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Okay, you've got everything in place: the perfect tabletop selection, an informed and well-versed staff, and great displays. Now all you need are the customers. So, how do you promote your store as the place to shop for tabletop? The previous articles in our 2000 Tabletop Series concentrated on color, design elements, and how to develop your selection. In our fourth and final chapter, we put all these elements together and discover how retailers promote themselves as the best source for tabletop within their markets.

Word of Mouth

Dee Park, owner of Board & Basket in West Lebanon, N.H., uses a strong word-of-mouth program to get the message to consumers in her market. Her personalized program actually comes from her own mouth — that is hers and her husband's.

"We rely on our radio commercials, which are personalized featuring Bro, my husband, and myself," she said. "The commercials are clever, timely, and, we learn from customers, effective! We use two local radio stations that we've found are just fine for the reach we need and want."

The Parks' advertising efforts are indicative of what we discovered across the country. Successful tabletop retailers back their products with healthy advertising campaigns, making use of a wide range of mediums from print to radio.

"We also place ads in local newspapers and in local shoppers, usually highlighting a particular product or line," Park said. In an effort to increase visibility, Park takes advantage of vendor co-op advertising dollars in her print media campaign, allowing for more space and frequency.

Tracee Clepper, manager of Carlisle, Pa.-based The Kitchen Shoppe, said she hasn't found much support for co-op advertising dollars from tabletop as compared with other housewares manufacturers, but her store does rely on vendor-supplied brochures or product sell sheets for in-store marketing.

"People take a long time to purchase a tabletop item. They don't just come into the department because they need an item like they do for kitchenware. There isn't a function they are looking to perform, such as you would find with a customer looking to purchase a colander. With tabletop, there's a lot of time and energy that goes into the purchase. It takes sometimes two or three visits," Clepper continued. "We rely on printed materials — a lot of handouts go out on tabletop so the customer can take them home and study them. There are many companies who have great materials, but surprisingly, there are a lot of companies who fail to do it well."

Terry Monroe, partner in Stillwater, OK-based Murphy's Department Store and Internet retailer www.murphyshomestyles.com, invests in an aggressive print media campaign throughout the year with a concerted fourth-quarter push.

"We do primarily newspaper advertising," Monroe said. "Four percent of our sales are earmarked for advertising. Of that percentage, a large portion is targeted toward marketing the holiday patterns, so we have a noticeable seasonal increase in advertising."

Murphy's fourth-quarter efforts concentrate on sale items and in-store promotions. Monroe explained those marketing efforts are backed by in-store displays which continue to promote those specific items, thereby keeping the campaign fresh in consumers' minds.



Attention-Getters

Getting consumers inside the store with attractive displays is another key to successful marketing programs. Hiding your tabletop merchandise in the back of the store or on a "Wall of China" will obviously do nothing to promote sales. You need to tell consumers you have the best products through eye-catching displays throughout your store.

"We use a dining room table and hutch in the front of the store for displays, including a table that looks great — set to serve the family or friends at the very next meal," Park said. "Our customers love seeing some of the disparate products we sell creatively displayed — glassware, dinnerware, table linens, serveware, et cetera, all coming together to tell a story."

Clepper said sparking impulse purchases in tabletop is next to impossible. She believes the only way to build sales is to build consumer trust and visibility of the category.

"Tabletop is a category they don't notice unless they're looking for it," Clepper said. "It took us several years to build up our department and reputation with consumers."

One way in which The Kitchen Shoppe built its tabletop reputation was to find one vendor and concentrate fully on the line, providing greater depth than larger outlets and discounters.

"With one of the first companies we carried, we had to make a large commitment," Clepper said. "Now the commitment does not have to be that big, but we're known for it. We've built a loyal customer base, so we provide a greater depth of product in that line than the traditional department store would."

In the store, Clepper tried a variety of merchandising techniques. She determined wall patterns weren't working after a four-year effort, so now The Kitchen Shoppe promotes the category with full-stock displays.

"We've gone to stocking patterns that tend to be very pretty, simple, and practical — everyday patterns. We're finding the tabletop being purchased by today's consumer has to be very versatile," Clepper said. "That's what works for us and we gave up the other stuff."

Ed Fowler, owner of Gourmet Pantry in Lubbock, Texas, believes so strongly in his tabletop category he and his wife Jane undertook an expansion which tripled the store's size last October to accommodate a new tabletop department and display area.

"After 16 years as a kitchenware store, we expanded in October 1999 from 1,650 square feet to over 4,100 square feet. We expanded into the store space next door so we could create a flow from one area to the other," Fowler said. "The expansion allowed us the ability to increase our tabletop, gifts, and decorative selections."

Designed around an open space with six smaller areas, Gourmet Pantry's tabletop and gift department houses fine china, everyday dishes, metalware, fabrics, crystal, flatware, furniture, paper products, and a selection of fine gifts and decorative items.



Wired Up

many retailers are building their tabletop departments through online efforts. As the Internet continues to serve as both a source of information and a location for consumer shopping, it has become an invaluable resource to savvy tabletop retailers.

Murphy's and Board & Basket both create seasonal displays directly on their Web sites. In May, Park created a Cinco de Mayo display featuring tabletop. Monroe is in the midst of creating a series of pages highlighting the holidays.

"We're putting up a special series of Christmas pages to get responses from consumers in search of Christmas gifts," he said.

By targeting their online efforts to consumers specifically seeking information on tabletop purchases, retailers are in effect boosting the traffic in their tabletop departments. An interesting aspect of Park's site is the near-constant monitoring which results in a nearly live online, full-service store with a tabletop department.

"Our Internet site is an effective way to communicate with present and potential customers. When they look for something we don't have on the site, it normally takes just a few minutes to get the items they're looking for, like glasses, up online with descriptions and even pictures," Park said. "Customers have told us they appreciate that personalized long-distance service."

