each one of these technologies/platforms/innovations has become an integral and required aspect of our integrated marketing programs.

As you begin your 2012 marketing plans, keep these truths in mind:

You need a presence on mobile devices:

• 40% of Tablet & Smartphone owners use them while watching TV (Nielsen)
• 17% of women / 21% of men looked up product information because of a TV commercial (Nielsen)
• 79% of consumers use a smartphone to help with shopping (Google: ZMOT)

You need to put video to work for you – on TV… online …on handheld devices.

• 37% of shoppers were stimulated to make a purchase decision by a TV ad (Google: ZMOT)
• 83% of moms say they do online research after seeing TV commercials for products that interest them (Google: ZMOT)
• 74% of consumers remember an ad when viewed across media platforms (TV+PC+Phone+Tablet) (Nielsen)
• In August of 2011 YouTube was the 5^th most popular web brand with 127.9 million visitors, spending 1 hour and 42 minutes EACH on the site (Nielsen)
• Q2 2011 – 36.2% more Mobile subscribers are watching video on a mobile phone than a year earlier (Nielsen)

These are just two critical areas, but there are more… and as the technology advances, you need to be ready to make it work for you in bringing leads to your kitchen & bath showroom.

Consider developing a fully Integrated Marketing Program for 2012 where you can leverage your resources to best fit your market, your customer and your budget.  And, of course I am always available to help you get started.  Email info@kitchenmarketing.com to get started

The designers surrounding me (young and old alike) were not surprised.  Perhaps they had read about it, gotten the head’s up from their rep, seen it before or even anticipated this advancement.

And that’s what surprised me!  because many of these same designers seem to fear technology in their marketing efforts.  Effective marketing means anticipating and keeping up with the latest technological trends and turning them into sales opportunities.  It was true of radio in the 1920s and 30s; TV in the 1940s and 50s; Internet advertising in the 1990s and 2000s; and the emerging mobile opportunities of today.

Your website is no longer enough of an edge.  SEO is confusing, difficult and expensive to corral and everyday new technology gives birth to new marketing opportunities… and all you want to do is design and build kitchens, bathroom and other living spaces.  The Kitchen & Bath Channel is your conduit to bridge the “marketing with technology” gap.  Our mission is to provide you, the kitchen and bath professional, with easy, cost effective marketing tools, utilizing the latest technology, marketing trends and industry knowledge to drive today’s customers to you.

If you will keep up with design technologies and trends, we will keep up with marketing technologies and trends!

To quote the book – “ZMOT is that moment when you grab your laptop, mobile phone or some other wired device and start learning about a product or service (or potential boyfriend) you’re thinking about trying or buying. I’m sure you know what I mean — you probably do web searches like this every day.”

It goes on to say that “…it’s even more critical that you be available at ZMOT. It’s where people are going to find you today. You might be surprised to hear that 20% of searches across all Google properties are local. That’s not all: that number doubles to an amazing 40% for mobile searches.”

One of the most often asked questions of The Kitchen & Bath Channel is “why should I be on the app, shouldn’t I be more concerned about being found on Google?”  The short answer is both is better, but examine the facts.

To be found on Google:

• You need to keep up with Google’s Algorithm changes; reportedly over 500 in 2010 – each affecting your SEO strategy
• Outside SEO  firms understand the changes, but can cost from hundreds to thousands of dollars per month
• Finding a legitimate SEO company can be challenging
• If you can be found on among the top of the SERP (Search Engine Results Page), you are among the big boxes and large retailers
• If you opt to take the Google AdWords approach, you are continually tweaking your ads, adjusting your keywords and watching your budget

With your subscription, the Kitchen & Bath Channel offers

• an industry-specific mobile and online search tool
• additional links and content to support your SEO efforts
• ability to categorize your business by specific search criteria, helping to eliminate wasting time with customers that are not a good fit
• zip code searches and instant geo-location from your mobile device
• ability to showcase your work with video and images without leaving the app or website
• affordable rates
• industry-specific marketing knowledge, employing the latest technologies and trends, as they emerge
• direct contact with consumers on the upcoming new consumer-oriented website (scheduled by 10/1/10)
• marketing support via Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Blogs
• multi-level, multi-platform connections to today’s consumers
• …and more advances in the works including couponing, instant interface with your social media accounts, enhanced profile listings, enhanced photo and video upload capabilities!  Do you have an idea?  The Kitchen & Bath Channel is ever-evolving, and as a tool to the kitchen & bath professional, you input is vital our collective successes!

The shopping/buying cycle, and therefore the marketing cycle now has four components –

1. Stimulus
2. Research (Zero Moment of Truth)
3. Shelf (First Moment of Truth)
4. Experience (Second Moment of Truth)

The Zero Moment of Truth has become an all-important factor in the shopping cycle; without your ability to be found at the ZMOT, there is no Shelf, no sale and therefore no Experience.  But what drives your customer to the ZMOT? What is the best Stimulus? Where can the kitchen and bath professional invest their marketing dollars and expect the greatest return from their Integrated Marketing Plan? According the studies done by Google™, these are the stimuli to which consumers respond:

• 37% Saw advertisements on television
• 31% Received mail at home from a brand/manufacturer (e.g., catalogue, brochure)
• 29% Saw an ad in a newspaper/newspaper insert
• 28% Read newspaper articles/reviews/information
• 27% Read magazine articles/reviews/information
• 24% Looked at/read magazine advertisements
• 23% Read information in an email received from a brand/manufacturer
• 22% Noticed advertising while browsing online
• 22% Received mail at home from a store/retailer (e.g., catalogue, brochure)
• 21% Watched a TV show that featured the product
• 16% Saw an ad on an outdoor billboard

These figures underscore the importance of developing an Integrated Marketing Plan for your kitchen and bath showroom.  With consumers still requiring a stimulus to get them in the shopping mode, you cannot expect your website, Facebook page, Twitter account or other online venture to stimulate business by itself!  Your online and mobile presence is your representation at the Zero Moment of Truth – not your way to stimulate consumers into the buying mode.

In fact, one additional figure from the book ZMOT: Winning the Zero Moment of Truth that I found quite telling is that “83% of moms say they do online research after seeing TV commercials for products that interest them”.  As you plan your marketing and advertising, consider that TV commercials stimulate 37% of the general audience, but 83% of moms – that female demographic for which we are searching.

If you need help developing your marketing stimulus, contact Z promotion & design – info@kitchenmarketing.com

Or to secure your place at the Zero Moment of Truth immediately, subscribe to The Kitchen & Bath Channel