Make Your Business Unique

I had the opportunity to attend a business seminar where Barry Tatelman, founder of Jordan’s Furniture, spoke about the marketing strategy and culture that built Jordan’s Furniture.  For those unfamiliar with the company, Jordan’s Furniture is a $750 million dollar furniture retailer that sells more furniture per square foot than any other furniture retailer in the country.  The company was started in 1918, by Barry’s grandfather, who sold furniture out of the back of a truck until 1926.  When Barry and his brother, Elliot, took over the operation there were 5 employees and sales were around $200,000.  Now there are close to 2,000 employees and in 1999, Warren Buffet of Berkshire Hathaway, one of the wealthiest people in the world, was so impressed with the company he bought it. 

So, what was the secret to taking a “mom and pop” family-owned business and parlaying it into the furniture giant that it is today.  According to Barry, the key to their success was being unique and “thinking outside the box” when it came to selling furniture.  ”We wanted to create a fun experience for our shoppers, a place where a family could go together have fun, get something to eat and yes, maybe even find a living room set that they really liked and wanted to buy.”  

 And create a fun experience they did.  All four locations have beautiful showrooms, impeccable customer service and quality-crafted furniture.  But that’s where the similarities with other furniture retailers ends.  For example, in their Avon, Massachusetts store, you can take a ride on M.O.M., a Motion Odyssey Movie, which takes place in a 48-seat theatre with a 4-story movie screen.  When you visit the Natick, Massachusetts store, you walk into Bourbon Street.  Complete with a 9-minute Mardi Gras experience, interactive robots and beautiful 3-story facades.  

Jordan’s Furniture - not just a furniture store, it’s an experience.

The moral of the story . . . find a way to make your business unique and fun, back it up with excellent products, great customer service and your business will not only be remembered but you will become the logical choice for the product or service you sell. 

There is no magic when it comes to marketing

Success is neither magical nor mysterious. Success is the natural consequence of consistently applying the basic fundamentals.
Jim Rohn 

This is a great quote for a business owner to pay attention to when it comes to their marketing efforts.   For those not familiar with his work, Jim Rohn, is a motivational speaker and author whose work has been influential in launching the careers of many others in the personal development industry, including Anthony Robbins, Mark Victor Hansen, Brian Tracey and Jack Canfield.

There are universal marketing principles when applied consistently, repetitively and over time will dramatically increase revenues for a business owner.  And, many of the principles can be very affordable. For example, every business owner should have a database program, such as ACT or Outlook that keeps track of customers and prospects.  Not only have a database program, but actually use it to “touch” customers and prospects on a regular basis.  You can “touch” or stay in contact with your customers and prospects in a number of ways such as with a newsletter, notices of upcoming sales, new product line introductions or industry news.

Whenever possible, use education-based marketing that helps your customers and prospects understand what they need to know about the industry you are in and what makes you different than your competitors.  You need to make a powerful case for your company providing the reasons why your business should be the logical choice when a customer chooses to purchase the product or service you sell.  If this is accomplished on a regular basis, more customers and prospects will engage with your company.  Again, there is no marketing magic, just developing good habits and consistent behavior.