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“Don’t get lost in what it is that you sell, as opposed to the solution that you have to offer.”
These are the words from Tom Murray, Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer for Tempur Sealy, Inc. (TSI).
In this show, Murray discusses how to grow your retail mattress businesses and what distinguishes the bedding category from so many other industries.
Murray started out in technology with ADT and TomTom before transitioning to TSI in 2018.
Being an outsider in the industry gives him a unique perspective when it comes to customer optics and retail strategy.
In this episode we discuss:
- Building the TSI brand
- The importance of continuing education and focusing on the power of sleep
- Tracking, technology, and driving the category forward
- How to make a meaningful difference
- Consumer education and how mattresses can deliver a better night’s sleep
Full Transcription
Mark Quinn
What a great show we have for you today we’ve got all kinds of stuff on this show but most importantly Tom Murray, the executive vice president, and Chief Marketing Officer for temper Sealy in the USA, we’re gonna talk about mattresses. We’re going to talk about current consumer trends and it’s all coming to you in 60 seconds stick around.
Mark Kinsley
So excited today to have Tempur Pedic- TSI’s Chief Marketing Officer Tom Murray on the show. Tom, we are so thankful to have you here. Thank you for making time. How’s your day going on this very bright sunshiny day where I am in Northwest Arkansas.
Tom Murray
Thank you for having me on the show and my day has just gotten a bit better myself.
Mark Kinsley
Oh, well. That is the nice thing.
Mark Quinn
Well, he didn’t say why.
Mark Kinsley
Yeah, why
Mark Quinn
I got better.
Mark Kinsley
Was something happened off camera right before the show began. That’s right, you guys. You guys ever had the you ever cycled and had the cramps? You ever cramped up and you’re sure? Yeah. Yeah. So check this out. Here’s what happened to me over the weekend. So I had some friends come into town. our good buddy Shannon and her husband from podium came into town. And so we get to hang out with Shane and meet her in person for the first time. So we go on, I take him on a mountain biking tour around Bentonville. We have a fantastic time. I have a 50 mile race. The next day, though, I stayed up a little too late didn’t eat enough mile 32 I cramp up physically can’t pedal anymore. And it happened about three times throughout the event. And if I would have stayed on my bike, guess who I would have beaten who?
Mark Quinn
Lance Armstrong
Mark Kinsley
Dirks Bentley, oh, what he was there. Dirks barely beat me. And I’m sitting here going if I were to cramp up on that hill, and it crept up a third time wherever I went sideways on the bike, and it felt like I got stuck in the calf by a lightning bolt. And then I had a baseball in there. I would have smoked dirts Bentley, but he beat me. So I want to rematch Dirks, I’m calling you out right now.
Mark Quinn
Well, Kinsley, for what it’s worth, I mean, I don’t think that he could sell mattresses nearly as well as you. So maybe he can ride and sing, although I don’t know your songwriting skills are pretty solid. You shouldn’t like, like, accidentally run into him and taking him out on the course and then said, Hey, by the way, I’m sorry, I ran into you, but I got the songs I wrote, would you would you look at them.
Mark Kinsley
You know, he did perform the night before as well in front of a crowd of like 10 12,000 people and then he goes on does the 50 mile race. So he was at a disadvantage. I was at a disadvantage. But so it is he is a great storyteller. And say speaking of great storytelling, I have to thank you Tom Murray, for introducing Mark Quinn and I to a book about storytelling in marketing. They kind of frames up some of the conversation we’re gonna have today. And Quinn, I know that you had the book before I did.
Mark Quinn
I did and I want to I want to talk to you about that time and we don’t need to make it about this book. But there’s some interesting stuff in there and I’m grateful that you turned us on to it. I have since turned many people on to it. But before we get into that Really interesting stuff. You were with a couple of different companies before this ADT Tom time you and I talked about your, your kind of previous career there. So Mark and I were just kind of wondering how do you go from ADT and in technology play with, with navigation and get yourself involved in the matches category? How do all that happen?
