Our online selling team has arrived at the High Point Market, driving, flying and crawling in from Ohio, Michigan and Florida. As we reviewed the opening headlines, I caught a FURNITUREToday story about CSN Stores’ geo-targeted advertising program. It’s exciting to see this new frontier of furniture sales continue to grow! I’m thankful these guys continue to drag the furniture industry forward.
I found the opposite end of the spectrum today at website for a furniture retailer whom we help in several other areas of media. Here’s what every single page on their site says about online pricing:
Online Pricing – For a variety of reasons, including manufacturer restrictions, technical issues, and constant change, we are unable to quote prices online or by email. Please contact us or visit our store for assistance. Any of our friendly and knowledgeable associates will be glad to assist you.
The disclaimer linked to a contact form with 11 – count ‘em: 11! – required fields before a customer could even ask the price of a sofa or mattress set. Seriously? What is this dealer thinking? This disclaimer appears 2,130 times on their website!
Here’s what their customer hears:
“Because my prices are a sham and I try to shake you for as much as you’ll tolerate, and because I want your personal information so I can spam you, you must fill out this invasive form before I’ll tell you my top-secret price that may be lower next week, you’ll just have to contact me again and see –
This is clearly a case of a furniture store owner receiving bad advice from someone who doesn’t know how to speak to customers.