David Barker, Managing Director at Inspire KBB, explains why, as the green shoots of recovery start to show, now is the time to devote effort and energy into perfecting your marketing strategy in order to thrive once the coronavirus situation is over.

Like it or not, we're entering into a new era.

A new world. A new order of things.

The coronavirus crisis has changed pretty much everything in the short term.

But its effects will impact both the medium and long term.

It'll change the way we live.

With social distancing measures likely to be in place for a while, and plenty of time for people to acclimatise to doing more online, the way we buy stuff will change.

KBB retailers have approached this crisis in several different ways.

And for at least 50% of them, their 'plan' has been painfully obvious.

Retreat. Batten down the hatches. Conserve cash at all costs. Cut everything.

And while, for some, this might have been an essential plan for the past four weeks, it's a truly terrible plan for the next four months.

Just a few weeks ago, if you’d asked KBB retailers what their most important asset was, many of them would have been unequivocal in their answer:

“Our showroom. When we get people in there, they fall in love with our products and end up buying a kitchen.”

Fair enough. But what about right now?

The showroom is currently pretty redundant. (Although some smart retailers have managed to offer showroom visits online.) Something else has claimed the place as the most important asset.

The coronavirus crisis isn't over. Not by a long chalk.

But, based on what we're seeing, hearing and reading from the Government and the global press, what we do know is that light is beginning to develop at the end of the tunnel.

While the situation plateaus in the UK, some countries further on from us are starting to loosen their lockdown. This week, Denmark, Austria, Spain and even Italy are – to varying degrees - gradually starting to reopen 'non-essential' businesses and organisations.

Sure, it's likely to be May before non-essential businesses can start to reopen their doors here, and in an ideal world, you'd never have had to close your doors in the first place.

It’s a strange thing, this ‘lockdown’.

Yes, it feels odd and somewhat claustrophobic, but it doesn’t half do wonders for productivity.

I’ve been getting a lot done around home over the past few weekends. I’m already thinking that the Easter weekend is going to be my most productive DIY bank holiday of all time.

And the reason why is simple.

Things have changed drastically for many millions of people in recent days, and in some areas, things continue to get darker, with further impact on lives.

But you've been through a tunnel before, which means you know that it gets dark before it gets light.

Last week, we spoke about what independent KBB retailers need to do as they enter the tunnel; the foundations you need to put in place to see you through this period.

We're in the tunnel now, and we're likely to be for much of April.

Over the past week, many kitchen retailers have asked us for help and guidance on what they should be doing with their marketing right now, so I thought I’d pen something to help you with precisely that.

I received an email last night and just knew I had to send it on.

It’s written by a friend and colleague of mine, Mark Creaser. I call him the ‘Jeremy Clarkson of Business Consultants’.

Take five minutes to have a read. I think you’ll be glad you did.

If you’ve ever read 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by the great Steven Covey, you’ll know that Covey believes wholeheartedly in the importance of sharpening your saw.

He points out that if you’re cutting wood, and you never stop to sharpen the saw, your cutting will become less and less effective.

The metaphor for those of us in business is clear: if you never get out of the day-to-day and out of the four walls of your business, over time, you’ll also become less effective.

The battle to thrive as an independent kitchen retailer is only becoming more intense. 

One of the key contributing factors?  The big boys.

The Nationals continue to play the discounting game and fling money around on marketing, infiltrating your prospects’ minds and filling them with all sorts of preconceived ideas - some of which are pretty darn difficult to shake.

A couple of weeks back, I spoke about the importance of a strong online presence, and it’s something that we work on consistently for our business.

And the Google review posted on Sunday will certainly help with that.

It was from a very lovely lady called Joanne Hunt, Owner of Appleton Kitchens - a Pronorm dealership in South Manchester. I’ll leave it to her to tell you the story…

I’ve talked regularly about the fact that over the last two decades, Google has changed the game. So, I won’t rake over old ground – if you’re not getting found online, you’re missing out on countless opportunities.

I hope that you already recognise the value of Google (or ‘Search’) for your kitchen business, and you’re wondering how you can make even more of it.

If so, I’ve some valuable insight, so read on.

In this winter’s edition of Inspired, your kitchen marketing newsletter brought to you by Inspire KBB:

David Barker gives his insight into the foundation of Inspire KBB’s success, and it’s personal!

Download now >

I don’t know about you, but ever since the EU Referendum in June 2016, politics seems to have been unavoidable.

Turn on the TV, or open a newspaper, magazine or news app, and the coverage of Brexit, Parliament and the EU has been constant and consuming.

And not just in our personal lives: Brexit is a conversation that has come up time and time again in a business context.

No doubt you’re super busy right now, ensuring that the last of your 2019 clients’ kitchens are ready to go for the onslaught that’ll take place during the festive period.

But, have you given a thought to what happens AFTER Christmas?

In my experience, the few weeks following Christmas and into January are some of the most vital in determining how busy you’ll be in the early part of the next year. So, if you’ve got nothing planned, keep reading.

You might know that one of my most trusted lieutenants is Charlotte Turnbull – she’s our Project Management whizz, and she makes sure all the Inspire KBB cogs continue to turn.

When it comes to work, Charly doesn’t leave an ‘i’ undotted or a ‘t’ uncrossed, but the other day she confessed to me that this isn’t always the case at home.

I finally changed my windscreen wipers the other day.

In truth, they’d been deteriorating for some time now - doing less and less of the job they were designed to do.

But over the summer, during that generally good weather, it was a case of ‘out of sight, out of mind’ - I didn’t need them, so I didn’t consciously notice just how bad they were.

David Barker draws some vital observations from the experience of three successful senior ‘home specialists’ that’ll help steer through any rough passage.

Times are somewhat interesting for British businesses right now. Political uncertainty seems to be having an impact on businesses.

But let’s be realistic - this isn’t the first time our country’s experienced choppy waters like these over the past few decades. And you know what? There are plenty of experienced people around who’ve been in your shoes before.

The latest issue of our newsletter tackles Brexit in the kitchen industry, giving you some practical pointers on how you can navigate troubled times.