Love Furniture Profits Tip: Do you shop at Trader Joe’s?

Furniture World News Desk on 6/27/2015

Being from California, I was very used to shopping at TJ’s and couldn’t wait for one to open here in Columbia, SC, which one did about two years ago.

They have stores in 40 states with more on the way. They are hugely successful. In a recent survey, Trader Joe’s was named the best grocery chain in the country. If you’re lucky enough to be able to shop there, you'll instantly see why. When you hit the door, you can feel the energy. Beautiful displays. Striking graphics (signs). Great prices. Items you can't get anywhere else. My wife Jerry and I are currently enjoying organic strawberries from Watsonville, CA. Young and not so young people running round in Hawaiian shirts. You can’t walk three feet without one of them asking if they can help you find something. There’s never a wait to check out.

If only a furniture or mattress store could have that kind of energy.

But . . . all that said . . . this is not why I'm telling you about TJ’s. Why are you, you might be thinking and what does all this have to do with furniture advertising?

Here’s why and what.

One thing you also notice when you hit the door is a stack of Fearless Flyers. If you don’t know already, these are monthly newsletters slash ads. Nothing fancy. Printed on thin, re-cycled newsprint. The one I'm looking at right now is 24 pages. They don’t do the usual grocery newspaper advertising. In fact, a Fearless Flyer looks nothing like the typical grocery ad. One of the reasons for their remarkable success is the Fearless Flyer.

Why is that, you ask? Good question I answer.

I can’t show you a Fearless Flyer here, but if you’ll shoot me an email with “Fearless Flyer” in the subject line, I’ll send you a PDF of a couple of pages.

Count how many words of selling copy in your last ad. I'm not talking about the store name, or Sale, or your address, or the name of the products, like Mattress or Sofa. I'm talking about selling copy. I’m guessing the number is pretty close to zero!

Want to know how many words are used to describe a $1.99 jar of pizza sauce in a Fearless Flyer? I counted 184. It may be a few more, maybe a few less. I lost count.

It’s really important for you to get this: it’s not just any words. It’s not words for words sake. They must be the right ones. They must give you information. They must tell you the benefits you’ll enjoy. They must weave the dream. This issue of FF is all about pizza, so they tell you how much you'll enjoy the pizza. They also mention the dough, veggies, meats, mozzarella and so on. (Upsell?) The second article (ad?) on this page is about chips that could go with pizza. 144 words talking about a $2.99 bag of tortilla chips.

Do you think it’s easier to sell a $1499 dining room . . . or a $499 mattress set . . . or a $799 leather recliner . . . or a $599 sofa . . . or, or, or, than it is to sell a $1.99 jar of pizza sauce.

The entire issue is the same. Page after page, product after product, of selling copy. You think Trader Joe’s believes no one will read all that copy. Hardly!

When you get it, study the PDF very carefully. Apply the principles in your next ad. See why people flock to buy that pizza sauce and chips. By-the-way, the store also has a very dramatic display right inside the entrance with salsa to go with the chips. And Signs. Selling Signs. The lack of Selling Signs in furniture stores is a crime. That’s a topic for whole nother article.

For much more on this and other topics and to get your free copy of his new Special Report, “5 Success Steps to Creating Advertising that Sells Furniture and Makes You Money,” go to www.lovefurnitureprofits.com. David can be reached at 803-764-3977. david@lovefurnitureprofits.com.

About David Love and Love Furniture Profits. Love Furniture Profits is an advertising consulting and coaching firm which works with independent furniture and mattress stores to help them slash advertising waste and pocket more profits. You're probably good at what you do; buying, display, sales training, deliveries. All the normal store functions. If you’re frustrated with lack of ad response he can help.

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