Jayne Adamson, product marketing specialist at Plum Product Marketing, has her visuals on the world of imagery.

When it comes to making decisions on any kind of interior improvement, a large proportion of consumers say they lack confidence in choosing their wall and floor coverings. As manufacturers, distributors, and retailers in this space, we need to make sure we give them that confidence so that they make the purchase. At the end of the day, if we don’t, and our competitors do, then it doesn’t take a genius to figure out who is going to win that coveted sale.

‘The product shown in a real life setting was the one that sold the best’
The importance of showing them how our products could work in their own space should never be underestimated. Years ago, before the rise of the digital age, we would launch a range of say, six colourways or designs, and we would choose one of them to photograph. It was always the case that the product shown in a real life setting, that the end user could imagine in their home, was the one that sold the best. Not rocket science when you think about it really, is it?

Skip forward a few years and with the rise of the world wide web and social media, it was no longer viable or acceptable to show one colourway in a range because each one had its own place, each one would appeal to a different shopper, and all those different shoppers were online. So, marketing budgets got bigger and sales grew, ranges started selling, not just products – happy days, right?

Well yes of course, but as we have come to expect more from the digital world, things just keep moving on, and they do it quickly. We should continue to inspire the consumer with aspirational room settings, make sure they look inspirational but also accessible and this will achieve the goal of instilling confidence, but there are additional ways to do this which should be considered.

Using visualisers
One such way is using an online visualiser. In recent years we have seen an enormous increase in businesses in the home improvement and interiors sectors using visualisers to inspire customers and gain that trust. If the home owner can see how a product will actually look in their space, they are far more likely to confidently buy it.

There are various levels of visualiser out there and of course varying levels of budget, but the beauty is, many distributors and manufacturers are supporting their own customers by adding these to their websites and there is no reason whatsoever that you can’t use them to help your customer. Plus, it costs you nothing. The best ones, for me, are the ones where you can upload a picture of your own room and then choose the flooring and wallcoverings giving a visual showing exactly how that choice will look in that room. It is really quick and surprisingly realistic.

Photos, photos, photos
Another really effective way of showing customers that your product is right for them is to use imagery supplied by other people – your past customers are your advocates and again, it costs you nothing. Everyone loves to show off when they have just renovated or decorated a room so they take photos and post them on Instagram or any other social media platform. Most people would be happy for you to share their posts or use their imagery on your website and this gives prospective customers the confidence to buy as they can see that product in a real home, they can relate to it. All you have to do is ask, and I guarantee most people will say yes.

And finally of course, you have the in-store environment. If you have the space to have some room settings then great, but don’t just think about the product you are selling, think about the customer and what they are looking for. More often than not they are looking at full room solutions rather than a specific product for that room. You may not sell plants, towels, vases, lamps, etc, but you can use these to inspire your customer, to make them feel that your product suits them and their home – make it look real. You could even re-prop every few months to keep your showroom fresh and take photos to use on your social media.

There are lots of ways to inspire your customers but making their decision easy is the key to the sale, so use these tools.
www.plumproductmarketing.co.uk
07904 589251
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