Tom Murray
You know, in terms of my introduction to temper Sealy, you know, Rick Anderson, who used to lead the company in North America, sales and marketing, you know, over the last few years before he retired, and I, you know, started working together, back in the early 90s, at Duracell when I worked in consumer packaged goods. And it’s interesting, you know, I often tell people that, you know, if you look at my background in terms of CPG, marketing, and then working in technology industries, like the ones that you summarized, it might seem somewhat counterintuitive to make the link to mattresses. But in fact, you know, I, I’d say the experience that I had perfectly prepared me, for mattresses. On the one hand, there’s probably a surprising amount in common for how you market a consumer good and market a mattress, albeit recognizing that it’s significantly higher price, typically, it’s a durable, good, you know, the way that a consumer thinks about and goes about buying is obviously quite different. But, you know, it is a category that’s been through a lot of evolution, particularly over the last few years, channels of distribution, competitive set, you know, consumer access to information have all changed. And in that way, and also, you know, through the increasing adoption of technology, into the products themselves, there are a lot of actually parallels between the industry and some of the places that I work most recently, sorry, I found it both, you know, similar in many ways, but also quite an engaging kind of transition, to see what was happening in the category. And what has arguably been, you know, it’s most dynamic time. You know, certainly in the last 100 or so years, I would expect.
Mark Quinn
You know, Tom, one of the things that I loved when we were talking is we got to talk about some of those parallels. But, you know, you guys have built in what I would say is not just one of the best brands, or you know, it is not one of it is the best brand, the most compelling brand TempurPedic. And then you’ve got legacy brands like Sealy and Stearns, and foster that are incredible. And you know, you got Sherwood involved, which can do, you know, a whole nother thing with a private label. And then speaking, CO, which is more of a craft beer, but you’ve been very, very smart and strategic in strategic about the brands that you guys have assembled together. So I would say it’s not just the best brand inside of the category. But if you look at some of the stuff you guys have done over the years, I would argue that TempurPedic is one of the best brands in all of durable goods, and the way that you’ve built this affection for that. So maybe tying it back to the book, Tom, like, you know, how did the brand building a story brand with Donald Miller, the book that you gave to me, which I really appreciate it, we we were actually talking about being guides, right? And Mark, and I look at ourselves kind of as guides inside the category. And you were saying how big of an element that was in the book. So tie that book, if you would a little bit to how TempurPedic has become the kind of brand that is today? And and maybe how you use some of the concepts in the book to get where
Tom Murray
you are? Yeah, it’s a great question. And I appreciate, you know, kind of your perspective on the temper brand, as well as our other brands. You know, linking it to the question about how I arrived in the mattress business, and that temper Sealy. You know, one of the things that was obviously a draw was the TempurPedic brand and the heritage of that brand that I was fortunate enough to inherit, and then you know, to have influence over. You know, the idea behind this book that you’ve referenced story brand is it’s fairly straightforward. And it is that our consumer ultimately is the hero of our story. And in the case of the business we do with, you know, retailers, they are the hero of that portion of our story. And the TempurPedic brand, when it was first developed and launched in the early 1990s was effectively a better mousetrap. It was new technology that had a number of advantages that we know about now and that have become to some extent, lore within the industry. And what it ultimately did is it helped people to get a better night’s sleep. It helped them to avoid the aches and pains or the disruptions that oftentimes got in the way of their ability to get sleep. And that’s basically the premise of you know, the story brand book that you’ve referenced and that we shared is that you know our job as the expert in the industry and certainly temper Seeley has, you know well over 100 years of collectivity. experience, you know, with some of the brands that you mentioned, and even in in temperpedic case, you know, I guess, over 30 years now of experience, were there to develop solutions that will help the consumer to achieve their goal. And then my job is to make sure that as we develop those solutions, we guide the consumer to those products. So ultimately, they can connect with the brand and benefit from what we have to offer, ultimately, with the goal of helping them to achieve that better night’s sleep that they’re looking for. And, you know, as marketers, and particularly as consumer focused marketers, it’s, it’s easy to take that point for granted. But I’ve worked in a lot of industries and companies where, particularly in technology products, you get lost in what it is that you sell, as opposed to what solution you can provide to the consumer that they’re looking for. And I think that, you know, in my experience, within temper over the last several years, we’ve been particularly mindful of what the consumer wants and needs. And then mindful about deploying our efforts accordingly, which ultimately manifests itself in products like temper breeze, and ergo smartbase. And what we’re doing to address the previously unaddressed challenges that consumers often faced, whether it be sleeping hot, or you know, a partner of snores, or what have you. And so that’s the way we think about the business. And it’s the way that we also think about our relationship with our retail partners, because we know that what they’re trying to do generally is to profitably grow their mattress business. And, you know, through our brands, through our marketing support, through the efforts of our sales team, retail edge, of course, as a focal point in the last few years, were there to help them achieve that goal. And it’s that philosophy that informs the way that we do our work and the way that we approach those discussions with our retail partners to help them drive the business.
