An Overview of Kitchen and Bath Marketing
A methodical approach to generating leads, sales, and referrals.
Do you own or run a kitchen and bath company?
Have you become frustrated or overwhelmed by the numerous ways to market your company?
Do you ever find yourself second-guessing every marketing decision you make?
If this is the case, you are not alone. Back in the day, all you needed to generate new business was a Yellow Pages listing and a print ad in a local newspaper.
Nowadays, kitchen and bath marketing entails your website, SEO, PPC ads, social media, email, and so on. Yes, it can be confusing, but the good news is that these new digital marketing techniques work – and they can work for your company as well.
Bob McCarthy is my name. I own a small marketing company and would like to be your market advisor.
Please read the sections below as well as the pages linked to the right. I also invite you to download my free guide “Kitchen and Bath Marketing,” in which I provide a comprehensive overview of the K&B marketing landscape.
Let’s talk when you’re ready. Simply click on the link to the right.
First, let’s define your type of business.
I refer to this as “kitchen and bath marketing,” but we all know that there are various types of K&B businesses, each with its own audience, partners, and marketing strategies. Let us take a look…
If you are a kitchen remodeler or renovator in your local market, you are a service business. You primarily target homeowners, but you may also work with local kitchen designers, kitchen dealers, or general contractors.
You are a service business in your local market if you are a kitchen designer, but you could sell anywhere. Design work has no geographical boundaries. Local homeowners could be targeted, but you could also work with kitchen remodelers, dealers, distributors, and general contractors.
If you’re a kitchen dealer, you’re probably selling cabinets, countertops, sinks, faucets, and other related products to your local market, either directly to homeowners or through remodelers or designers. You may receive marketing assistance from the manufacturers and distributors you represent.
If you’re a kitchen distributor, you’re probably selling to the trade – to dealers, remodelers, and designers. You may market to homeowners in order to generate leads and create demand for your products, but you do not sell to them. Instead, you rely on your trading partners to do so, and you almost certainly provide them with extensive marketing assistance.
Do you understand your target audience?
How would you describe your ideal customer – the one who is most likely to purchase from you?
The majority of K&B businesses want to sell to the upper crust. That is where the cash is. That is where you will have more chances to shine and demonstrate your creativity.
But are high-end customers a good fit for you and your company? Is your company and website up to the standards of a high-end buyer? Are your previous projects appropriate for the high-end market?
Many K&B companies want to sell to everyone, including high-, middle-, and low-end customers. This is difficult because it complicates and confounds your message.
The best advice is to figure out what you’re good at and then go out and find people who are looking for it.
Maintain your focus on your marketing objectives.
What do you hope your marketing will achieve?
Some are concerned with brand awareness and reputation. Others are concerned with leads – more and better leads.
We believe that your marketing can and should accomplish both.
First impressions and your website
In today’s world, your website is the focal point of your company. It’s the first place new prospects will see you. It’s where prospects will decide if you’re the right fit for them.
Many K&B business owners are concerned about their website. They understand the significance of first impressions and are willing to spend almost any amount to have the perfect website.
Visitors, without a doubt, want to see a well-designed and appealing website with photos of beautiful kitchens and bathrooms.
They want to be inspired, but they also want to know what is going on. They have questions and are seeking answers. So, regardless of aesthetics, make sure your website can provide those answers.
Remember that your website should reflect the types of kitchens you sell. Don’t show them high-end kitchens if you specialize in modest, low-to-mid-priced kitchens.
Convert visitors to your website into sales leads.
The vast majority of visitors to your website will leave without taking any action. They will not call, fill out a form, or subscribe to your email list. There will be no appointment or quote requests.
They’ll simply leave, and you’ll have no idea who they were.
Every website’s goal should be to increase the percentage of people who take action – who call, fill out a form, or join your list.
The first step is to include a Call-to-Action to alert them that you expect them to respond.
The second step is to provide a reason – an incentive.
A Call-to-Action strategy will assist you in increasing your visitor-to-lead conversion rate.
Contact your intended audience.
Reaching out to your target audience and inviting a response is the first step in lead generation. For today’s K&B business, digital marketing is the primary method of generating leads.
It provides numerous opportunities to reach your target market and generate a measurable response.
Among your digital options are:
- Google AdWords
- Display Ads by Google
- Paid Facebook Ads
- Google Maps.
- Social networking sites
Don’t overlook traditional lead generation methods.
Digital marketing now dominates the marketing landscape, but that doesn’t mean traditional marketing methods are obsolete.
That could not be further from the truth.
Direct mail is still effective. It’s a little old-fashioned, but because it’s delivered through the mail, it has a greater impact on your target audience than any digital campaign could ever provide.
Print newspapers and magazines are declining in circulation, but they still have a following.
Trade shows and home shows can still put you in front of your best prospects.
Lead nurturing is the process of following up on leads.
Because salespeople are only human, it should come as no surprise that stale leads begin to fall through the cracks as your sales team chases after the hottest new leads. However, lost leads can result in lost sales and revenue.
Regardless of what your salespeople do, you need a way to stay in touch and monitor your sales lead follow-up system.
Introductory Drip Email – Drip emails can be pre-scheduled to send at a specific time after a lead is received. We recommend sending out a series of emails over a two-week period. This is an excellent way to establish your new relationship.
Ongoing Evergreen Email – For many businesses, it is difficult to create new emails on a consistent basis. Instead, we recommend creating evergreen emails that will not become obsolete and can be repeated over a period of weeks or months. We recommend writing six emails and sending them every two weeks for three months, after which you can repeat.
Retargeting Ads – Most visitors to your website will leave without leaving a trace. However, retargeting ads will keep your advertising in front of these previous visitors for an extended period of time. Retargeting ads are extremely effective because they reach people who have already visited your website.
Triggered Direct Mail – While email is the most common method of follow-up, what impact would a direct mail piece have on your prospects? You can send a postcard, a letter, or something larger. Direct mail has an impact, and triggered email allows you to send messages to very small groups, even one person at a time.
Keep track of all of your outcomes.
Whatever marketing you do, make sure you track your results. Don’t rely on gut instinct or a general impression of whether a campaign is successful.
Keep track of your responses, leads, appointments, and quote requests… as well as your sales.
The majority of marketing platforms will offer some level of tracking for the programs you run on their platform. However, what you really require is a system for tracking your results across all platforms and campaigns.
