Before the recent election, my friend Ed Tashjian let me know about an article he wrote, “Five Lessons Marketers Can Learn from Trump.” Ed, who happens to have worked on a project for Mr. Trump back in the 1980s, now runs a strategic marketing and business development consulting firm specializing in the home furnishing’s industry.
The article includes the following five “marketing strategy and execution” ideas he gleaned from President-Elect Trump’s recent campaign. Each has some relevance to home furnishings marketing.
• Great marketing always begins with segmentation and targeting.
• Effective branding requires meaningful differentiation and authentic positioning.
• You can also win by repositioning your competition.
• The most effective propaganda [branding] is often clear messaging without substance.
• To harness the power of the media you must understand what drives the media.
Ed wrote, “Whether you like him or not, he is a superb marketer.”
As we’ve noted many times before in these pages, even furniture retailers with huge ad budgets fail to effectively differentiate themselves with exciting, easy to understand and well delivered branding.
You may not want your messages to be as controversial as those delivered in the recent political campaign, but you should want them to be clear, confident and convincing. If you think your store can make “American Homes Great Again”, find a way to let everyone in your target demographic know. And, if you want to check out additional insights in Ed’s article, send an email to russ@furninfo.com. I will reply with a link.
Editorial Director/CEO
Russell Bienenstock is Editor-in-Chief of Furniture World Magazine, founded 1870. Comments can be directed to him at editor@furninfo.com.