Empowered Associates Power Sales

Furniture Deal’s STORIS NextGen Case Study

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Empowered Associates Power Sales

Furniture Deals’ STORIS NextGen journey is about creating a culture of sales empowerment. Their organization’s leadership recognized shifts in customer shopping behavior towards on-demand interactions and digital communication. Leveraging the browser-accessible, device-agnostic STORIS NextGen solution enabled Furniture Deals’ sales associates to build one-to-one personal relationships with guests outside of the confines of business hours and showroom walls.

“With STORIS NextGen, Furniture Deals reduced costs related to sales by 30%, increasing profitability.

Colin Goodwin, General Manager

To achieve this result, Furniture Deals let go of the antiquated idea that all company communication had to flow through their customer service phone lines. Goodwin comments, “Customers want to interact beyond the showroom, via email and text messaging, often off-hours. Our associates are responsible for managing their relationships directly in a digital-first environment.” Customers visit their showrooms to sit on and feel products, but they can be sold anywhere. The accessibility of STORIS NextGen from associates’ mobile phones allows them to close deals while in line at the grocery store or watching a game. In a commissioned position, associates are enthusiastic about having the flexibility to earn more.

STORIS NextGen Drives ROI Across Operations

Maximizing Showroom Floors

Prior to mobilizing their showrooms, Furniture Deals had terminals with printers and equipment across their floors. This took up valuable real estate and impacted the flow of floor planning. Now, this valuable floorspace is dedicated to showcasing products. Further, customers can checkout in a comfortable environment and avoid a line. They’ve also digitized documents, reducing paper waste.

Inventory Data Accessibility

Furniture Deals takes advantage of their associates being able to write tickets. Formerly getting inventory data required a cumbersome walkie-talkie system. In STORIS NextGen, associates can easily check stock with real-time accuracy and add desired inventory to the customer’s shopping cart seamlessly.

Fulfillment Efficiency

STORIS NextGen supports Furniture Deals in getting customers furniture at value-driven prices, efficiently. The Shopping Cart can process multiple fulfillments from a single order. If a portion of the order is available sooner, that inventory can be delivered first. Furniture Deals runs a popular, one-time “free delivery” promotion. The Shopping Cart automatically removes the delivery fee from the earliest fulfillment. If the customer doesn’t want to pay for subsequent delivery, the system can auto-transfer incoming inventory for complementary store pickup.

Automating Customer Communication

When sales inputs the customer’s fulfillment preferences, STORIS NextGen automates the logistics. Furniture Deals uses event triggers to automatically text the customers that their merchandise is available for pickup. The complex work is done by STORIS behind the scenes, which requires fewer resources.

Collaborating to Find Solutions

“In the evolving area of technology, you have to trust your partner in order to experiment with new solutions, adapt retail experiences, and ultimately grow. Having an iterative mindset is shared with STORIS.”

Colin Goodwin, General Manager

General Manager, Colin Goodwin spoke about collaborating with STORIS’ team during Research & Development. This is a highlight of their 15-year STORIS partnership. Goodwin comments, “As a retailer, we have a voice to share the real-world challenges we face with STORIS’ engineering team. Together, we collaborate and brainstorm to solve these challenges. Then, seeing STORIS introduce technology that addresses these needs into the field is very rewarding.”

“It is vital to present a tech-forward approach to selling. Customers gain confidence when their experience flows like a well-oiled machine.

Colin Goodwin, General Manager

Driving Repeat Customers

Furniture Deals aligns investments with ROI. They have moved back-end processes directly into the hands of sales associates to eliminate manual administrative work. Sales associates are the “standard point of contact” for their customers because associates generate revenue. Using STORIS NextGen’s Customer Experience Management (CXM) tools, provides associates with detailed relationship profiles, tools to manage their cadence of communication, and areas to track future sales opportunities. Furniture Deals customers and associates are in routine communication, email and texting, during and post-sales cycle, to build retention.

Goodwin comments, ”This is how Furniture Deals curates brand loyalty. We want our customers to know exactly who to call when their next home furnishings need arises. They choose to call their trusted sales associate because they have a personalized relationship.”

“We encourage all retailers to embrace the best tools for sales and customer experiences and lean into them.”

About Our Partner

Furniture Deals has been serving the Kansas City, Missouri market with 4 showrooms since 2004 with the lowest prices and the best selection of furniture, mattresses, and home decor. Customers looking for traditional, contemporary, or modern designs both online or in store, can find the best deals on furniture that fits their lifestyle. Furniture Deals cares about its community and supports local and national organizations including The Children’s Miracle Network, St. Jude’s Research Hospital, and the ALS Foundation.