June 10, 2011
It’s the cry I hear almost every day from every kitchen and bath professional calling my office, emailing, texting or otherwise messaging me via social networking.
My previous post touched on the subject through its discussion of Integrated Marketing – leveraging traditional and new technology with social networking to drive traffic… this posting is going to give you concrete, real-life solutions that will help drive traffic. But remember, the essence of the last post is that no single effort is the magic bullet. But rather, it is how you integrate your media and marketing options together to most effectively drive your message to the consumer.
- Competitive Advantage – there is no need to go any further until you understand and establish your competitive advantage in your marketplace for your business and your target market.
- Messaging – once you know your competitive advantage, what is your message exploiting that advantage? Does it resonate with your target market?
With your competitive advantage and your messaging secure – how will you get the message out?
- Television / Cable – this is probably the most cost effective and efficient way to reach your customer and it is more affordable than you’re thinking.
- Video Production – doing TV? You’re going to need a commercial. Again not as expensive as you are imagining plus consider the other uses – YouTube, your website, Facebook, in your Showroom, on your iPad for client visits, you are only limited by your imagination… and technology.
- Social Media – it works… but you better have a plan, know what sites you will use and understand both the positives and negatives.
- Local Banner Ads – local newspapers, magazines, cable companies, TV stations all offer some sort of advertising on their websites – take advantage to drive traffic to your website…but first, make sure your website is ready for the traffic and ready to be your best salesperson!
- The Kitchen & Bath Channel Smart Phone App – it’s a little over a month old, but is quickly gaining traction and has been proven to work for a San Francisco dealer. It’s priced right too.
These are some of the solutions I have seen work throughout the country. They are certainly worth your serious consideration. And, now is the time to get your plan together. You need to be ready to blanket your market with your message for the fall! Whether you choose to retain Z promotion & design, or just want to talk about options – I am usually easy to catch at the office 919-932-4600 – 8a-6p EDT.
35.957625
-79.047142
Like this:
Be the first to like this post.
1 Comment | 
Integrated Marketing, kitchen and bath dealer, kitchen and bath integrated marketing, Kitchen and Bath Media Buying, Kitchen and Bath Professionals, Kitchen and Bath Web Marketing, kitchen design marketing, Marketing, Mobile Apps, Social Media for the Kitchen & Bath Industry, YouTube for Kitchen and Bath | Tagged: Integrated Marketing, Kitchen and Bath Industry, kitchen and bath marketing, Kitchen and Bath Professionals, kitchen dealers, kitchen design sales, kitchen marketing, kitchen sales, kitchen showroom, marketing recession, smart phone apps, social media, web marketing | 
Permalink
Posted by zpromotion
May 28, 2011
The Kitchen & Bath Channel Smart Phone App is a FREE app providing homeowners and consumers instant access to over 15,000 Kitchen & Bath industry professionals from their smart phone. It is also a unique and effective marketing tool for members of the Kitchen & Bath industry.
The Kitchen & Bath Channel Smart Phone App has been available for a little over a month on Android and iPhone, less on the BlackBerry platform. It has been exceeding expectations… some stats…
- The iPhone version has quickly received a “5 Star” rating in the iTunes Store
- There are already 650 users who have used it almost 5,000 times.
- iPhone users spend an average of 1.5 minutes using the app; 1.9 sessions per day
- Droid users spend an average of 1 minute using the app; 1.7 sessions per day
…and received the following testimonial:
“I purchased the Platinum subscription for the new Kitchen & Bath Channel Smart Phone App for my San Francisco showroom. It’s a new marketing concept using cutting edge technology and within the first month, it brought in a lead we wouldn’t have seen otherwise. I think the Kitchen & Bath Channel is the right idea at the right price. This appears to be where marketing is heading and I want Gilmans Kitchens + Baths to be in the forefront!”
Larry Lowenthal
President
Gilmans Kitchens + Baths
If you are a kitchen and bath professional and want to see real results from your marketing investment, like Larry visit The Kitchen & Bath Channel website.
If you are a homeowner considering a kitchen or bath remodel, and want to being your search from the geo-locator services of the app or just learn more, visit the website too.
Like this:
Be the first to like this post.