Mark Quinn
In it, Tom, we did some research recently, I don’t know if we lost Kinsley he’s not on my screen anymore. He’ll pop back in, I’m sure. But we did some research recently 2000 consumers. And so you had said a lot of people, they are in search, right, have a better night’s sleep. But you made a really important point, which is a lot of times they don’t understand that it’s the mattress will our research, which won’t surprise you having said that, said that we asked them so like what are the best ways you can get a great night of sleep? And what are the solutions for that? And mattress was at the bottom of the list? Last dead last after exercise in nutrition? And, you know, and guess what number one was? Drugs, the sleeping pill? Right? In? So I think the obvious answer to this is messaging. But what is it about this industry, where we can’t get the consumer to really understand or appreciate that the mattress plays a direct role in great sleep, therefore better quality of life? Like, what why is that in your
Tom Murray
Yeah, you know, I’ll offer a perspective on that mark. And then I think the tide is starting to turn and we can kind of dissect the way I think the tide is turning, it’s, uh, you know, we’re talking about the ocean, right, but the tide is nonetheless turning. So if you think about the industry in the category, you know, historically, there probably hasn’t, you know, over the last 150 years been revolutionary advances in what a mattress is, or what it’s perceived to be, you know, generally speaking, if you’re not familiar with the technology, under the hood, you might not appreciate what goes into a good mattress, or maybe a mattress that isn’t as good, and how integral those differences could be to the quality of your sleep. I think people generally get it. But it’s been a relatively low interest, low credit, credited variable in the equation. Whereas, you know, my behaviors, you know, things that I do, or that are on my mind, you know, arguably much more top of mind for a consumer. And they get a lot of reinforcement about that in society, like, you know, the, the idea of, you know, these glasses that help to protect you from the blue light of your devices, increasingly, a recognition that alcohol consumption plays a role, etc. Those are probably more engaging and interesting narratives for a consumer, then maybe you’re taking something that they’ve taken for granted and trying to put it at the forefront of their mind. As then, you know, you look at what’s happened over the last couple of years. Clearly, we are seeing that consumers are increasingly appreciating the importance of health and wellness. They are living That to sleep, which is a good thing. And I think there’s a societal shift that has happened over the last several years in terms of recognizing the importance of sleep. And that I think now they’re starting to make more often a connection to their mattress. Right. And we see that in terms of the demand numbers that, you know, we’ve been benefiting from, since the second half of last year. And I have to think that that’s a byproduct of people connecting those dots, in addition to other other factors. And then I like to think again, you know, as we discussed a few minutes ago, some of the things that we are doing to talk about what a mattress can be and what it can do, I think are helping, right and I say that on behalf of TempurPedic and temper Sealy but I think as an industry there’s probably opportunity there.
Mark Quinn
You know, everyone if you’re just tuning in, we’re in here with Tom Murray, the Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer for the hottest brand inside the matches category TempurPedic temper Sealy international market. Great to see you back. I know you get cut out of there. You’re watching
Mark Kinsley
a video right there. Everything tanked. Tom carried the show. Really? Mark was the guide. And I was here to cheerlead now.
