If you are still selling furniture while sitting in a store and waiting for a new customer to come to your door, I have bad news for you. The client may never come in – they will be taken away earlier by those who sell furniture online.
The coronavirus pandemic and the imposition of quarantine restrictions have shown that businesses that have ignored online have been hit hard. While the majority of online leaders not only did not lose anything, but also increased their profits – as this is true for NYFO.
According to the analytical agencies, the number of customers of online stores increased by 10 million. According to forecasts, within three years, from 2021 to 2024, online sales will increase from 1.7 to 7.2 trillion dollars.
Analysis of trends confirms that, despite everything that is happening, online demand for furniture products not only did not fall but even increased. So here are some sources with which you can attract customers on the Internet. After reviewing real-life examples, you will be convinced that online means not only traffic from search engines and buying ads, but significantly more opportunities for finding customers. And even if you don’t have money for development, it doesn’t matter. There are ways where it is enough to set aside a little time.
The article will also be useful for owners of not furniture, but other businesses – it will definitely give some useful ideas. Let’s start!
Table of content
1. Search Engines (SEO)
The search engines Yahoo and Google are the most visited sites in the world. They are visited weekly 50.3 and 400.8 billion times.
To receive orders, you need to create a website – WordPress will help – and if it has already been created, carry out work on internal and external optimization (everything is very difficult here, but you have to figure it out). Search engines will index the site and display its pages in their search results. Users will only need to open a search engine, type in a suitable query and go to the site they like.
Pros:
- potentially the cheapest source of customer acquisition;
- website optimization has a positive effect on its conversion and other traffic sources;
- even if the work stopped, the result will persist for a long time.
Minuses:
- often for the first significant results, you will have to wait for six months (it is almost impossible to speed up the process without harming the project);
- requires large cash investments;
- dependence on search engines (changes in algorithms can lead to a sharp decrease in visitors);
- it is difficult to carry out the work on your own, you will have to look for contractors – to control the work. Yes, you will have to pay money and get involved in the work. Just giving an idea for a website will not lead to good results;
- a large amount of work carried out on internal and external optimization.
2. Google Contextual Advertising
Contextual advertising is a type of Internet advertising in which an advertisement is displayed in accordance with the content, context of the Internet page. Contextual advertising systems allow you to place advertisements on search results pages for specific keywords; on sites that have installed contextual advertising blocks on their pages and in mobile applications.
To launch contextual advertising, you need to select one of the Google Ads (or other search engines’) systems, register in it, set up advertising campaigns, replenish your account and launch. After that, the ads will (if done correctly) be shown to the target audience. By experimenting and optimizing advertising campaigns, you can gradually reduce the cost, while increasing profits.
Pros:
- quick results;
- relatively simple start-up.
Minuses:
- termination of payment immediately stops advertising;
- requires constant optimization;
- there is a chance not to recoup the funds invested in advertising.
3. Promotion in social networks (SMM)
Three social networks at once are among the ten most visited sites. And recent events have influenced a significant increase in the activity of their users. A large number of companies are actively using social networks to attract and communicate with customers. List of popular social networks and examples of their use by furniture companies:
- TikTok
Pros:
- huge audience;
- easy to find target users;
- ease of maintenance;
- communication with the audience;
- quick start.
Minuses:
- big competition;
- you need constant activity and creativity;
- changes in algorithms can lead to a sharp decrease in the impressions of your posts;
- it is possible to delete posts and block accounts by social network admins (even for no apparent reason);
- the ability to communicate online and control yourself in any situation.
4. YouTube
YouTube is the most visited site in the world after Google. Everyone loves to watch videos in their free time. Many companies use this channel to increase brand awareness and attract new customers.
Furniture companies post on their YouTube channels:
- video reviews;
- assembly and installation processes;
- recommendations of experts and designers on the choice of furniture;
- information about ongoing promotions;
- presentation of their projects;
- useful advice on furniture care;
- and much more.
Be creative, shoot useful and viral videos, and become more visible than your competitors.
Pros:
- a huge number of users;
- increases brand awareness and authority;
- relatively free channel.
Minuses:
- large labor costs for creating high-quality videos and promoting them;
- you need constant activity and creativity;
- financial investments are needed for rapid growth;
- video deletion and channel blocking for copyright infringement are possible.
5. Marketplaces
The most popular marketplace – Craigslist closes the TOP-10 most visited sites. Using the site’s audience is quite simple, you need to register and add an ad. On the site, you can find a huge number of ads for the production of custom-made furniture.
Pros:
- it is free;
- ease of adding.
Minuses:
- big competition;
- advertisements are displayed above. You will have to pay to increase the visibility of your ads;
- you need to be creative;
- low consumer confidence in such sites due to their use by fraudsters.
6. Forums
Forums, such as Reddit, are the place where many users look for information about a product or service, and about the reliability of companies.
An example:
Girls, please advise on the Internet shops of children’s furniture / clothing, etc…
Take a look at [YOUR WEBSITE’S NAME].
It is a popular practice for furniture manufacturers to create their own topics on forums. Perhaps topics about your company have already been created? Sign up, connect with your target audience and work with negative comments. Example:
Nobody ordered furniture from [YOUR COMPANY’S NAME]?
Do they have the same price in all places or may the markup be different? Where is it more profitable? Thanks.
Pros:
- free source of customer acquisition;
- warm audience.
Minuses:
- may block the profile due to the advertising nature;
- often, to create topics on the forum in certain threads, you need to pay;
- you need to be active, monitor a large number of forums, promptly answer questions;
- working with negativity, one must not lose self-control.
7. Services of questions & answers (Q&A)
In addition to forums, users are looking for answers to questions in special Q&A services. The most common service is Quora.
Pros:
- free source of customer acquisition;
- increases brand awareness and expertise.
Minuses:
- you need to quickly respond to new questions;
- it will take a lot of time to prepare really useful and expert answers.
These are just a few of the possible solutions for your online furniture business, so look for anything that can be useful specifically for you. Today you can find customers, orders, increase your sales by having a small furniture store, office, or perhaps just a large trunk with samples and catalogs. The most important thing is to keep up with the times, keep track of how quickly this world is changing, and also quickly respond to changes.
As strange as it may sound, it is during a crisis that investments can show the best results. Less flexible and ossified companies are closed, and it becomes much easier to take market share. Now it depends only on you what results the company will achieve in the future. Take care of your business!
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