Lay Down Your Bets

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!

The Kitchen & Bath Channel Smart Phone App

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

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: , , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by zpromotion

SEN Answers Your Business Needs

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

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: , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by zpromotion

Kitchen & Bath Industry Facebook: A Primer

January 22, 2011

Just when I thought everyone in the kitchen and bath industry had a Facebook page, it was THE topic of conversation this past week. So I decide this week I will give you a few more of my thoughts about Facebook for the kitchen and bath professional.

Create a page. This is not an option, it is a command. Be sure it is a page for a Local Business, not a personal page – your link is http://www.facebook.com/pages/create.php

“Why?” you ask.

  1. It is a great way to keep your name in front of your potential customers. Everytime you post something on your wall, those who are following you will see your post and your name.
  2. It is unobtrusive. We all HATE getting tons of emails from people trying to sell us something. Your Facebook page is a soft sell. It’s like tapping them on the shoulder and saying “don’t forget me when you are ready to remodel your kitchen or bathroom.”
  3. It’s their choice. Remember, your Facebook followers are willing participants in your marketing plan… they can stop following you at anytime – give them a reason to stay… and to invite their friends.
  4. Real-time Updates. How many times do you have to wait for your webmaster to get new images or an announcement uploaded to your website? Facebook is simple to use, provides immediate gratification and is a great way to direct traffic to your website.
  5. Referrals. A staple of marketing in the kitchen and bath industry since the first caveperson decided put fire inside the cave. Facebook is referral marketing, using the internet as your link between past and future clients.

“OK, I get the why… what do I put on Facebook?”

Think of Facebook as a way to engage your followers; provide offers, information, a glimpse into your professional talents and capabilities. They should be short, sweet and to the point – blogs are for longer diatribes.

Some thoughts…

  1. Talk about your manufacturers’ new products and link to them
  2. Link to pertinent YouTube videos – even other kitchen and bath professionals (in other markets)
  3. Showcase your just finished projects
  4. Show photos of work in progress
  5. Create invitations to showroom events
  6. Develop specials and contests for followers only

Facebook is a marketing tool; it’s a free tool (except for your time to maintain your page), and it should be an extension of you and your business, allowing potential customers to get comfortable with your business. This is not a project to sub out to a third party. No one knows your kitchen and bath business better than you… take the time to develop this marketing tool.

Visit and “Like” (if you haven’t already) www.facebook.com/Zpromotion - see the “Favorite Pages” on the lower end of the left-hand column. Click on some of those pages to get a feel for how your peers are using their Facebook pages as marketing tools.

SEN Design Group members! Wednesday, March 9 at the SEN Conference in New Orleans, I will be conducting a hands-on, in-depth seminar on setting up your Facebook page and Blog.  Not a SEN Member, but want to attend?  Information is available at http://www.sendesigngroup.com/

Leave a 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, SEN design group, Social Media for the Kitchen & Bath Industry | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by zpromotion

Looking Good!

October 3, 2010

I just returned from the SEN Design Group’s Fall Conference in Minneapolis.  There is an upbeat feeling among most of the design professionals I spoke with… and everyone is talking about marketing.  But it seems very few are doing anything about it!

Let me stress that marketing your kitchen and bath showroom requires action on your part.  Whether you work with a local marketing firm, or chose to contact Z promotion & design for our industry expertise – get your marketing plan in order!  Your peers who have been marketing and advertising throughout the “great recession” are doing OK.

+++++++

The YouTube Kitchen & Bath Channel is gaining traction… visits are increasing by 5% or more daily! Have you been yet?  Have you subscribed?  If you want to learn more about it or become a part of the channel… email me.

Leave a 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, SEN design group, YouTube for Kitchen and Bath | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by zpromotion

Social Networking without a Computer

March 27, 2010

I have been neglecting my blog for the last two weeks due to travels – last week with the NKBA for Officers Training in New Orleans and the previous week with the SEN Design Group in St. Augustine for the annual spring conference. 

I return to Chapel Hill with a few things to report. 

The kitchen and bath industry is feeling optimistic.  Not to put the kybosh on any national economic recovery, but dealers are reporting more showroom traffic  That means if you have not implemented your marketing strategy to get the resurgence of buyers into YOUR showroom – you better get started.  Of course we can assist you in your efforts.

Facebook is all anyone wants to discuss.  Yes, Facebook is a great way to network with your customers and all kitchen and bath professionals should have a presence.   BUT, your Facebook page should be one part of your integrated marketing plan – not the whole thing!  And, you want to set up a business page, NOT a personal page in the guise of your business.  Follow this link to set up your business page: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#!/pages/create.php

The last thing I want to talk about is in my opinion the most important – that is Social Networking – the old fashioned way.  Meeting people face to face, making new friends, bonding with old friends, all without the aid of your computer. 

Whether you are member of the SEN Design Group, BKBG, NKBA, NARI, KCMA or any of the other alphabets in our industry, the strength of each organization is the people.  If you have not yet experienced the benefits of networking within these organizations [on a regional or national level] consider…

  1. The ability to discuss your business – your problems and your successes with a peer from another part of the country who is not a competitor.  Local chapter meetings, not so much.
  2. Getting the “inside story” on vendors – new innovations, available deals, customer service, etc.
  3. Sharing marketing ideas – from new technology to tried and true measures, what are your peers doing successfully.
  4. Creating bonds that could prove to be beneficial in the future.  People change jobs, people grow, people move so perhaps you can help one another at another time.
  5. I am sure there are more – post your ideas to this blog.

I have been with SEN since 2001 and a chapter officer in NKBA since 2004 – the relationships I have developed and the friends I have made are among the best from a personal, as well as a professional level.  Not all are clients, some will never be, other may eventually be – but regardless all contribute to my knowledge and understanding of the “unique and exciting” world of kitchen and bath professionals – thank you.

Now… who reading this will help me get to 200 fans on Facebook? 

Leave a Comment » | Integrated Marketing, kitchen and bath dealer, kitchen and bath integrated marketing, Kitchen and Bath Professionals, kitchen design marketing, Marketing, National Kitchen and Bath Association, NKBA, SEN design group, Social Media for the Kitchen & Bath Industry | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by zpromotion

Eastern Carolinas NKBA & SEN Design Group

March 6, 2010

It will be a busy week for me with two speaking engagements -

  • Eastern Carolinas Chapter NKBA
    Tuesday, March 9. 5:30 – 8:00PM at A Southern Season in Chapel Hill, NC
    “A Southern Season of Social Networking” 
  • SEN Design Group – Spring Conference
    Thursday, March 11.  St. Augustine, FL
    Part of a panel discussion on “Getting the Green Out of Your Marketing”

For additonal 2010 speaking engagement dates visit: http://www.kitchenmarketing.com

If you would like to talk with me about speaking to your NKBA chapter or other group, email me: phil@kitchenmarketing.com

Leave a Comment » | Integrated Marketing, kitchen and bath dealer, kitchen and bath integrated marketing, Kitchen and Bath Professionals, Kitchen and Bath Web Marketing, kitchen design marketing, Marketing, National Kitchen and Bath Association, NKBA, SEN design group, Social Media for the Kitchen & Bath Industry | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by zpromotion

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 1,122 other followers