Mark Quinn
Well, no, we need your intelligence here Kinsey, because we can put it on my shoulder. Anyway, just a quick follow up Mark, what we were talking about was the fact that, you know, his comment times come in about the fact that the mattress is now you know, it’s not always the obvious answer in terms of how do I get better sleep. And I was sharing with him our research that said, not only do we agree, but the consumer does, too, because they put us last on the list. So my follow up to that whole answer their time is, how important is it? Do you think as we in the category, right, so all of us inside this crazy business? There is some element of education here that falls on all of us? Because, you know, if you if you think about it as kids like we never really learned about sleep, right? I mean, we didn’t learn about it in grade school or high school. And let’s coaches aren’t talking about it. Like, I think on average, consumers are really not that educated in terms of basic information, sleep cycles, and caffeine halflife. So what role do you think we inside the industry play in terms of helping consumers realize the power of sleep? And then the products we sell to deliver on that promise? Yeah,
Tom Murray
it’s a great question. I think we play a role. And I think we can play more of a role. I don’t think we can, you know, ship perception and behavior alone, I think that, you know, the whole field of sleep science, you know, the whole field of sleep tracking is still in its relatively formative stages. And so I think that we can help and be part of that discussion, and maybe be a catalyst for, you know, people appreciating it. And, of course, we have interest in doing so right. Because I think what we are seeing is that in the last year and a half, as I referenced, people have been more willing to open their wallet and to invest in their sleep and into invest in their mattress as an important part of getting a better night’s sleep. And, you know, we’re at a moment in time, I don’t know how long the moment in time lasts for. But I think we have both an opportunity and a need to keep that notion, top of mind for consumers. Because we have a responsibility socially to do so. But I also think that the needs of the business for us all will, to some extent, be influenced by how effectively we do so.
Mark Kinsley
So let’s go there for a minute. When you talk about tracking and technology, a lot of people look at innovation in our industry, as a driver of consumer interest. I think that can certainly be the case. And then you have another course of people, many of them consumers who say I just want something I know is going to work. How does TSI. Think about those two worlds? How they combine the importance of technology in a mattress, both in terms of driving the category forward and for the consumer? And how do those worlds weave together these people that are I want something that works versus I’m an early adopter, and I think about the techie side of things.
Tom Murray
Yeah, I mean, I guess to some extent, and I come from, again, technology industries, you’re always gonna have some segment of early adopters who may be inclined to do you know, kind of tracking of their, you know, their health, their their fitness activities, in this case, their sleep. I don’t think that’s what gets you kind of across the chasm, as it were, and as it’s often kind of discussed, as technologies take, you know, hold in society. What I go back to then is, innovation isn’t necessarily as effective when it’s innovation for its sake, because it’s possible. Then if it’s for the sake of the consumer And therefore I go back to what can innovation or technology do to help consumers address maybe problems that they have, or address opportunities in this case that they have to get smarter about their sleep. And if we can leverage innovation and technology in such a way, and then educate the consumer about its legitimate merits, in the industry to help them, then I think we’re much more likely to see traction. And that that innovation could take the form, again, of the cooling technologies we built into temper breeze, or, you know, the automatic sensing and responding to snoring. In the case of our Ergo smartbase, product, all of those have a fairly clear consumer benefit. And that benefit is one that addresses an acute need that they have. And that’s the way you gain traction. You know, it’s cliche, but you’ve probably heard that people don’t buy drills, they buy holes, right? consumers aren’t looking for a better drill. They’re looking for a better hole, like a quarter inch hole, right? In this case, they’re not looking for technology for its sake. Some of them might be, they’re looking for a better night’s sleep. And so that’s in this, you know, parallel, that’s the hole. And so if we address that hole, and we happen to do so through innovation, then that’s where the potential lies.
Mark Kinsley
So, in the internally, how much do you think about personal transformations? I think we’re all at some level, thinking about the experiences we create at retail, and how you make those experiences better how you make them more demonstrable and interactive, and nobody’s better than that, over the years, to repeat expense. Phenomenal at that scene, he’s done some really great things with making it demonstrable and tying that to a benefit. But how do you think about personal transformation people going from I’m an awful sleeper, to all of those small steps that they don’t often associate with a mattress, but being important in the nuts in the mattress industry, trying to take a little bit of credit for that and help them transform their lives. How do you think about that within the walls of TSI?