1 Comment | Android, android app, apps, Blackberry, iPad, iPhone, Kitchen and Bath Professionals, Mobile Apps | Tagged: adroid apps, apps, blackberry apps, droid smart phone, iPhone, Kitchen and Bath Industry, kitchen and bath marketing, Kitchen and Bath Professionals, kitchen design sales, kitchen marketing, mobile apps, smart phone apps | Permalink
Posted by zpromotion
April 23, 2011
Tomorrow I leave for KBIS in Las Vegas… I truly enjoy the city, well the strip. Of the dozens of times I have been to Las Vegas over the years, I have left the strip one time (not counting the convention center) – to experience Fremont Street. Give me Roulette, Blackjack and the occasional Slots… and I am a happy camper for a few days.
However, this trip to Las Vegas will be different from my past adventures – this time I will be gambling for real. For the first time I, along with my partner in The Kitchen & Bath Channel, have a booth at KBIS (C5627).
We are betting that The Kitchen & Bath Channel Smart Phone App is the perfect marketing partner for the kitchen and bath professional looking for an affordable way to market themselves. This unique marketing tool literally puts the kitchen and bath professional into the hands of the consumer while they are out shopping.
Imagine if you could show your potential customer your location on a map with turn by turn directions, links to your website and email, an auto-dial phone feature, the ability to be instantaneously added to your customer’s contact file AND a way to display project photos and videos on a Smart Phone all for only $300 a YEAR or less?! We are betting you’ll jump on it!
And the consumer feedback we are getting is great!
Important Links:
About The Kitchen & Bath Channel
Download the iPhone App
Download the Android App
Kitchen & Bath Channel Video Overview
The Kitchen & Bath Channel Facebook Page – “Like” us
Blackberry App is under review and coming soon
Our Booth @ KBIS is C5627
Like this:
Be the first to like this post.
Leave a Comment » | Android, android app, apps, Blackberry, Integrated Marketing, iPad, iPhone, KBIS, kitchen and bath integrated marketing, Kitchen and Bath Professionals, kitchen design marketing, Marketing, Mobile Apps, National Kitchen and Bath Association, NKBA, SEN design group | Tagged: blackberry apps, improved business, Integrated Marketing, iPhone, KBIS, Kitchen and Bath Industry, kitchen and bath marketing, Kitchen and Bath Professionals, kitchen marketing, National Kitchen and Bath Association, NKBA, smart phone apps | Permalink
Posted by zpromotion
March 26, 2011
Yesterday not a soul on the planet (or beyond) visited my blog. It’s not the first time, but it just seemed weird. Perhaps, because it coincided with other “slumps”.
- KitchenMarketing.com visits were at a monthly low. Did the kitchen and bath industry take the day off from Marketing concerns and I missed the memo?
- Duke lost in the Sweet 16 – and for the huge Duke fan that I am, it was very abrupt and quite unexpected – shocking actually. Slump-inducing for us fans? Is there a shrink in the house?
- It was the week I officially sent Internet Explorer packing for draining too many resources from my computer – welcome Chrome… I am still getting use to your idiosyncrasies, but “I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship” - as Rick said to Louis walking into the foggy night at the end of Casablanca.
- …and this morning, to top it all off – I have nothing to say in my blog, as you can tell.
Some days, some weeks are like that… but as Harry Chapin so aptly said in his song “Greyhound” – “It’s got to be the going, not the getting there that’s good. That’s a thought for keeping, if I could”
So each little slump over the past couple of days is a part of life’s ups and downs and as I think about it, each slump was countered by a highlight –
- Since I switched to Chrome, my computer hasn’t locked up… b-bye IE
- Yet still nothing can salvage the NCAA Tournament for me… EXCEPT my schedule has freed-up, as I am no longer tethered to CBS, TBS, TNT & TruTV… whoever wins this year, wins …please… just don’t let it be UNC – again! (that little sentence just assured them an NCAA Championship… UNC fans – thank me later).
So perhaps you will read my blog, visit KitchenMarketing.com, subscribe to The Kitchen & Bath Channel Smart Phone App and with a bit of luck the Apps will find their way to the apps stores this week and Kyrie Irving will forgo millions of dollars to stay at Duke [at least] one more year… then maybe, just maybe next week’s posting will not be so maudlin.
