HIGH POINT — Saying something is free is usually all it takes to get interest from consumers, but as Erik Lillejord, account director for advertising agency Linnihan Foy pointed out at a seminar on in-store design services, free sometimes isn’t enough.
Retailers who offer free interior design assistance are finding that consumers are still reluctant to take advantage of it, he told attendees at the Home Furnishings Assn.’s Resource Center during High Point Market, in large part because they don’t perceive the value of the service.
Lillejord, who was working with Minnesota-based, seven-store chain Schneiderman’s to promote its design business, found the key to breaking through with consumers was to promote the people doing the designing, rather than the service itself.
Just as consumers pre-shop furniture on a website before entering a store, they are also predisposed to scout for an in-store designer that matches their aesthetic, he said. By asking designers a series of questions ranging from their design style to their favorite TV designers to the types of spaces they like to work on, and featuring that information on the store’s website, customers could better identify with a specific individual.
Bringing some personality into the process, explained Lillejord, gives designers the opportunity for people to choose them. And adding testimonials about their work further enhances the credibility of the design staff.
Within the section promoting the designers, Lillejord said the agency added a “call to action” section, making it easy for consumers to connect with their designer of choice.
While design consultations may be free, consumers have also been wary about whether they can afford the products recommended by a store’s designer. The best way to address this, said Lillejord, is to talk about money and budgets. The likelihood is that even a smaller budget can still work.
To show the range of options, Lillejord’s agency put together videos for Schneiderman’s based on a $5,000 and $10,000 design budget. Designers for the retailer created rooms in each price category to better show which pieces —from furniture to accents to rugs — can be fit those budgets.
A challenge for retailers may be getting their designers to appear on camera. One means of creating ease for designers is to have them do what is natural for them, said Lillejord, whether that is sketching a design, measuring a room or picking fabric. The process can also work with a voiceover if the designer is reluctant to speak on camera, he said.
Hiring a design director helps with managing the interior designers and the program. Lillejord stressed that these individuals should be media and business savvy, so they can be both a face for the design department and track the key performance indicators (KPIs) related to this segment of the business.
Some of the KPIs to track include design service requests, the percentage of design service closed sales and design service per ticket sales.
Placing the design center in a prominent spot within the store also goes a long way toward creating excitement and credibility, said Lillejord. “Bring it forward to give your store a design-centric look.”
The up-front space should be furnished properly and while fabric choices are important, the space shouldn’t appear like a storage space for every fabric on offer.
See also: City Furniture shines spotlight on design services