Tom Murray
Yeah, I’m not sure that I think about it exactly, as you’ve posed the question. So I’ve tried to, you know, maybe address the question. You know, you’ve gotten the sense that we think a lot about the consumer and their, you know, wants and needs. Along the way, we’ve also done a lot of work. And this is, you know, part and parcel to retail edge and the principles behind retail edge, to understand the consumer journey. Right, you know, what are the triggers that prompt them to look for a new mattress? Or to question whether they need a new mattress? Where and how do they go about doing their homework to understand what’s available to them? Where and how might that be something that we in the industry? Are we within temper, Sealy can address? How do we then, you know, communicate that? And what do we say what parts of their journey in order to ensure that we’re nurturing them along? I think that’s part of the answer, Mark, like, I don’t know that the entirety of the answer, but I think breaking things down and viewing, you know, things from the consumers viewpoint. And then also the process by which they go about engaging with us engaging with retailers engaging at retail, and with the product, I think the better we can get it, understanding those things, and addressing where there’s an opportunity to do it better, or do it more thoroughly, or do it in a way that links to bigger ideas about the importance of sleep, and how you get a better night’s sleep, then I think that the better will be at the end of the day. And the more that the industry’s performance and our retail partners performance will serve as a testament to it.
Mark Quinn
You know, as it relates to return, you talked about what you’re doing to John Byrne in his group at your retail Edge program. I Mark and I are both so impressed with that, because one of the things you and I common ground when we first met and that great conversation we had in Vegas was the guide aspect. And I was saying, you know, TempurPedic has really done some cool stuff in terms of how they’re approaching retailers. And you know, you’re always evolving and things are improving. But they retail edge has been really great for you guys, and you’re going in and really trying to be a guide and consult with them and saying, Okay, here’s your business, and this is your path, and here are the tools we’ve created for you. And I just think that’s such a smart approach to that. What’s the reaction been from the retail community as you’ve continued, you know, developing those tools and, you know, how, what kind of impact do you think it’s had for for TSI?
Tom Murray
Yeah, I mean, I think you’ve hit the nail on the head already, Mark, like the feedback has been very, very positive. You know, let’s put ourselves back You know, at the time where the idea of retail edge was, you know, first formed, and then the organization rallied behind it, you know, no secret that, you know, pick a number four or five years ago, as an industry, we were looking at fairly dramatic transformation of what was happening, new channels of distribution were opening up, enabled, primarily by compressed bedding, that gave the consumer more choices, it gave them the opportunity to maybe buy a product without having even to go into a showroom and interface with a sales associate, you know, more information than ever was being disseminated into the marketplace, in the form of advertising and or content. norms were being questioned and challenged in terms of the role of, you know, so called Legacy players, like temper Seeley and others the role of traditional retail. And so, you know, we as, as a company, and as a leader in the industry, we had to answer questions about like, Well, how do we evolve in order to adapt to the changing circumstance? And then how might we help others to evolve? Right. And it probably shown some, some light on areas that, you know, we probably had to reevaluate the traditional ways that we, we did business and went to market. And I think that’s been a good thing, right, I think it’s been a good thing. And so, retail edge to a large extent, is our body of learning and our body of knowledge that we’re now sharing with our retail partners, to help them evolve and evolve more quickly, and to know where to, you know, where to deploy their, their energy and resources, right, you know, if you’re a small retailer, you know, maybe a family operation or a very small, you know, kind of local or regional player, you may not have the wherewithal to do consumer research, you may not have the size or maybe the perspective of, you know, a large corporations marketing organization. And so, you know, the retail edge is a way of helping everybody kind of learn and adapt and focus their energy more quickly. Right. And, you know, then of course, you know, COVID and all the things that happened early last year with lockdowns happened. And, you know, if it weren’t obvious to us as a collective that we needed to, you know, move quickly, what happened during lockdown certainly reinforced that the the need to engage with consumers digitally, you know, both in general, and maybe even to conduct the consultative sale, the need to ensure that you are addressing consumers, concerns about hygiene and safety when they went back to, to the stores, the need to have ecommerce capabilities in combination with your brick and mortar capabilities. All of these things are very consistent with the premise of what we’re doing within retail edge. And it was both, unfortunately, timely. And I think very well received that we were there to serve as those retailers guide. Both before and since, you know, the COVID phenomena has, you know, impact impacted us all.