++++++++
Make plans to stop by the Kitchen & Bath Channel booth at KBIS (Booth C5627) and say hello!
Like this:
Be the first to like this post.
1 Comment | Integrated Marketing, iPhone, KBIS, kitchen and bath dealer, kitchen and bath integrated marketing, Kitchen and Bath Professionals, Kitchen and Bath Web Marketing, kitchen design marketing, Marketing, Mobile Apps | Tagged: blogging, blogs, Integrated Marketing, KBIS, Kitchen and Bath Industry, kitchen and bath marketing, Kitchen and Bath Professionals, kitchen marketing | Permalink
Posted by zpromotion
March 19, 2011
I recently returned from New Orleans and the semi-annual SEN Design Group conference. This is my company’s 10 year anniversary as the marketing, advertising and creative services vendor to the group and our 19th consecutive conference. During my tenure, I have seen the group evolve from the “kitchen and bath industry’s first buying group” to its current incarnation as “the kitchen and bath industry’s premier business education group” – the living vision of its founder, Ken Peterson, CKD.
If you consider NKBA the ultimate industry organization for kitchen & bath design/designers; SEN is the ultimate industry organization for kitchen & bath business professionals. And, without a strong a business, there is no need for design, is there?
What struck me after ten years is how the SEN Design Group has evolved over time. Looking at it through the eyes of the “great recession” we have experienced solidifies the group’s importance to the industry. Those SEN Members who took advantage of the numerous business education aspects are not only still in business, but many have seen increases in profits and revenues, as well as the overall health of their businesses, while many of their peers have shuttered their doors.
As a marketer in the kitchen and bath industry, I receive a number of calls each week from kitchen and bath professionals looking for the “magic marketing bullet” that will salvage their business – you know what, there isn’t one. But in these still difficult times, more and more I send these callers to the SEN Design Group – I firmly believe that if the professionals running SEN Programs cannot help, a new profession may be in your future. I have heard it time and again, and my conversations with the recession survivors – make that thrivers – coupled with the phone calls I receive, precipitated this posting.
Without sounding like a commercial, SEN offers one-on-one business coaching with an accredited licensed professional business coach, an ongoing series of business webinars, boot camps, seminars, marketing and sales tools, and of course the buying group rebate program, among a myriad of other tools and schools designed specifically to help the kitchen and bath professional improve their overall business; operations, sales, budgeting, marketing, showrooms, the list goes on…
If you think your business could you a boost, take a look at the SEN Design Group
++++++
Kitchen & Bath Channel Smart Phone App ALERT!!!!
To take advantage of our pre-launch 25% annual subscription discount – act quickly! Once it hits the app stores (it looks to be the week of 3/21) the discount goes away…
View the Kitchen & Bath Channel powerpoint overview
Subscribe to The Kitchen & Bath Channel
The Kitchen & Bath Channel will have a booth at K/BIS – C5627
Like this:
Be the first to like this post.
Leave a Comment » | Android, Blogging, Integrated Marketing, iPhone, kitchen and bath dealer, kitchen and bath integrated marketing, Kitchen and Bath Professionals, kitchen design marketing, Mobile Apps, National Kitchen and Bath Association, NKBA, SEN design group | Tagged: improved business, Integrated Marketing, Kitchen and Bath Industry, kitchen and bath marketing, Kitchen and Bath Professionals, kitchen dealers, kitchen marketing, kitchen showroom, SEN, SEN design group, showroom marketing | Permalink
Posted by zpromotion
March 5, 2011
It has been too long in the making and even longer in the planning, but we have been told that the Kitchen & Bath Channel Smart Phone Apps and accompanying web site (KitchenBathChannel.com) are nearing completion.
In my opinion, the app is the most innovative marketing tool to hit the Kitchen & Bath Industry since the Pony Express delivered the first direct mail offer – “Free wood for your oven with the purchase of a new kitchen!” But, I may be biased, so view the PowerPoint by clicking the image below and judge for yourself.
View the Kitchen & Bath Channel Smart Phone App PowerPoint
If you are a Kitchen and Bath Professional, a subscription offer of 25% OFF is in effect until the apps are securely in the three app stores – I urge you to take advantage of the savings! Subscribe to the Kitchen & Bath Channel.
If you are interested in downloading the free app for your smart phone, check back shortly as I will announce the launch here!