Murphy's Internet site opened in 1995 under Monroe's tutelage. Its growth led to the addition of a full-time Web employee last year who keeps the site up to date and monitors search engines to establish their site as a viable consumer resource for tabletop.

"We make sure we get listed under brand names in the search engines so that when consumers search for Noritake, Lennox, or Mikasa, our name comes up," Monroe said. "We try to get up on the early part of the search engine so that we're on the first response page. If we go to the individual search engine sites, they will tell you how their sites list and what it goes by — some of them look at the individual page, some look at META tags (notations in the unseen portion of the web page). We also look at competitive sites and see what they're doing and how they got listed."

To reach that goal, Murphy's Webmaster is constantly updating search engine submissions and Murphy's own site to be sure their content fits the specifications of the search. They also look to manufacturers for help, getting linked directly to vendor sites. Monroe said they recently passed the test Lennox placed before them, qualifying as a successful online retailer worthy of linking to the vendor's domain.

"Most of the other retailers on vendor sites are national, but there is an opportunity for smaller retailers to link up," he explained. "They did a sample order to make sure our shipping policy was what we said it was and they reviewed our site. After they saw that we met their requirements, they created the link. As a result, that's one of our highest source of referrals."

Monroe said the difference that attracts consumers to the Web site versus the brick-and-mortar outlet is the depth of inventory. He said the consumer who walks though the front door of the store is interested in seeing the latest styles and new pattern introductions. The person searching for tabletop online is often looking for a more obscure pattern.

"Eventually, we want to list every pattern so that if they are looking online for Noritake's 87 ranking pattern or the latest introduction from Lennox, our name will come up," he said. "Having a complete site is the key, but it's a lot of work."



Guerrilla Tips

marketing guru Jay Levinson, author of Guerrilla Marketing, has his own advice for tabletop retailers. His ideas are concise and highly applicable to the independent gourmet retailer.

"One of the best marketing tools is to compare yourself as a gourmet retailer to department stores which are great generalists but hardly specialists in tabletop products," Levinson advises. "America loves an underdog, especially one with heart and soul."

Another Levinson tip is to market your tabletop department with free in-store seminars on tabletop products. Market the seminars just as if they were products. Levinson said, "Never underestimate the power of free anythings."

Getting the word out through speaking engagements is another inexpensive marketing tool. Levinson recommends gourmet retailers offer to speak for free at local clubs — with talks about tabletop products in the new millennium.

"Along with free talks, retailers should offer to write articles — again at no cost — for local publications," he said. "The articles and the talks should be about tabletop products and not about the stores themselves."



Registry Marketing

Gift registries are another avenue with great sales potential. Fowler keeps the Gourmet Pantry's tabletop selection in the forefront of his community through his participation in bridal fairs. His involvement translated this year to a boom in bridal sales.

"Our bridal business has skyrocketed this spring and therefore, generated sales from both sides of our store," Fowler said. "We are excited about the fall and Christmas season."

The Fowlers created a bridal registry brochure which they distribute to potential brides at bridal fairs. Their literature not only explains the services they provide, but begins with a brief description of the benefits of bridal registration.

Gourmet Pantry also gives brides tips to get the most from their registry, including placing "Registered at Gourmet Pantry" on shower invitations; registering for items in several price ranges; and noting quantities, sizes, and patterns of items.

In keeping with Levinson's recommendation to differentiate service from larger outlets, Gourmet Pantry tells potential customers, "Our bridal registry consultants are more than salespeople. They will help you with coordinating all the elements that go into furnishing and accessorizing your first home."

The Kitchen Shoppe, which has carried tabletop for 20 years, advertises its registry program with a national campaign. The store advertises in a national bridal magazine, which in turn supplies them with a mailing list of potential brides in their area.

"We do a monthly mailing to brides in our area from the list they provide. Without that, we would be really lost," Clepper said. "We mail them a trifold telling them about who The Kitchen Shoppe is and what we can provide for them."



Completing Sales

One of the most important elements of a successful tabletop program, according to retailers, is having a staff who knows the product. Product knowledge, especially in this category, is what retailers say separates them from the big guys.

Although competition from large outlet stores isn't an immediate issue for Board & Basket, Park said she does face competition from large and small stores in the area that offer tabletop.

Monroe carries many high-quality lines and believes his staff's ability to explain to customers what differentiates the products is essential. "Consumers need to understand why one material is more durable than another and what goes into the production of a high-quality tabletop selection to determine its cost."

Monroe believes veteran staff members with a wealth of tabletop knowledge have gained the store a reputation as a resource for quality tabletop and great service.

"In our particular case, we have some long-term employees who can answer these questions for our customers and build their trust," he said. "Over a period of time, our customers have learned that we will have the answers to their tabletop needs."

Those experienced staff members lead a successful annual holiday event Murphy's holds just before Thanksgiving. The pre-holiday celebration gives customers a chance to browse the store, learn new entertaining techniques, and plan their holiday celebrations.

"The holiday open house gives us a chance to do great things like napkin-folding demonstrations and other entertaining workshops," Monroe said. "We also have vendor reps come in and showcase their lines while giving holiday entertainment tips."

Murphy's further supports its staff efforts with a Frequent Buyer Program which tracks customer purchases and provides loyalty rewards. Customers earn points throughout the year and get to spend those points during the first quarter. The program, which is available for store-wide purchases, helps staff to track customer-buying patterns and offer specials on specific items that match their buying history.

The history also helps Murphy's direct-mail marketing efforts, allowing them to target consumers with a specific buying pattern. "We communicate often by regular mail and will also have e-mail marketing soon. The frequency program allows us to target our announcements of specials and new things to specific consumers," said Monroe.