Atrium Foliage is celebrating our move into a permanent showroom in the C&D Building in High Point this spring, capping a year of growth that included expanding our sales rep base and launching a licensed line with the Smithsonian Institution.

We also left behind a crummy hole-in-the-wall warehouse that flooded during every rain storm, with our computers up on pallets, out of the wet, and moved into a real industrial park and into a real manufacturing facility, with what my husband describes as his fleet of fork lifts (two, count ‘em, two.)  And of course, we did what every growing company has to do…we invested in more fancy-schmantzy software and hardware, which takes longer to install than expected and is more complicated than we were led to believe. Like many of you, we’ve been schlepping along that bumpy road to growth with our hearts in our throats and our hands on our wallets. Herewith, I share some of the tenets of marketing that have guided our growth.

Since discussions of marketing are viewed as dry, droll, data-driven dissertations by dweebs, it seemed imperative to begin with a sizzling success story that succinctly makes the case for marketing. None occurred to me. Marketing and sales only sizzle in retrospect. So, I’m left to dissertate the cold, hard truths of our marketing experience.
  
Gorilla Tactics

Contrary to the oft-quoted phrase, gorillas do not sit anywhere they want to. I know something of gorilla practices.

While in PR at the Cincinnati Zoo some years ago, I did my share of baby gorilla toting, diaper changing and bottle feeding for photo opps and TV interviews.  It was part of my job to explain that gorillas are an endangered species, fighting to survive in a highly competitive, rapidly changing environment which is under constantly increasing pressures from outside forces invading their turf.  To survive in their natural habitats, gorillas retreated into safer niches overlooked by others because they are more difficult and time consuming to access.  In short, gorillas sit where it is safe to sit.

This is the strategy it seemed prudent to adopt when we bought a failing tree manufacturer seven years ago, which was selling pitiful ficus trees for about $18.
As “pre-mades” from offshore arrived by the container load and were available in every big box store at bargain prices, the price-driven product turf was certainly invaded by overwhelming outside forces. As the venerable scion of a renowned U.S.-based furniture manufacturing company quipped, “I used to know exactly who my competitors were. Now, my competition is anyone with a plane ticket to Asia.”

Clearly, the marketing landscape had changed forever. So we went looking for a safe place to sit in a niche overlooked by others, and we had to rely on marketing techniques gleaned from previous experience in other industries.

Bottom-up Marketing

We operate from a “bottom-up” marketing philosophy prevalent in the service sector, which is where we spent most of our careers.  By contrast, “top-down” marketing begins with a broad, mass market approach to generate leads, followed by widespread prospecting, emphasizing the pitch and the close.

Bottom-up marketing begins by profiling and understanding “buyer values” of a segment and then develops an approach specific to that group. Since the product and service mix more closely parallel what the buyer wants in the first place, the sell cycle is shortened. You have also effectively converted a “product” into a service, which cultivates a loyal customer base. This approach requires more time, patience and discipline than a mass market strategy, but focuses advertising, direct mail and prospecting resources on the most likely prospects, which is critical to a growing and cash-strapped business. (With our budget, “mass market” means going to Mass and praying for a great market!)

We discovered that designers, decorators and smaller retailers were largely overlooked because of perceived service barriers, such as smaller orders and more intense hand holding. And, we learned that while price was a consideration, quality, design, turnaround and flexibility were far more important to them.  Since these buyers have different priorities, that meant a shift in standard operating procedures.

First, we responded by eliminating minimum orders and reorders, which was contrary to conventional wisdom. Sales increased.  

We continued to listen. They also needed designs to complement transitional furniture and requests for natural, hassle-free accessories that complement changing lifestyles. Since we build everything to order North of Atlanta, we can fine-tune our designs quickly in response to trends. We do not make a bet on a particular design, build quantities overseas, import by the container load and expect sales reps to push product. We can turn on a dime and that turns a perceived barrier into a benefit to our core customer. Sales increased.

As we re-niched ourselves, we welcomed buyers with fabric samples and floor plans in hand, asking for advice. Problem solving, for color, size, deadlines and budgets became our stock in trade. Sales increased.

We freed-up more of our time to work directly with customers and sought sales reps who shared the same philosophy of customer service. (Spare us, please from the invasive species, “Territoriaus Rep,” whose aggressive sales techniques are history.)  Sales increased.

We re-thought our approach to our showrooms at Market. Buyers are dead tired, on a mission, on a budget, on a tight schedule, in a different time zone, with a chocolate buzz, slightly hung over even if teetotalers, with a growing aversion to crudités, ranch dressing and small talk. We provide the space to allow buyers to mull over colors, size and budget constraints, customers’ tastes. We decreed that buyers be left alone for the first two minutes in our showroom vs. a frontal assault with words “Just let me know if you have any questions.” Sales increased. 

We learned to be open to customer observations and suggestions. Some of our designs are named after the individuals who have suggested them. We are redesigning our catalogs, based on how our customers actually use them.
 
Conversion of the Cubic Rube

There is a saying in the investment business that you need to know when you are good and when you are just lucky.  We thank our lucky stars we were in the right place as retailing shifted from being driven from sales-per-square-foot to sales-per-cubic-foot.

The conversion of the cubic rube to rubbles changed accessory buying.

Our buyers knew that they could improve cash flow by filling space vertically and horizontally, in their stores and in the customer’s homes. Accessories, previously dismissed as props, display and overhead became an important profit component.  We heard less from the buyer who complained that they could not sell the two sticks with a few leaves loosely referred to as a ficus, or the dusty blue roses in the wobbly vase.  (Really? No kidding. Wonder why?) Instead, the cry of, “Eureka! I’ve placed the Areca!” went up across the design landscape. Larger retailers took notice of tabletop real estate generating cash flow and began to request specific looks to complement their lifestyle packages.

And we also made tough decisions about who not to work with, because of pricing or delivery constraints that would affect our core customers. They have been loyal to us and deserve respect. Walking away from money on the table can be a very wise marketing decision.

These are hard lessons we’ve learned from years marketing public accounting, money management, financial and legal services. And, of course from my friends, the gorillas, who get such a bum rap.

Mostly, however, we learn from our customers.  They have been our secret, smartest marketing strategy to date.

Now, may we all find a safe place to sit.

 
About Kathy Lang Albright:

Kathy Lang Albright is co owner, along with her husband Bob, of Atrium Foliage, based in Norcross, Georgia.  In addition to her stint at the Cincinnati Zoo, she worked at the “The Cincinnati Enquirer” and “The Cincinnati Post,” where she was a business editor, and has been a frequent commentator on NPR.  Her most recent article appeared in House Beautiful’s “Thoughts of Home” column. Kathy's marketing background includes executive and consulting positions with mutual fund companies, Arthur Andersen, Deloitte & Touche, Aon , Merrill Lynch,  and The American Bar Association, among others.