Aside from regular marketing such as magazines, Facebook, newspapers, TV and the like, most businesses at some stage receive the potential for business through referrals. Some businesses receive more than others and for very good reasons, they have learnt to cherish the one commodity that is their lifeline, their customers.
However there is another side to the referrals that everyone is involved in, which perhaps doesn’t have the results they are looking for – but why? Many independent designers and retailers send their potential clients to the larger appliance stores so their clients can be looked after with product supply and advice. But with a growing percentage of designers operating on a “fee for design” many designers are becoming disgruntled with the results of these actions. These designers live and die through their ability to recommend / specify certain design aspects as well as appliance recommendations. What is increasingly happening is the appliance retailers are changing their recommendations (mostly on the strength of profit) and thereby questioning the choices the designer made in the first place.
It’s a dangerous game to play – appliance stores will supply product “on consignment’ to retail design stores in return for the chance to sell to your clients – but at what cost? If a consumer is paying you a hefty design fee for your expertise, what are they going to thing when your product recommendations are switched?
Two weeks ago I was contacted by an independent designer who had just lost a client because of this very reason – they had secured the design fee but the opportunity to see the project through to completion (and therefore maximise the profit) was taken from them due to the appliance retailer switching his choice for a more profitable product – the customer immediately questioned the integrity of the designer’s work and went elsewhere!
Appliance retailers must recognise the product recommendations designers suggest – to change is a dangerous game as this designer in question has now taken his business elsewhere – conservatively estimated at over $2 million per annum.
How do you manage your product recommendations to your “favoured” appliance retailer?
Let us know !
