HFA Insights Podcast

Congress and the Trump administration are preparing another Covid-19 relief package. The Home Furnishings Association's Washington representative, Chris Andresen, and government relations liaison Doug Clark discuss what furniture retailers need and what's likely to come.

Ken Widger, MicroD's Senior Marketing Program Manager, shares his insight on how retailers are coping during this current crisis, the technology that brought success for many retailers, and a message of hope coming into the recovery. Ken discusses the changes retailers are already making--with some great results--to their digital commerce and how to take what we learned from this crisis into the future of your business. 

www.myhfa.org/covid19

www.microdinc.com

Everyone is trying to figure out what the “new normal” will look like when your stores reopen. What will recovery look like to you and your customers? What product categories will be available? What will be most in demand? How can you prepare? Industry analyst and icon Jerry Epperson answers these questions and more in this podcast “Readying for the Recovery”. HFA Executive Vice President Mark Schumacher will talk with Epperson about when he thinks stores will ramp up again, what he predicts the industry’s Asian and domestic supply chains will look like, and how that will impact your showroom.

In the evolution of the customer journey how are you currently touching your customers?  In this episode, Ken Widger, Marketing Program Manager at MicroD will discuss how the customer journey has changed and how to keep your brand visible at every step of the way in this new journey.  You will learn what touch points are, how to utilize, measure and adjust them to keep your store top of mind when your customer is ready to buy.

www.myhfa.org

www.microdinc.com

The threat from online retailers like Wayfair is not a game to home furnishing businesses, but it is a “gaming” attitude they are turning to find ways to connect with their customers.   

Patrick Clark is a senior technical artist for Wayfair. His background is in video gaming, which might give you an idea of how they think about the customer experience at Wayfair. What can you do to compete with that or what takeaways can help in your daily brick and mortar business?

We tackle that when we talk with Patrick on The 20.

Could you increase sales through psychology? The scientists at Neurofied think so. At their Brain and Behavior Academy in Amsterdam they are working to help retailers understand their customers.

The core idea is that everything people-related can be analyzed and improved in terms of attention, perception, decisions and memory. Maybe it’s as simple as the colors your sales teams wear to the way you display home furnishings to the smell of our store.

On The 20 we talk with Philip Jordanov, a cognitive neuropsychologist with Neurofied to dig into this brain based selling tool.

In this episode we talk with the merchandising master Stephen Riley, formerly of Nebraska Furniture Mart and May Companies. He talks about his experiences in merchandising, watching trends and how building relationships with people are the key to success.  Stephen discusses the mentors that have shaped his career and the advice he gives to others.

For more podcasts, webinars, and educational events visit www.myhfa.org

Heading to High Point? HFA members Andy McCurry (McCurry Furniture) and Jake Jabs (American Furniture Warehouse), and High Point Market’s Ashley Grigg offer a few tips and tricks in our special-edition podcast. For market seminars, events and Solution Partners, visit the Resource Center on the first floor of Plaza Suites or click here: www.myhfa.org/high-point-market/

One of the goals of every furniture retailer is creating repeat business. In this episode, we learn how furniture retailers are building loyalty with Rewards Loyalty Program.   You will discover how a loyalty program works in a furniture store, how retailers are utilizing and find success with this program.