|
|
Showroom Design
DEFINE THE SPACE AND DELIGHT THE CUSTOMER
Shopping needs to provide an experience that delights the customer. There isn’t much magic to shopping online because a consumer can’t fully experience what there is to buy. Traditional retailers have the opportunity to provide magic in a shopping experience with creative, product-packed, well-appointed displays, and attentive personnel.
Second only to your staff, the showroom plays a big role in shaping the consumer’s perception of your business. Since 80 percent of all purchases are made or influenced by women (Source: CNN), your typical consumer is female. The woman holds the wallet. She buys for herself, her spouse, her kids, her family, her co-workers, her parents and her in-laws. If money is to be spent, she is most likely the one to spend it. This doesn’t mean that if a man walks through the door, you shouldn’t cater to him. It does mean that your showroom should be designed with a woman in mind. Within the first 30 seconds after a prospect walks into your showroom, she will decide if your company is an acceptable place to shop.
Your website and advertising should reflect your showroom atmosphere and the customer you’re trying to attract. Your website and advertising should feature outstanding photography and copy to set the stage for what a consumer can expect when visiting your showroom.
DEFINE
-
Bring your showroom design to life with exciting color on the walls. Move away from white and beige. If your goal is to sell high-end product, your business needs to reflect that. Think about how you see fine jewelry displayed. Deep, rich, saturated color really makes a gem dazzle: including purple, blue, green, dark grey and black. Choose three inviting colors that flow well from one to the next, and coordinate the hues with drapery fabrics or furniture that you would like to display in vignettes. Like classic clothing, good showroom layout can become timeless. The fabrics and colors can be refreshed annually or bi-annually to align with current trends.
-
Don’t put anything in the first 5-15 feet of your showroom where customers enter, depending on the size of the showroom, as these items will typically go unnoticed. This is the “decompression” or “transition” area where a customer pauses to let her eyes adjust to the showroom lighting and surroundings.
-
Add a physical barrier that marks the transition from the doorway to the showroom; it’s the entrance to another world. Make the barrier an accent piece that “wows” the customer. It should entice people to walk past it and into the “greeting zone.” It is here that the showroom staff greets the customer with:
-Enthusiasm
-A big smile
-A sincere, “Welcome, we’re glad you’re here! May I offer you some water, n coffee or soda?”
Offer the customer a beverage to ease her transition into the store. This can also move the conversation forward about how she needs help.
-
Place a new, high-end product in an engaging display to the right of the showroom entrance since most people walk to their right when they enter a showroom. Incorporating a seating area into this display can make the space welcoming and home-like.
-
Plan a free-flow layout to emphasize that your business is a unique, non-big box operation. [See free-flow layout diagram] This allows a salesperson to provide a store tour for each customer and explain everything that’s available. It also lets the customer browse freely. A free-flow layout is visually appealing, more flexible at accommodating new products, and increases impulse purchases. The longer a customer stays, the more she buys.
-
Develop showroom vignettes as “power zones” to feature product at its best. “Power zones,” or full-size vignettes, can be interspersed with displays that are smaller and subtler. The key is not the number of vignettes a showroom has; it’s how well you use the ones you have.
-
Know what products sell the most and feature these products prominently. A vignette with a lot of space around it communicates a luxury product at a high-end price. High-profit items should be displayed in high-traffic areas. Show merchandise that isn’t readily available at mass merchants. High demand and less expensive items should be placed in the back of the store or in low-traffic areas.
-
Use plants, artwork and rugs to help your showroom feel like a home to your customers. Add a unique prop to each vignette, to catch attention and spark a conversation. Professionally frame your portfolio photos and use these pictures as art within your display to showcase work you’ve done. Your showroom should give potential clients a good idea of products you carry and spark ideas to get them excited about the services your business can provide.
-
Provide adequate walking space in and around displays to accommodate customers of all sizes and ages, in addition to allowing strollers, wheelchairs and big purses to fit the space. This lets customers avoid bumping into each other or into objects as they turn around and look. Studies have shown that if a customer feels cramped in a space or brushes against displays, she doesn’t stay as long, and the likelihood of a purchase decreases dramatically.
-
If you need to create separate “departments” within your showroom for multiple products you carry, do it with different colors or patterns of coordinating flooring. This way, the customer can scan the entire showroom at one time, but understand the separation of product lines.
-
In a high-end showroom, it isn’t necessary for customers to see a cash register. Consider moving the cash register out of sight. Your final purchase area can be located at a “consultation desk” instead of at a high counter. Areas where the sale is made, or the order is taken, should reflect a luxury environment. And since most consumers move to the right when entering a showroom, the purchase area should be placed at a logical finishing point for a showroom visit, possibly to the left of the entrance.
Page 1 2 3 |
Additional Resources
|
