Wooden furniture is a popular choice among many homeowners and businesses alike. It brings a warming presence to any interior space which is why it’s such a popular product. If you are new to the industry and want to get your business off to a flying start then marketing your products in the right way will be key to success. There are several ways to promote your wood furniture business, some more successful than others which I’ll talk a little bit about in this article.
When I quit my 9-5 office job to start my own reclaimed wood furniture business I wanted to make sure it was a success. I had a mortgage to pay and a family to feed so it was important to get it right from the get-go. I learned a lot along the way but thankfully I was able to make a full-time wage after just 6 months. I’ve talked about my journey starting a woodworking business in more detail in another post which might be an interesting read if you’re in a similar situation.
As a wood furniture business owner, it is important to invest time and effort in promoting your business to attract new customers and maintain relationships with existing ones. There are many ways to promote any business, and the best approach depends on your target audience, budget, and goals.
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Here are some of the best ways to promote a wood furniture business
There are multiple ways to promote your wood furniture business but if you’re just starting out the budget might be a little thin. It makes sense to ensure the highest ROI on your marketing and promotional activities.
In this section, we’ll look at some of the best ways to promote a woodworking business and some ways to increase the ROI.
Design and print a business card and logo
You want potential customers to identify you and your business. Design a simple logo and business card and always have a handful available. Make sure your branding is present on all communications and marketing platforms so that people can quickly identify you.
Develop and market unique wood furniture products or services
One way to stand out from the competition is to develop a unique wood furniture product or service not offered by other businesses.
For example, one business may specialise in made-to-order furniture, while another may focus on selling pre-made wood furniture. You might also be involved in furniture repair or resizing.
Before you start promoting your wood furniture business, it’s important to define your goals. You could offer free delivery on all items, collections services or on-site repairs.
What do you hope to achieve with your promotional efforts? Do you want to increase brand awareness, generate leads, or boost sales? Once you have defined your goals, you can create a promotional strategy tailored to achieving them.
Community and events
One great way to promote your wood furniture business is to get involved in the community. This can be done in various ways, such as volunteering for local charities, sponsoring community events, or taking your products to local markets, craft fairs and car boot sales.
Community involvement will help you build relationships with potential customers and create a positive reputation for your business. And don’t forget about the power of word-of-mouth marketing. Community building encourages word-of-mouth.
This is one of the most effective ways to promote your wood furniture business, and it doesn’t cost anything.
Be sure to provide excellent customer service and deliver high-quality products to ensure that people will want to recommend your business to others.
Make sure you have plenty of business cards to hand out at these kinds of events.
Repeat business
I had great success with repeat customers. With every order you ship out include a thank you note with contact details so that your customers feel special and have something physical to remind them of your business. You could also include a discount voucher for their next purchase which is a good incentive for them to return and buy more of your products.
If you offer bespoke items, make this clear. A customer might like the product you sold them but can’t see anything else suitable in your current selection for a specific location. If they are aware of your bespoke or custom design service they will likely come back to you for something.
In today’s world, it is essential to have a strong social media presence. Creating a social media profile for your wood furniture business is a great way to connect with potential and existing customers and promote your products and services.
Be sure to post regular updates and interesting content to keep people engaged. Along with regularly posting, begin with tracking what marketing activities result in positive customer or employee feedback.
Once you’ve decided on the media and marketing strategies that you’ll use, it’s important to track their performance. This way, you can make changes as needed to reach your goals.
If your social media efforts are not resulting in the desired results, make adjustments such as altering the media or budget.
Many social channels are free to use so take advantage of these. Over time your following will increase and so will your customer base. Keep your branding the same on each channel and use as many as possible to reach the widest audience. Try and dedicate a couple of hours a week to keep these going.
Invest in online advertising
Another great way to promote your wood furniture business is to invest in online advertising. This can be done through Facebook Ads, Google AdWords, or other online platforms. Whilst it can be expensive, Google can bring in plenty of interest to your business. This might be something to invest in once you’ve developed a decent business model and are a little more established. I would look into these options once you’re ready to take your business to the next level.
Online advertising is a great way to reach a large number of people, and it can be customised to target specific demographics. You can also use an online promo video maker to ease the process of creating advertising videos without the learning curve.
The budget for your online advertising will depend on the ROI you’re looking for. Since furniture is not a fast-selling product compared to smaller home decor purchases, you may need to spend more to acquire customers.
Having a realistic idea of how much you’re prepared to invest in marketing to achieve your desired results is important. This will help you make informed decisions about the media and marketing strategies best suited to your needs.
Sponsor a charity event
Another great way to promote your wood furniture business is to sponsor a charity event. This is a great way to get your business name and products in front of a large number of people while also supporting a good cause.
When choosing a charity event to sponsor, be sure to select one that aligns with the values of your business. You can host a free wood furniture donation camp that provides furniture created by DIY enthusiasts within the vicinity.
This will help you bring in a group of people who are interested in creating custom furniture and create a name for your brand in the community.
Online marketplaces
Making use of online marketplaces such as Etsy is a great way to get your name out there. Etsy offers free promotional services within their platform which can help your products reach a larger audience at no extra cost. You do pay Etsy a percentage of each sale but you can factor this into your pricing.
Facebook marketplace is great for selling locally, it’s free to use and you will reach customers nearby which will help reduce your shipping costs. You can’t promote your business there but it’s fine to advertise your handmade creations for sale.
eBay is very similar to Etsy but a bit broader. You’ll reach a large audience but it can be a struggle to get traction unless your pricing is very competitive.
What’s next for your wood furniture venture?
Selling wood furniture does require an effort but once you’re well-established, work will begin to find you. If you’re manufacturing the right product, at the right price then you will find that your business will take off naturally.
Selling your products locally is a huge benefit to both you and the environment. Get your name and brand out there as people tend to remember brands that they often see on various mediums. If you are able to show up on their searches, their local lookups, nearby events, and more, it’s highly likely that you’ll earn some customers for life.
That’s not to say selling your furniture online is a bad thing. You can reach far more people than you could locally. I found that there was roughly a 50/50 split between the two.
Hopefully, this article has given you some useful ideas to help start or grow your wooden furniture business. Good luck in the future. Try some of these articles for some further reading.
