Dos Marcos hosted what might be the world’s first webishow featuring Greg Law, owner of Sweet Dreams Mattresses and Furniture, and Dr. V, director of strategic development at Miskelly Furniture.
The webinar-meets-podcast celebrated how retailers can use Podium to increase sales and gain a better idea of what consumers actually care about.
Curious yet?
It all starts with this story: Mattman, our favorite mattress superhero, trained delivery drivers at Sweet Dreams Mattresses and More on how to use Podium, which led to an interesting move.
Kevin Jr., a delivery driver at Sweet Dreams, started bringing bed frames, mattress protectors and sheets on the delivery truck when he would deliver mattresses. When looking through the delivery, he could see what the person ordered and put anything else they might need on the truck just in case.
Then, when delivering products, if he noticed the customer didn’t buy a new frame, sheets or protector, he could not only offer it, but also provide it immediately and let the customer pay through a text message link provided by Podium right there on the spot.
The funny part is the owner, Greg Law, didn’t even know this was happening until he looked at his Podium account and saw a series of strange transactions that required him to go Sherlock Holmes in order to find the source. . And with this idea, Law says they’re just scratching the surface.
“I think there’s more we can do with that elevated ‘room service,’” Law says. “Everyone wants room service, so how about some well-skilled, articulate, highly motivated, and educated people that could advise them in their homes and all they have to do is use their phone and pay for it?”
So what feedback did they receive from customers?
“Retail is all about forming relationships, and that’s what we’re instilling in our salespeople and delivery crew,” Law says. “There’s something special about a text message, too. These delivery crew members are getting customers to like them even before they show up to their home with friendly communication. They get to know them while delivering, and the delivery guy can talk about more products for the customers when they show up.”
Law says getting the delivery crew prepared for this wasn’t hard because of the company’s mantra—work hard, play hard, serve others, and grow—and because his employees take pride in their work and celebrate the wins.
And it’s not just about selling mattresses, it’s about helping as many people as possible achieve their dreams, according to Law.
“We can use Podium to talk to customers when lead times are long,” Law explains. “We can update them and try to make it personal. And it’s also about creating opportunities, like following up with customers we haven’t heard from in a while.
Dr. V also emphasized the importance of work culture by explaining that culture is either something you create or tolerate. He says you’ve got to be intentional about the culture you want to create.
“When reading the book ‘Come Back to Bed,’ it set us on a path to talk about developing our strategic framework for Miskelly,” he says. “We asked tough questions like why do we exist, what do we do, how do we know if we’re succeeding?
Miskelly leadership got together and started to answer these questions, and they found that their purpose was to “furnish happiness.”
Then they started to talk about how they’re going to behave—starting with winning the heart of customers. Then they partnered with Podium and looked at all the consumer touchpoints. Sales was an obvious one, but they soon added delivery, customer pick-up and customer care to the list.
Deciding to focus on delivery first, they changed the way they previously collected reviews (on the spot after delivery) and used Podium to follow up with customers two hours after the store closed to give them time to experience their mattress. Then they send a simple survey via text asking them to rate the service on a scale of 0-10.
At Miskelly, they use a net promoter score, so if you get a nine or 10, these people would promote your business. One through six are detractors, people who have negative things to say, and a score of seven or eight is passive and doesn’t count at all.
“We focused on expectations because disappointment always comes from unmet expectations,” Dr. V says. “We wanted to know if we’re meeting expectations, but also what’s acceptable for us. Podium is a service that’s taken our deliveries to a whole new level.”
He says several positive things have happened thanks to Podium. First, they get more accurate scores.
“The number of nine’s and 10’s is very exciting for us,” he adds. “We don’t apologize for having a standard of excellence. It’s the expectation at Miskellys. But we found out expectations usually weren’t met because there was a lack of communication. Communicating makes a difference and can still please a customer even if something is late.”
He also says Podium helps him verify what matters to customers.
“One of the big pains is delays, and we try to be very upfront about them,” he says. “Most people are aware of the delays, but it’s been that communication along the way that builds patience. Customers want to feel like they aren’t forgotten.
So there you have it, folks. If you want to make more money (which, who doesn’t?) then follow these key takeaways from Law and Dr. V.
And if you’d like to watch the webishow, be sure to subscribe to The FAM because we’ll be sending it out to our email list in the coming weeks.
