LIFESTYLE TRENDS CAN TRANSLATE
INTO POWERFUL SALES TOOLS
By Janelle Jarous-Lampp
Keeping tabs on how consumers live today can be just as important as knowing what's new in color and design. It's called "Lifestyle Marketing" and it has become the mantra of of every company that sells consumer goods and services.
Today's consumers develop a vivid mental picture of the way they want to live. Then they seek the products that will make that picture spring to life.
Consumers choose a lifestyle and want help creating it. They are hungry for decorating advice. The more closely a retailer follows lifestyle trends, the more he can help decorate the customer's home.
By knowing what the trends are, retailers and designers are in a better position to help consumers find and select the products she needs to create the lifestyle she has chosen for her own.
Lifestyle as a Sales Tool
1.The more you know about your customer's Lifestyle, the more you can sell.
a. How does the customer want to feel in the room where the rug is going?
b. How will she spend her time in that room?
2.The more you know about where to find specific products, the faster you can fill you customer's needs.
a. Shop the markets
b. Know the vendors and their specialties
c. Read the trade publications
3. The more product knowledge you possess, the more easily you will gain the trust and confidence of your customer.
The customer wants information such as quality, construction, fiber content, care and cleaning, origin, wearability. If you don't possess such information don't hesitate to ask your vendor. They have it and it is their responsibility to inform you.
"Lifestyle" can have a profound affect on the overall marketability of new products. Here are some of the trends that are currently at work in the market:
PRICE
Price is more than a number. It's a perception of value.
Consumers were not very price conscious during the booming economies of the 80's and 90's. But now times have changed. The uncertainty of the economy, increasing unemployment, and general insecurity over our current political and economic environment has led even the highest-end consumer to shop for price. Price matters to everyone.
The right design at the wrong price doesn't sell any more than the wrong design at the right price.
The luxury lines feel the pressure and commodity products are in greater demand. The retailer's challenge is to satisfy the customer's desire for fashion at a lower price. The payoff is more frequent and multiple sales. That translates into higher turn.
LICENSING
Not long ago, rug makers used unknown, in-house design staff or the owner of the company to design new collections. Now many companies, both large and small, are looking to brand name designers, celebrities, museums and companies for their design ideas.
Licensing is built on the axiom that name recognition sells. Cross merchandising rugs with other home fashion products which are also licensed from the same name helps to sell more product to more retailers.
Some of licensing programs in which rug companies participate include:
Apparel and Home Fashion Brands
Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein, Liz Claiborne, Bob Mackey, Raymond Waites, Michael Graves, Laura Ashley, Tommy Bahama
Celebrity Names
Kathy Ireland, Martha Stewart, Jack Nicholas,
Ernest Hemingway
Home Furnishings Brands
Waverly, Shabby Chic
Historical Properties
Historic Williamsburg, Biltmore Estate, Versailles Palace, Mt. Vernon
Museum Collections
Winterthur,Guggenheim
Rug Designers as Licensors
In recent years, rug designers have branched out into licensing their own names for other products.
Claire Murray, best known for hand hooked rugs in clear, deeply saturated palettes, has licensed designs to makers of home furnishings, home textiles, tableware and women's fashion. Most recently, Milliken introduced a line of Millitron printed tufted wool rugs under the Claire Murray name. A Claire Murray-Millitron broadloom line is also in the works.
Liora Manne, a well known industry designer who is the head stylist for Trans Ocean Imports, is also president of lamontage, a boutique rug company oriented to the design community. In the last two years, Manne has also branched out into upholstery fabric, lighting and tablewear.
ECOLOGY
Interest in environmental protection is growing. Anything we can do as consumers and as an industry to help preserve natural resources has become a trend in itself.
The movement drives the demand for environmentally friendly raw materials such as wood, bamboo, wool, cotton, jute and sisal. There is also more interest in the use of vegetal dyes instead of chemical ones.
VINTAGE
Related to the trend to renewable resources is the growing interest in vintage and antique products and the re-introduction of historical design and color.
In the rug business, we are seeing reproductions of historic constructions such as Savonnerie and ingrain carpet. The interest in vintage looks is particularly strong among Generations X,Y and Z, so it should be gathering strength as these young people form households.
INSTANT ACCESS TO INFORMATION
Consumers are better informed than ever and they have instant access to any subject via the Internet. Product knowledge and trend information have strong relevance to marketing and sales. I believe that this is the business that we are all in today. Consumers are hungry for knowledge and they trust the products and retailers that provide them with the best education.