Mark Kinsley
Tom, as you’ve been in industry, obviously, during a very tumultuous time for everyone. And then, very unexpectedly, the mattress industry boomed. And I say that because I remember talking to John Byrne from your team, and I said, of all the smart people in the halls of TSI, did anybody predict that the mattress industry would take off like a rocket ship during lockdown and beyond? And he said, No, sure enough, not so much. I’m like, not a single person I’ve I’ve spoken with has said that they would have predicted that. But as you look back on your four years, even during this wild time, what are the things that you’ve put your creative stamp on that you’re most proud of?
Tom Murray
I think it goes a little bit back to what we talked about before, which is, you know, we are we aren’t developing advertisements, for example, is one output of a marketing organization to go when Fe awards or other industry awards. That’s not what we’re trying to do. I’m not trying to inspire you with the most shocking piece of creative, you know, output or to do what you know, you might see in a Superbowl ad, typically from, you know, brands that advertise their
Mark Quinn
Well, we’re or get hybrid rap video, for instance, what we’re
Tom Murray
trying to do is we’re trying to guide people to solutions, and we happen to believe that we’ve got great solutions. And so it’s just a matter of connecting those dots like, here’s what we believe you need because we’ve done the research, we’ve done the homework. We’re insightful, we have experienced people in marketing in return. Research and Development in product, you know, manufacturing, etc. And so we’re just trying to connect those things to help the consumer. And what we have found is that approach is working. And every indicator in terms of the business metrics and the brand metrics would suggest that it’s working. And it’s actually ironically, by taking a fundamental approach to the marketing opportunity and challenge we add, that we actually broke through the clutter. And so I’m most proud of that I’m most proud of the fundamentals, and the way that we are helping retailers during, you know, these times, and the way that our brands are helping them to drive their business. That’s what I’m most proud of, by far.
Mark Kinsley
What a unexpected answer. And I say that because you know, if you go back to the direct to consumer days of temperpedic, whenever it was doing direct response, TV advertising, getting people to call in, you had to be able to demonstrate the product he had to create, be able to create a lot of interest and attention around what that did for people and create some some real attention grabbing, compelling messaging. And, and not Not that that’s not happening today. It’s just kind of fascinating to hear, in a land where so many people are going for still shocking, or just to cut through the clutter. You’ve looked at taking a more fundamental approach. Is that an appeal to the logical side of people? Are the consumers evolving? In a saturated social media landscape? What do you make of that, Tom?
Tom Murray
You know, I’ve tried to, like break it down simply like if, if I were selling you, I guess I’ll use a mattress as an example. Because it’s obvious and it’s relevant. But you know, if I said to you, Mark, like, Hey, you should buy a TempurPedic. Because the best you’d say, okay, you know, and you might wonder why it’s the best, okay. And if I don’t tell you why it’s the best, then, you know, you may or may not be convinced. And, and then if you know, brand, X or Y, or Z, especially at a time where, you know, we were, we had so many different brands launching into the industry, and trying to get their, their piece of the pie, say, Well, we’re the best. Well, if anything, you’re now confused. Right? And, and you have questions about why one can say that the best over the other. And, you know, when I looked at the answers to those questions, you know, within the industries messaging, I didn’t see a lot of compelling answers to why one brand should or would be perceived as better than the others. And so you go back to what you call out about TempurPedic, you know, brand that’s been around for three decades, you know, that had a very relevant message that resonated with people back in the early 90s. It was a better mousetrap, right? And what they did is they explained why, you know, Bobby Trussell and, and the team, they explained why. And so I guess what we’ve done is just again, to say, like, just telling you that we’re the best doesn’t really mean anything. And if anything, probably makes you scratch your head. But if instead of saying we were the best, I said, a mark helped me understand the things that get in the way of you getting good night’s sleep. And if you said, Well, you know, I’ve got a giant dog, and it jumps into bed, and it disturbs me, and wakes, you know, wakes me up, and say, okay, and then I’d say, Well, what else? Well, you know, even in the wintertime, I sleep hot. I don’t know why that happens. But she’s asleep hot. And I wake up, and I’m drenched. And I, you know, I toss and turn and I flip the pillow over. Or hey, you know, something like, you know, my partner snores or always says that I’m snoring. Okay, well, if instead of them telling you that we’re the best, I said, Well, you know, something, I have a solution that addresses any one of those situations in isolation, and possibly all three, you’re probably more willing to spend your time and attention hearing me out. And you’re probably going to be more motivated to consider us. And so it’s fairly fundamental, but that’s what we do.
