What prompted Rhodes Furniture to make these changes was simple research. They discovered that three quarters of their customers lived within a 20-mile radius of their stores. Yet, their traditional media campaign, composed of TV, radio, and newspaper advertisements, was reaching a far broader audience. In some cases, their advertising was reaching customers at a 75-mile radius from their stores. But these customers simply weren't coming in. Their goal was to acquire these new customers who were still within easy traveling distance of a store, but who had not been brought in by their media campaign.
When customers visit rhodesfurniture.com, they are prompted to enter their ZIP code. This determines whether or not Rhodes will be able to service them. This ZIP code query will also generate a list of the nearest Rhodes store. From the very first page, customers are directed back to the furniture store, while at the same time provided with the convenience of browsing the store's catalogue on line. The balance between online and brick-and-mortar sales is maintained when it comes to promotions as well: Rhodes never offers a promotion on-line that is not also offered in its stores. In addition to the catalogue, the web site also offers convenience features such as a room planning tool, on-line credit approval, and customer service, allowing customers to do much of their legwork at home.
When a sale is made through the site, it is directed to the nearest physical location and assigned to a sales representative as if the sale had taken place in person, in the store. Thus, customers have quick and easy access to someone who will personally finish the sale, arrange for delivery, and answer any other questions.
E-commerce is here to stay, and it doesn't have to pose a threat to traditional stores. Rhodes Furniture found a simple solution that allowed them to use their web site as a marketing tool, a branding device, a source for customer information and convenience … and a point of sales. All without losing traffic to their brick-and-mortar stores. By approaching e-commerce cautiously, rhodesfurniture.com has managed to capture the best of both worlds.
Business profile courtesy of Family Business Strategies.
Rhodes Furniture can be reached at
http://www.rhodesfurniture.com.