Questions or comments are always welcome phil@kitchenmarketing.com
Like this:
Be the first to like this post.
Leave a Comment » | Android, Integrated Marketing, iPhone, kitchen and bath dealer, kitchen and bath integrated marketing, Kitchen and Bath Professionals, Kitchen and Bath Web Marketing, kitchen design marketing, Marketing, Mobile Apps | Tagged: android app, blackberry apps, improved business, Integrated Marketing, iPhone, iPhone app, Kitchen and Bath Industry, kitchen and bath marketing, Kitchen and Bath Professionals, kitchen design sales, kitchen marketing, selling kitchens online, showroom marketing, smart phone apps, web marketing | Permalink
Posted by zpromotion
February 6, 2011
One of things I truly love about blogs is that fact that one can shamelessly self-promote and blather on about anything and everything. Well this sunny, warm(ish) Sunday February morning in North Carolina is going to be just that – shameless self promotion.
Within the next week or two, my partner Max Isley, CMKD and I are scheduled to officially launch the Kitchen & Bath Channel Smart Phone Mobile Apps. These are [unabashedly] the greatest marketing tools to hit the kitchen and bath industry since the advent of direct mail, if not ever!
These apps are free to the consumer. They include a database of over 15,000 kitchen & bath and remodeling professionals. When your customer launches the app (on the iPhone, Android or Blackberry), the phones’ geo positioning locates the closest kitchen and bath professionals on a map. From that map they are able to access each professional’s profile. In addition, the consumer can search for a kitchen and bath professional through a number of queries including, city, state, room they want to renovate, profession of the remodeler, accreditation, products and more!
So, as a professional, how do you stand out from the crowd? You take top priority among your 15,000 peers through “Gold” or “Platinum” annual subscriptions.
- With a free, standard listing you are placed in alphabetical order, with a contact name, phone number and address.
- An upgrade to Gold moves you to the top of the list, gives you a link to auto dial, an interactive map for directions, your website on the phone’s browser, a link to send an email and the ability to be linked to the user’s contact file.
- If you upgrade to Platinum, you receive everything a Gold subscriber does PLUS the ability to include up to 5 photos and 5 videos of your choosing and you appear above the Gold Subscribers in the list of results. Click here for more information.
In addition to the apps for the customers “on the go” – the website KitchenBathChannel.com is a database of professionals where your customers begin their research!
I’ll post again when the apps are ready for download – but in the meantime, if you are a kitchen and bath professional become a subscriber BEFORE the apps are launched and SAVE 25%!
Like this:
Be the first to like this post.
Leave a Comment » | Android, Blogging, Integrated Marketing, iPad, iPhone, kitchen and bath dealer, kitchen and bath integrated marketing, Kitchen and Bath Professionals, Kitchen and Bath Web Marketing, kitchen design marketing, Marketing, marketing with video, Mobile Apps, YouTube for Kitchen and Bath | Tagged: blackberry apps, improved business, Integrated Marketing, iPhone, Kitchen and Bath Industry, kitchen and bath marketing, Kitchen and Bath Professionals, kitchen dealers, kitchen design websites, kitchen marketing, mobile apps, smart phone apps, web marketing, youtube marketing | Permalink
Posted by zpromotion
January 15, 2011
Are you sitting at your computer mouse in hand, staring at the keyboard, glancing at the screen, searching your brain for a nugget of creativity? Perhaps you’re designing a new kitchen, looking for the right words to describe your showroom, considering a new positioning line or logo – but nothing is flowing from your brain to your computer. The problem is likely that you are using the incorrect tools to creativity.
You only need two items to get the creative juices flowing: a legal pad and a sharpie. The legal pad can be yellow or white, although I have always found yellow produces better results. The sharpie… not the fat fine points – those bleed through too many pages, and not the new Sharpie Pens – they lack the personality required for this type of operation. The Sharpie MUST be an “ultra fine point” – only this type of pen can release the creative imagination required to be successful. Color? Not important, but having a variety at your disposal can help capture your mood.
The most creative guy I ever met gave me this tip… and oddly enough it has been reinforced by novel writers, designers and others who make their living with “on-demand creativity”. I am not a neurologist, but I believe it has to do with the process of hand to page – that direct flow from the brain thorough the arm to the hand to the Sharpie to the legal pad.
