Alison Evans, showrooms manager at Obsidian Interiors in Cheltenham, understands how exciting and engaging in-store events help cement a long-term relationship with customers
Having a large showroom gives us a great advantage when holding in-store events. It is a great way to attract potential new customers into the showroom.
It can also help to bring back existing clients so that they get a chance to see anything that is new since their last visit. The market is always changing and ideas are always evolving, especially with exposure on social media channels.
Your showroom doesn’t have to be as large as ours, even on a small scale it’s still worth doing, as it can be more intimate. But you have to create the events in the right way. It has to be done in a low-pressure way, as customers can sometimes feel intimidated if they feel they are being pressured to buy.
We at Obsidian Interiors, which is part of the George Bence Group, often treat our customers to a thrilling evening of action and drama at the Cheltenham Cineworld when any new Bond films get released. The most recent was No Time to Die.
We invited 200 guests and before we took them off to attend the film premiere, we entertained them in Obsidian’s showroom with live music, champagne, canapes, an open cocktail bar and goodie bags to take home with them. We even had the latest Aston Martin car on display.
When Obsidian holds events like these, we always want keep it local, and support local businesses when sourcing the food, drink, and try to involve as many of our suppliers as possible. For example, we had a chef come into the showroom and do cookery demonstrations in the showroom using the Neff appliances that we have installed. This not only created good brand awareness for Neff and us, but also created a nice ambience in the showroom.
We have held other successful events like wreath-making classes with local florists, helping our customers learn how to make and dress gorgeous wreathes with berries, natural raw materials and foliage. Again, we made sure we looked after our customers with canapés and mulled wine while they enjoyed the experience.
We have also held ladies’ nights, which included butlers in the buff, presenting a new product launch for the ladies and local beauty therapists attend to carry out free treatments and promote their brand and products. It is great to see our customers socialising and getting involved.
We like looking after our customers and thanking them for the business they give us. We feel it is important to network and look after our local clients and businesses in a low-key way while making it fun for everyone.
We are looking into more in-store events this year and we are planning to get a few bloggers interested, as we did when we had a couple from Geberit showcasing the new Aqauclean WC that we have installed in our ladies toilets.