After a generally positive start to the year, as we’ve entered Q2, I have the impression that things may have cooled off in the new kitchen market. 

It's a clear reminder of the seasonal fluctuations that affect consumer interest in home improvement. 

It's also a sign that the higher interest rates continue to undermine consumer spending, which, of course, is what they're designed to achieve!

For independent kitchen retailers, this cooling period presents a unique challenge and a golden opportunity to refine and ramp up your marketing efforts.

Last week, I had the pleasure of engaging in an insightful conversation with one of our largest clients, a seasoned player in the kitchen retail industry.

His unsolicited insight and viewpoints encapsulated what many independent kitchen retailers strive for: success through strategic marketing.

A few months ago, I found myself deep in conversation with one of our standout kitchen clients.

Now, they're far from being the biggest of kitchen retailers, but they certainly punch well above their weight.

One of their Directors shared an insight with me that resonated profoundly…

I delivered a sales training session to the design team of one of our kitchen clients last week.

One of the questions posed to me was, “What are the most effective principles to work to when following up enquiries?”

Here are four key points we discussed…

This month, the feedback you’re most likely receiving from your promotional efforts is that most kitchen buyers have their attention elsewhere.

And you’d be right.

 December has always seen the lowest month of search volume for the kitchen industry each year. 

If only you could turn your marketing down when people aren’t interested, then whack it back up to 11 when they are!

I’ve got good news. You can.

Black Friday has come and gone, and the world was momentarily awash with a deluge of offers and discounts for almost everything from the anything store.

However, the excitement of the annual shopping extravaganza was almost entirely absent in our world of kitchen retail.

Why is that?

Because what we do is different. Very different.

If one word epitomises what consumers are looking for these days, it’s ‘convenience’.

Why go to a shop when the shop will deliver to you? Why buy from any other website when Amazon already has all your details?

It’s no different in the kitchen market.

The easier you can make it for your customers to do business with you, the more likely they will decide to do so.

And there’s one thing I’ve already seen making a real difference over the past couple of years that I know will make bigger waves in the industry in the coming years.

In an online landscape where kitchen retailers constantly vie for visibility, getting your business onto the hallowed first page of Google is a big deal.

 But even when you’re listed right at the top, the game is far from won because a first-page listing doesn’t pay the bills.

 You need to make a sale, which means first clinching the click.

I attended The Kbsa’s annual conference last week at The Belfry Hotel near Birmingham.

It was an excellent event and, in my view, their best yet.

Once again, some of the most consistently successful kitchen retailers in the UK were in attendance.

It was a bit different to how it’s historically been.

Yet again, we’ve experienced recently that great weather is the enemy of kitchen sales!

However, normal service seems to have resumed with some standard September weather now upon us.

That, combined with the new school term starting, means NOW is the perfect time to reignite your kitchen leads and sales.

Here’s a key tool to spearhead your efforts. It isn't really part of a long-term marketing strategy. Instead, it's a straightforward, one-off tactic you can use RIGHT NOW to generate kitchen enquiries.

I was early for a Zoom call earlier this week. Only by a couple of minutes, and I wasn’t even first there.

 I’m glad I was early though, because the two guys who were there before me were having an interesting chat and I caught enough of it to make me think. (Both kitchen retailers, by the way.)

One of the guys (I think called Steve) was talking openly about his volume of sales enquiries – or rather the lack of them. We were three weeks into August, and he’d only had two meagre enquiries find their way into his showroom.

In the world of kitchen design, we often ride waves of feast and famine when it comes to client leads. Like a tide that ebbs and flows, there are times when our inbox is overflowing and times when leads seem to barely trickle in.

 How we navigate these waters can be a game-changer in the long run.

It’s a stab in the dark, but I’m guessing the Bank of England won’t be on your Christmas card list this year?

You’re not alone – the continual, monthly rate rises aren’t exactly good news, and was further confirmation of something we’re all well aware of:

For a lot of kitchen retailers, it’s been getting tough out there.

And it might get a bit tougher yet.

In case you haven’t noticed – summer’s arrived.

You can feel it in the warmth on your skin when you sit till dusk in the garden. When you can look at the weather forecast without a sense of despondency.

Usually, those would all be seen as positives. Still, traditionally, kitchen retailers approach the summer period with a dose of foreboding.

In 2023 so far, two things have become evident in the world of kitchen sales:

1. Competing in the sub-£25k bracket has become more challenging.

2. In the £25k+ bracket, people are spending more money than ever on their kitchens

 What you do about these trends will likely define your success for the rest of this year and beyond. So, if you take one thing from this note, it’s this:

This time last week, I was getting ready for one of the more special evenings in the KBB calendar – the KBB Review Retail & Design Awards.

One of our wonderful clients was up for an award and invited me along for a fantastic night in Cardiff.

The event was entertaining, well-organised, full of fun, and once again made me feel proud to be a member of the KBB community.

Now, I’ve not touched on awards much before, but it’s something well worth covering.

As the dust settles on Q1 and we all enjoy the Easter break, I wanted to share something we've noticed in the KBB world that may resonate with you.

We work with kitchen retailers throughout the UK, and we've seen a theme so far in 2023…

I know a couple that committed a cardinal sin the other day.

Well, a cardinal sin in my book, anyway. They bought a £25k kitchen from Wren.

The couple in question know me well enough to know better. Over the past year, I’ve made it clear to them the benefits they’ll get by going to a great independent retailer, of which I know a few.

As you might expect, I attempted to give them a bit of a hard time about this decision, but quickly it became clear that the fault didn’t lie with them.

Here’s a question for you to mull over:

If we took the name of your business off all your advertising - your website, your leaflets, your Facebook ads, all of it – and replaced it with another business’s name, would anyone notice?

If not, it’s almost certainly not doing its job.

We’re a month into 2023, and I’ve now got a decent fist of how the year’s started for KBB businesses.

If you had a poor autumn, struggling to sell kitchens, there’s a fair chance that’s still the case in 2023.

If you had a somewhat buoyant autumn, you’ve probably had a pretty good January, at least from an enquiries perspective. Albeit, you’re probably having to battle a bit harder to get people over the line, though.