Don’t believe me? Try it and report back!
+++++++
Getting ready to lauch the Kitchen & Bath Channel Mobile Apps within the next few weeks. Be sure your showroom is included. Visit The Kitchen & Bath Channel for additional information – or email or call (919-932-4600).
Like this:
Be the first to like this post.
Leave a Comment » | Android, Integrated Marketing, iPhone, kitchen and bath dealer, kitchen and bath integrated marketing, Kitchen and Bath Professionals, kitchen design marketing, Mobile Apps | Tagged: improved business, Integrated Marketing, Kitchen and Bath Industry, kitchen and bath marketing, Kitchen and Bath Professionals, kitchen marketing, kitchen showroom, showroom marketing, social media, web marketing | Permalink
Posted by zpromotion
January 1, 2011
As we welcome 2011, the media is filled with lists from 2010…
We can take a look back at newsmakers, quotable quotes, funniest moments, celebrity sleaze, images, notable deaths and technology – to name a few.
CNN gave us these technology trends
- A year ago we had never heard of an iPad…
- Were you on Facebook? Did your showroom have its own page?
- Had you even considered “watching the web” from your TV set?
- You always bought software, owned the disc and loaded it on your computer… what the hell is an app, anyway?!?
My advice moving into 2011… watch the technology trends and with every new “toy” you hear about, think to yourself – “How can I use that to increase my kitchen and bath showroom traffic?”
Here are a couple of 2010 innovations for the Kitchen & Bath Industry’s marketing efforts moving forward.
Follow this blog for 2011 advancements!
Like this:
Be the first to like this post.
Leave a Comment » | Android, Blogging, Google TV, Integrated Marketing, iPad, iPhone, kitchen and bath dealer, kitchen and bath integrated marketing, Kitchen and Bath Professionals, Kitchen and Bath Web Marketing, kitchen design marketing, Marketing, Mobile Apps, Social Media for the Kitchen & Bath Industry, YouTube for Kitchen and Bath | Tagged: blogging, blogs, facebook, google adwords for kitchens, improved business, Integrated Marketing | Permalink
Posted by zpromotion
December 26, 2010
I observed something during this snowy (for much of the country, it not the world) holiday weekend. It seems the kitchen and bath industry, along with the rest of the world took advantage of some down time to reconnect and do some online exploring.
The Z promotion & design Facebook page added close to a dozen new fans, and my personal page became a few friends richer, as well. My Twitter account found followers and the Kitchen & Bath Channel on YouTube got viewers as if we were showing “It’s a Wonderful Life” – and Christmas Day was among the busiest this blog has seen in weeks.
What’s the lesson to be learned? Simply that your online presence should be all-encompassing – a website, a [business] Facebook page, Twitter account, a blog, YouTube – create a presence on any social networking site you are comfortable maintaining. The key is maintaining – even when you are closed, you’re open. Be sure your information is up to date, accurate and compelling.
A reminder that the Kitchen & Bath Mobile App is almost ready to launch, with marketing to the consumer becoming finalized. We are still offering our pre-launch specials, allowing you to save 25% on your annual Platinum or Gold subscription. This is the kitchen and bath industry’s first ever marketing tool that will drive customers to your front door WHILE they are out shopping. Don’t miss out on the incredible pre-launch special!
Click to join the Kitchen & Bath Channel
Like this:
Be the first to like this post.
Leave a Comment » | Android, Blogging, iPad, iPhone, kitchen and bath dealer, kitchen and bath integrated marketing, Kitchen and Bath Professionals, Kitchen and Bath Web Marketing, kitchen design marketing, Marketing, marketing with video, Mobile Apps, YouTube for Kitchen and Bath | Tagged: blogging, blogs, facebook, improved business, Integrated Marketing, Kitchen and Bath Industry, kitchen and bath marketing, Kitchen and Bath Professionals, kitchen and bath social media campaign, kitchen design sales, kitchen marketing, kitchen website marketing, showroom marketing, social media, twitter, web marketing, youtube, youtube marketing | Permalink
Posted by zpromotion
The Kitchen & Bath Channel – Smart Phone Mobile App
Book: A is for Advertising… B is for Branding…
