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Hey Fam, It’s Adrienne!
What if I told you, you can have the Build-A-Bear experience in your store?
This week, Dos Marcos talked to Arthur Watkins, inventor and founder of the Fill Station Pillow Kiosk. What is the Fill Station? It’s the ticket to creating a great experience and giving your customers the pillow of their dreams!
Las Vegas Market is coming up this weekend and companies including Englander, Emma, and Corsicana are releasing new products. Plus, Culp covers the UNC’s Dean Domein performance fabric.
Mattman has returned for 2022! He’s handing out awards to some of his top encouragers and motivators in the industry. Could you be among them? Plus, he’s giving us his goals to keep him accountable.
Also, 72% of consumers who bought from a sleep shop are likely to recommend their mattress to their best friend or family member. How can you use this data?
Have something to share? Text our Podium number at 843-627-2672.
Dos Marcos Show
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Arthur Watkins’ Fill Station is the Build-A-Bear of Bedding
Get ready for some in-store inspiration!
In this episode, we chat with Arthur Watkins, founder and CEO of Fill Station Pillow Kiosk— the customizable pillow maker that attracts foot traffic and provides a unique experience for customers.
Listen and subscribe to the Dos Marcos Show on:
Retail
More Than 50% of Retailers Surveyed Willing To Haggle Prices
Mattress salespeople have been compared to used car salesmen for years—mostly because of how they haggle on price.
And while that stigma is slowly evaporating, some retailers still find haggling as a good way to make sales and build relationships with customers.
Furniture
Sales Rep Decline: Harder To Bring In New Reps
In today’s world, it isn’t easy to be an independent sales representative. And after talking to several sales reps who have been in the game for years, it may not get any easier.
They had a few things to say about what’s changed in the business over the last few years and how the furniture industry can help sales reps succeed.
News and Headlines
Englander will introduce three new latex hybrid models in its Supreme collection at the upcoming Las Vegas Market and show how its suite of marketing assets can strengthen the selling story for retailers.
Culp Covers UNC’s Dean Dome. In an effort to honor the late Robert Culp, Culp recovered the stadium seats in the Smith Center with the fabric from the company he helped to start more than 50 years ago.
Lifeloom to debut new frictionless sheets at Las Vegas Market. Lifeloom is making headlines for being the first company to receive FDA clearance for its sheets and pillowcases. Their scientifically tested products are proven to improve the ability to keep cool and move freely in bed by more than 50%. Retailers heading to the upcoming Vegas market can get a free pillowcase.
Emma will unveil its Emma Motion smart bed, the first active mattress within the company’s product assortment, at the Las Vegas Market. The bed features three zones of independent support per side—the shoulder, lumbar and hip—which will respond through a real-time automatic setting and can be be adjusted manually from the Emma Motion App.
Corsicana is introducing its new RENUE Adapti-Gel collection—which contains three new models and a matrix comfort layer specially designed to move with the body for advanced pressure point relief to maximize comfort and support.
Data Digs
Sleep Shops Make People Happiest
Research conducted in partnership with Nationwide Marketing Group showed that 72% of consumers who bought from a sleep shop are likely to recommend their mattress to their best friend or family member.
How did furniture stores, online, and other buying channels rank?
Percentage of people who are very or extremely likely to recommend their mattress to their best friend or family member:
- Sleep Shop — 72%
- Furniture Store — 67%
- Warehouse Club — 65%
- Department Store — 66%
- Online — 64%
- Big Box — 61%
- Shop TV 48%
Here’s the rub: sleep shops and furniture stores are at the top of the list, but the spread isn’t big enough for retailers to sit back and relax. Online buyers and others are mostly satisfied with their purchases.
How can you use this data? If you’re a sleep shop, keep doing what you’re doing—and ask for referrals from these happy customers.
If you’re a furniture store that sells mattresses, dissect what sleep shops do well and apply it. Is your mattress department an afterthought? Map out how you can transition guests from furniture to mattresses. Train your team to listen for signals that indicate it could be time for a mattress. And most of importantly, educate your staff on asking good, open-ended questions.
Hungry for more useful data? Get the full report for free when you become a FAM+ Member, brought to you by Nationwide Marketing Group!
P.S. Don’t forget to register for Nationwide PrimeTime coming up February 5-8 in Phoenix, Arizona!
What’s the FAM Into?
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Kinsley actually bought this…
My wife kept saying, “Invent a book holder so I can read in bed without using my hands.” So, I bought this on Amazon.
 Not Kinsley’s Wife |
It was an epic fail. The contraption sort of worked, but the clamp wasn’t wide enough for my headboard and it scratched the wood on her bedside table. “I feel like this is more of a prototype than a product,” she said.
Agreed.
But, for a month leading up to Christmas I laughed out loud every time I thought of giving her this gift. Now she has this book stand and it works fine for reading in bed, but she still wants some sort of overhead apparatus. I’ll keep looking.
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Adrienne is looking for…
Good flower gardening podcasts or books! I got into flower gardening a few years ago and last year, I took it up a few notches and am ready to add more varieties this year. If you have a recommendation for a must-listen podcast or must-read book, text us at 843-627-2672 and let me know!
Podcast
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Adventures of Mattman: Toast! Awards and New Year Episode (Ep 22)
It’s a New Year and a new episode from Mattman! In episode 22, our Sleep Superhero toasts some motivators and encouragers from this past year and shares his goals for 2022.
Tell Me Something Good
How can you ignite your retail team? Mark and Mark appeared on the Tell Me Something Good About Retail podcast, hosted by Bob Phibbs the Retail Doctor.
Fun & Folly
Could this be Kinsley’s hair as a baby? The FAM found the most precious baby with hair that will make you envious.
The oldest aquarium fish in the world loves…belly rubs?
Sex Sells…except when it comes to mattresses.
Foot Traffic Drivers
Need helping getting more people to your store?
Here’s an idea…
Host in store services!
It’s one thing to be the go-to-place for furniture, but it is another to be a one-stop-shop. Provide additional services that draw people into the store. Offer to be a pick-up location for at-home covid tests, set up a passport picture taking station/photo printing kiosk—or be a drop off location for local boutiques. Use your imagination and community connections to determine helpful services for your area.
On the hunt for more foot-traffic-driving ideas?
Pick up a copy of Kinsley and Quinn’s #1 Amazon bestselling book, “Come Back to Bed: Attract More Foot Traffic and Make People Fall in Love with Your Store.”
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This is Mark and Mark’s advice column and it’s bound to get weird.
Everyone needs a little advice now and then.
You can ask us anything. Just don’t expect an obvious answer.
Launching a new marketing campaign and need feedback? We’ve got your back. Naming your first born son? No problem. Trying to break the world record for most sprinkles on an ice cream cone? We know a guy.
Or, text your question to our Podium number at 843-627-2672. We’ll publish our advice here in the newsletter and on fam.news.
Listen to this newsletter!
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