Mark Quinn
And, you know, it’s really being specific and targeting the problem to your point earlier, right? It’s the size of the hole. So Tom, is as we just came off in a fantastic year, like, what is your like, if you’re coaching the industry, like, what do you think we need? How do we keep the momentum going? And what would you like to say to this industry say, Hey, guys, we’re coming up a great year. Let’s keep it up. What what is the push?
Tom Murray
You know, um, you know, I don’t come on the show. I appreciate the invitation so that I can like, you know, show 10 Percy Lee’s cards for how we go to market. That’s not the intent. Now, I think itself, the question what what we’re doing in the marketplace, and so I presume that, you know, people would see and understand kind of what we’re doing. And the reason I mentioned that Mark, is because to some extent, I think just as we’ve done with retail edge, we’re creating maybe some case studies and some fact based learning that the industry has You know, hopefully our retail partners can benefit from and maybe apply to how they go to market. You know, what we’ve learned is focus on the consumer. And the consumer has legitimate needs, and they’re looking for help, but they don’t know exactly where to look. And maybe they’re not looking at mattresses as as much as they should, as a variable that may be influencing them. And that can actually help them. And so we’re at a moment in time, like never before were health and wellness, the recognition of the importance of sleep, and the linkage, all still, albeit still relatively low to the mattress are all tailwinds to us. They’re all working to our collective advantage. Who knows what 22 Will, you know, hold for us all who knows what 2023 will hold in store for us all. But I think there are things that we’ve learned, you know, in the last two years, that we should continue to apply to the business moving forward. And if we can lean into telling the story of how mattresses can help, how particular mattresses can help. And starting, first of all, with an appreciation for like what the consumer is trying to do in qualifying that consumer, I think we’ll be pleasantly surprised, perhaps by how effectively we can sustain some of the volume and average selling price trends that we’ve we’ve seen in the last, you know, 18 months or so.
Mark Kinsley
Well, Tom, it’s been great having you on the show today. And I know you’re on LinkedIn, and so people want to get synched up with you. And of course, we will be posting all the information like Tom’s LinkedIn and some things like that, where you can get in touch with him on fam dot news and Quinn Hey, before we roll out, we got to say a big shout out and thank you to our friends at Colonial promotions.com I’ve been drinking off. Okay, I just said that that is sound really bad. I’ve been drinking my water today, out of this dose Marcos coaster, I know you’ve got four of those as well. And these are just little examples of some of the coolest stuff they got at Colonial promotions.com Here’s the reality, they source all the good stuff for you. So you don’t have to sift through 36,000 coffee mugs and wonder which one’s gonna be the best. So they’re really cool people as well, Wes and Tim and the whole crew at Colonial promotions, calm. Appreciate you guys and they do lots of top of bed stuff too for anybody, anybody in our industry.
Mark Quinn
Good enough, Tom, thanks a lot. Anything else you want to leave us with anything? We didn’t ask you?
Tom Murray
I think you you asked everything that I’d hoped and hopefully your listeners and audience will, you know take some value from the discussion and you know, at a minimum know that temper Seeley is here to help. And we’ve got you know, the tools, the expertise and the you know, the willingness and ability to lean in and hopefully sustain you know, much of the success that we’ve all enjoyed over the last couple of years.
Mark Quinn
Last question for you, Tom. Have you ever ever been on a better mattress podcast in your career?
Tom Murray
You know, I’ve been on many mattress podcast, you know, I’ve evaluated a lot of them, but you guys are head and shoulders above anything else that I’ve seen or certainly participated in and it makes me glad that I that I decided to join the mattress industry and and have the opportunity to talk to you about
Mark Kinsley
now that is a recommendation and I know that TempurPedic is known for its recommendations from its users. So that stands out for me.
Tom, thanks you’re appreciate the time take care.
