Extra! Extra! Read all about it – the June newsletter is out. Many of you have shared your marketing challenges with us, which is why we’ve made it a point to include some helpful marketing resources, such as our recorded Effective Kitchen Marketing Webinar with...
As you may recall, CompanionCabinet joined forces with Custom Cupboards to host a webinar on Marketing Effectively in the Kitchen and Bath Industry. For those of you who weren’t able to make it, or if you’d just like to watch it again, we’ve made it available online....
We’ve all been there, you begin working with a customer and it seems like a match made in heaven. You understand their wants and needs, you both have the same design vision, and you even agree on a price. The thought, “This is the best customer I’ve had in a while!”...
K+BB Collective published an article written by Nick Ritota in their Designers’ Corner titled, “What is your brand?” Nicks article focuses on how to burn your brand into the minds of your target consumers. Develop your brand Nick covers when to start...
Move over sales and marketing – it’s designs turn. First we gave you eBooks on the top errors with sales and marketing and how to fix them, but now it’s time to focus on design. Our latest eBook offering, The 4M Kitchen Designer’s Handbook,...
During good times, we all get fat. Not necessarily body fat, but more specifically, business fat. When business is good, we tend to ignore it, and it continues to accumulate. Kitchen and bath professionals concentrate on sales and ignore the numerous small things that...
When I first moved in with my wife, I had a bit of a bachelor’s pad. As the months rolled into our first year together she finally mustered the courage to ask me about some tiny pewter figurines I had in random places throughout the house. “They’re...
Where’s the beef? A rash of dealers as of late have been paying SEO vendors for better search rankings so they can get more traffic. These SEO firms sell the myth that with some special words in some special places, along with their voodoo magic, they can get...
Manufacturer’s co-op programs are mostly ineffective in the kitchen and bath industry. You place some newspaper ads or circulars, perhaps a radio or TV spot, and mostly end up with a lot of wasted dollars, (or worse yet, a pile of swag) at the end of the year. Some of...
Well, we won’t actually give you a million dollars, but we think we can find $50K in errors for every million dollars of business you currently do (see rules for participation). And we’re pretty much calling out the industry to accept our challenge! What’s...
Have you heard the latest in kitchen and bath industry marketing news? Custom Cupboards recently teamed up with us to endorse Momentum, our marketing solution for kitchen and bath dealers. Better yet, they’ve decided to allow dealers to use their co-op dollars toward...
The Law of Diminishing Returns The old ways of doing things in the kitchen and bath industry get less and less effective with each passing day. Any incremental gains industry owners do make to these business processes achieve a net negative to their operation (i.e....
So many factors send ripples through the markets, affecting jobs, housing, stocks, commodities, banking and prices. There are opportunities for some, misery for many. Although this year may prove to be better than recent years, it is important to keep your eyes...
Sometimes you just need a little evidence to prove a theory. One theory that we hear a lot is that marketing for cabinet dealers is broken. We believe that it’s not the marketing, it’s the method. Cabinet dealers, remodelers and contractors are...
In March, a somewhat heated debate was sparked between kitchen and bath industry experts alike. The topic of discussion – How relevant is the NKBA? The responses instantly started pouring in and people quickly set up camp on one side or the other, revealing their...
There’s a lot of chatter hitting the wire these days about innovation – and how as human beings we aren’t really geared towards taking the risks we need to take because we have an inherent fear of losing, which overrides our desires for gain. This was first...
In part 1, we summarized the first section of Michael Werner’s State of the Industry Address from KBIS 2012, including data points and some of what we can look forward to. Part 2 digs deeper into the intended message. “As times change, so do consumer preferences”...
Many think KBIS is dying a slow, ugly death. Just about everybody has mentioned it at one point. So is that the case? Are we seeing less and less each year or will KBIS make a recovery? Here were my random observations as a last minute exhibitor at KBIS this year:...
KBIS may have seemed smaller this year, but the message emanating from the 2012 State of the Industry Address by Globe Union’s president and CEO, Michael Werner, was anything but – with a heavy stress on how technology is affecting the world and the way people...
Has it already been a year since Las Vegas? Time sure flies. But that same time has allowed us to grow, and this year we have much more to offer you. Get CEUS As many of you may already know, CompanionCabinet’s 4M Sales Process is NKBA certified, and this year, due...
What is the reasoning behind a consumer purchase? This is an important piece of the puzzle; a necessary piece of every successful kitchen project. How and why is this such an important detail in kitchen remodeling? Finding consumer motive will help you successfully...
Equilibrium, it’s your birthday Another year has passed Advancing more and more each day You’re growing really fast You’ve added many features Since last year’s birthday rhyme Making dealer’s lives better And saving them more time Service Orders are a snap Receiving...
With kitchen cabinet sales still down, it has become extremely easy to find excuses to avoid traveling to professional trade shows: your car won’t survive the trip; the airfare is too high; your family needs you at home, etc. You may, however, be missing out on a...
Obviously if more people start making the magazine cutouts they’ve glued to their vision boards and reference books into real-life replicas, you’re going to have to gear up for an up-tick in business. That means, it’s time for you to take a long hard look at your...
