Case Study: The Kitchen Store
Dec 17, 2020
This Sussex and London-based independent kitchen specialist was founded in 2004 by Alan Margetts. It has four showrooms, employing 19 staff, and sells predominantly retail kitchens but is also involved in contract work. The company supplies mid-range Nolte and Masterclass kitchens.
We spoke to head of retail, Mark Wood-Davies.
Why did you decide to use Design@Web?
We started using this tool purely because our stores have been closed. We wanted to give our customers the opportunity to continue designing kitchens with us. We’re tracking the numbers of hits we’ve been getting on the website and have found that people are using the tool but not tending to submit their plans. However, they are coming in to us after using the planner with a much better idea of what they want than they might have otherwise. We’re getting between 75 to 100 hits a month on the Design@Web tool.
“We’re getting between 74-100 hits a month and customers are coming in after using the planner with a much better idea of what they want.”
Has the tool proved a good way to generate new leads online?
Yes, it has. We’ve only been using it since April so we’re still fairly new to it, and five plans have been submitted, which we’ve followed up on. But it gives us another avenue for customers to interact with us and that’s what’s important.
“Yes it has proved a good way to generate new leads online.”
Has the recent pandemic changed the way your customers interact with you?
Yes, it has. We were solely a face-to-face operation and did very little online. So, with Design@Web we’ve still been able to sell kitchens. It also means we’re getting better-qualified leads come into the store as they’ve done a lot more research and they can book exclusive use of the showroom, which they never used to be able to do.
“Before the pandemic we were solely face-to-face and did very little online. So, with Design@Web we’ve still been able to sell kitchens.”
We can still do home visits but we’re tending to do those solely for measuring up. Otherwise we’re interacting via Zoom or Microsoft Teams or Facetime. Showcase 360 is also something we’ve been using and that’s been great too.
How have you used Design@Web?
We have the tool on our website and we market it quite heavily in store and on social media. We have in-store videos which informs customers that they have four ways to contact/interact with us. They can come see us or we can go and see them, they can send in their own plans or use Design@Web.
We also completely restructured the website and we shared news of us using Design@Web via an email on our Facebook page and all our social media channels. We’ve done quite a lot with it in quite a short space of time.
What is the value in customers being able to create their own designs on your site?
It gives them another tool that makes them feel in control of the project. People like to know what they’re purchasing and to feel informed and this tool offers that. And customers like to play and explore and they have a better idea of what they want when they do come into the showroom.
“Design@Web gives customers another tool that makes them feel in control of the project.”
What implications has this had for your business?
We’ve had to train everyone how to use Design@Web so that each of us is a specialist in it. We have to be able to answer any questions that a customer might have. So that’s taken some investment of time. We’ve had quite a few Zoom training days on this.
The support from Compusoft has been great and all the guys in the support team are always on hand to answer any questions we might have.
How would you generate leads and gather data before you used Design@Web?
We would only gather data from customers who came into store and all our leads would be generated via word-of-mouth. We’ve got quite prominent stores and in terms of floor space we’re the biggest independent retailer in Sussex. We’ve also just opened a London showroom.
Covid 19 has forced us to rethink the way we interact with customers and actually, having to make someone come in to store to sign off an agreement or view a product or walk through a design is not actually that helpful for the customer. It’s easy for a customer to find half an hour if they’ve just got to sit on the couch and talk to you but if they have to drive for half an hour, then find parking it’s more of an ask. And people feel more comfortable communicating with us from the comfort of their own homes.
What sort of response have you had from your customers regarding Design@Web?
Our customers like the planner because it gives them some ownership over the process, but then they are coming into us for advice as they need that specialist input.
What kind of changes have you seen on your website in terms of visitor traffic since you started using Design@Web?
Customers definitely stay longer on the website since we’ve had Design@Web. As well the Design@Web tool we’ve invested lots of money in restructuring the website and creating a new website and we’ve been encouraging people onto the site and to use Design@Web across all our social media.
How easy is the process of importing designs from Design@Web to Winner or Innoplus?
We’ve had no issues whatsoever. You just click a button, download the plans, change the cabinets from generic to branded products and it’s done.
Would you recommend Design@Web to others, and if so, why?
I would recommend Design@Web, just because it empowers the customer by giving them more tools and another opportunity to be able to interact with you.
More about the Kitchen Store:
To find out more about the Kitchen Store and what they offer, see their website for more information:
