Kitchen & Bath Design News recently posed the question to dealers and designers in the kitchen and bath industry: What are the most important elements for an effective branding platform in a down economy? Following are some of their responses.

“A really critical element is constant exposure – to not let your brand fade away during a tough economy. We continue to advertise and focus some of our advertising on products with which we have exclusivity, which makes it less easy to shop for them. That way, if someone likes an item and wants it, they have to get it from us. We have even done a little bit of private labeling.

We are also making a point to market to the design trade, and we’re putting ads out that have more of a contemporary slant. We are focusing on the trade because we feel those are qualified leads, so we are not just doing consumer advertising.

We also do events in the showroom for the trade. For instance, I just came back from Germany and the week after I got back I did a presentation in the showroom on European trends in kitchen design.

As far as our Web presence, we find we are getting more good leads from the Web. I think the reason for that is, when you go onto our Web site, it is pretty obvious that this is not a place where you are getting the cheapest price.

We want to be exclusive, but we don’t want to appear too expensive. We want people to still feel that they are getting value – but not too cheap. So, depending on the brand that you’ve established, you get the kind of leads that you want based on the image you’ve established through advertising or your Web site.

Peg McGowen, ASID, CMKBD
Kitchen & Bath Concepts
Houston, TX

“I believe, being a small business owner, that maintaining and improving relationships with customers on a one-to-one basis is the most important thing. It is critical to be first on their minds when they think about buying or remodeling a kitchen. Running a small kitchen renovation company, I am going back to my past customers and interfacing with them via personal phone calls and mail to let them know we are still here for them. So, instead of broadcasting, I am going back to my individual customers to make sure that they have brand awareness.

In this economy, there is always pressure to expand your niche, but I am a firm believer that you should focus on improving what you already do well instead of expanding your services. That is my business plan, and who knows us [better than] our past customers?”