While the cost of acquiring every new customer is escalating year on year, marketing budgets in the retail are facing ever-more stringent scrutiny.

While the cost of acquiring every new customer is escalating year on year, marketing budgets in the retail space are facing ever-more stringent scrutiny. In order to drive ROI, it is essential for retailers to introduce innovative, sticky tools into the marketing mix that keep customers engaged and progressing through the purchase cycle.  

The good news is that today there is a range of social, video and hyper-personalized marketing techniques that retailers can use to get the most value from their marketing budgets. Retailer websites are a primary resource for consumers, and often the first port of call for a consumer thinking of a kitchen purchase. 

By using content strategically on their website, kitchen retailers can steer potential customers through the various stages of the purchase process. Compelling content draws users towards a promotion, product line or website and has the power to keep them there. However, in a crowded market where every retailer is vying for the consumer’s attention with attractive photography, blogs, how-to guides and more, the key to winning hearts and minds is to offer unique online resources that genuinely add value to that particular customer’s experience. 

3D planning solutions are among the most effective resources for kitchen retailers who are serious about improving the effectiveness of their marketing efforts. These solutions provide a platform on the retailer’s website where customers can create their own dream kitchen layouts. They can then use social media to share and receive feedback about their creations. They can save their designs, adapt them and finally choose to take their concepts into brisk-and-mortar outlets for final design consultations with in-store sales reps. What’s more, this creative process is fun and engaging for the user. 

Deriving insights from data 

A design tool is well recognized as an essential part of the kitchen purchase process. Placing a high-quality and easy-to-use kitchen design solution online, allows consumers to input room dimensions, select from a handy online catalogue, and zone in on their preferred styles, allowing them to complete most of the design work before making a trip to a store.  

It also makes the retailers’ website an extremely powerful marketing tool, for a number of reasons. 

 Generating qualified sales leads: A 3D planning solution offers true value to consumers. Automated solutions, such as HomeByMe Kitchens for Retailers, produces photo realistic mock-ups of individualized renderings in a matter of minutes. It provides consumers with highly photo realistic renderings of how their ideas will look in real life, in exchange for which consumers are often happy to provide their contact information. This results in retailers having a pre-qualified database of prospects, to which they can to communicate the latest offers and promotions.  

Providing consumer insights: By analyzing the data generated by consumers creating kitchen designs on their websites, retailers can acquire unmatched insights into trends, buying habits and tastes. These insights can be used to inform the marketing and product mix and inform the content for future design decisions, stock ordering and inventory.  

Creating stickiness: Creating a design for their online kitchens gives consumers a sense of ownership and invests them in the process and the retailer’s catalog. They typically return several times to fine-tune or adapt their designs, often creating multiple designs, and each visit makes them more likely to complete the transaction by visiting a physical outlet. After starting a design, retailers can start an on-going dialogue with the customer to encourage them to develop their ideas, or by sending reminders, notifications about price drops or availability.  

Allowing personalization: Personalization is a powerful tool in the marketing armory, with Forbes reporting that more than 96% of marketers agreed that personalization enhances the customer relationship. Retailers can see exactly what someone has been looking for on a 3D design solution. This information can connect to a highly relevant marketing campaign, thus offering consumers real value. Retailers can offer hyper-targeted promotions based on specific design concepts or product choices, provide ideas or hints, or link to automated pricing tools that give the customer an indication of their how close they are to their budget. 

Retailers can generate more buzz and excitement around their online offering through assets that encourage consumers to get the best out of these cutting-edge modeling technologies, such as design galleries, how-to videos, online tutorials and more. Another way to gain user traction is to use social media to showcase customers’ work. Social channels from Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest and more, are effective ways to spread the word about the designs that can be achieved by consumers themselves through 3D planning. User forums also encourage others to join in to comment and create social chat about a design, encouraging an emotional attachment to the brand. 

The more a retailer engages with potential new customers, the more they will understand them, get to know their preferences, and can talk to them on a regular, on-going basis. 

The latest 3D planning solutions when integrated with a retail marketing strategy are the ideal way to boost sales, both in-store and on-line and build long-term brand recognition from both existing customers and new prospects. 

To further explore how you can add value to your kitchen retail marketing plan using 3D planning solutions and inspirational concept kitchens, visit our website built specifically to serve kitchen retailers where you can organize a demonstration of the platform with a member of our team of experts.