Inspire people to shop with you, says Roman boss

David Osborne, chief executive of Roman, offers some top marketing tips to help retailers reach the right customers with the right message

Inspire and deliver
The prolonged time that people have spent at home has increasingly influenced many to plan home projects and upgrades. In a virtual-led world, are you using social media and your website to create virtual experiences and inspiration through the use of strong imagery and videos?

Choosing a new bathroom can be a difficult decision, so fill your customers with design and inspiration tips to grab attention and generate desire. Why should people choose you? What makes you stand out from the crowd?

In terms of interior design, Instagram is now clearly the key platform. Follow and engage with interior brands, designers, influencers and hashtags – take note of what they are posting and talking about – learn, generate content ideas and inspire your customers.

Be consistent – stay connected
Social media is more powerful and advanced than ever before, so it has never been more important to incorporate social media as an integral component of your marketing strategy.

What are the key messages you want to communicate to your customers? Who are your key target customer groups? Do your customers know you have stringent Covid-19 control measures in place throughout your workplace and showroom? As lockdown restrictions are slowly lifting, the main focus should be getting people through the door with safety first and foremost at all times.

Which social media platforms are you currently active on and how can you grow your presence and following further? And don’t forget to speak to your KBB suppliers – keep them up to speed with exciting news and new displays in your showroom, so they can also share it on social media. Interaction is quite literally the key.

Be positive and choose your voice
The tone of your marketing and your narrative is really important. It is important to keep varying your content, with case studies, testimonials, videos and beautiful showroom displays being easy sources of content.

Invest time and money into your website and constantly update it – linking it in with social media activity – and suppliers.

Choose your tone and then that needs to be evident across your marketing mix. Your key strengths might be being the inspirational top-end showroom; it could be the design and installation process; it might be warm and friendly staff; or it could be value for money.

You understand the differential that best suits your audience and demographic. That must be reflected in all of your activity.

Spread the word
Familiarise yourself with the local press, interior designers and influencers. Think about local magazines who target your key customer groups – build relationships and share, share, share.

Magazine editors are always on the lookout for inspiration, makeovers and stories. If you have an exciting project in the pipeline, do your research and ask interior journalists/magazines if they would be interested in featuring it.

Instagram collaborations with influencers are also being embraced as a way to raise a company’s profile, but you need to ensure the person is genuine and authoritative in your business sector for it to be effective.

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