Who are the champions, my friend?

Be a Champion

I was recently in a meeting with a prospective client who was interested in using our company to produce a new publication for them. After several hours of interaction concerning the plan and our collaboration I asked a very telling question. Who was going to be the champion of this publication? Who was going to have the passion to work the long hours with no guarantee that advertisers or readers would even care about the content? Who was going to make it happen?

The question was answered by one of the client team, but I wasn't sure they really understood the question or even what it would take to do a startup.

Right now, as our industry continues to mature, I ask the same question of you. Are you still a champion of this category? Do you have the same passion for this product you had five, ten, twenty years ago? Are you willing to defend yourself against our detractors who claim futons are just a pile of low end, promotional junk? I am.

Futon Life has always attempted to promote the best image possible for this category and we have succeeded at doing just that. But try as we might, the preponderance of visual images that reach the consumer are not as good. With the furniture industry in a slump, even during this splendid economy, retailers are pulling out all the stops to get traffic into their stores. Traditionally the best way to get customers to buy is to give them something for free, and unfortunately futon furniture (in its most raw form) is being used as that loss leader. I can't stop it, you can't stop it, and until something new comes along to take its place, it can only get worse.

What Can I Do Joe? I'm Disgusted!

Don't ever give in.

You might be the smallest kid on the block but you don't have to ever stoop as low as the local, gigantic competitor. If you sell plain pine or any lower end unfinished futon furniture only sell the best. You may pay a little more, and may have to charge a little more, but you don't have to sell out to cheapness.

Price is not the issue.

Your customers are not stupid. They probably shop just like you do. They look around for the best value at the best price and then buy. When it comes to understanding this product category, displaying a full selection of goods, and delivering the best service anywhere, who's better than you? Nobody, right?

If you don't think like this then maybe you have lost your edge. Be proactive and take the steps necessary to sharpen your image. Fall in love with futon furniture (the kind you sell) all over again.

Take a walk on the wild side.

Shop your competitors. Find out what they are selling and how they are selling it. Shop your own store. Sommers White, the keynote speaker at the Futon Expo in Phoenix, strongly suggested to every attendee to hire a service to see just what the consumer sees when they come in to buy. In fact an article on shopping services is a part of this issue's Retail Perspective.

When you know what you are up against you'll be able to creatively deal with the issues at hand. Knowledge is your greatest ally in the battle to survive and maybe even to succeed. ý

Futon Expo/Bedroom Show Update

During a recent conversation with SSA Board Member Denny Boyd, of Boyd Flotation, he consistently hammered home the point that the driving force behind any decision made by an association (or any business for that matter) should be: "What's best for the customer?" It was his position that the first consideration, regarding some type of concurrent arrangement of the two trade shows, should be based upon what was best and most cost effective for the dealers who come to the shows. I agreed that theoretically this was true, but that deciding what was best for FAI was best left to that group.

In subsequent discussions with other SSA Board Members and the FAI Board, of which I am an ex officio member, it has been decided to at least reopen a dialogue and continue to discuss these issues, in the context of mutually discovering what the best course of action might be.

Almost everyone I've spoken to about this issue has agreed that what happened in Phoenix, with the SSA show taking place nearby, prior to the Futon Expo, worked out well for all.

Carla Williams, another SSA Board Member (and FAI member), has taken a very proactive position in relation to FAI/SSA politics, and has made it very clear that the SSA is ready and willing to work towards, at the very least, an amicable solution whereby both Associations maintain their separate identities and agendas, while striving to achieve the goal of providing a cost effective show plan for her dealers who now have to think about going to two shows in different cities at different times. I am confident a fair solution will come from these talks, with some good news coming before the end of the year.