When launching your staging business (or even assessing it periodically) you must decide who do you want to target? What is your targeted demographics? You must decide if you want to be Sears, Dillards or Neiman Marcus....
What do I mean by this? Each of these stores has a public demographic they gear themselves towards. Each of them has their store set up to appeal to this market. They also have their wares priced accordingly. Each store has it's own niche, but they all co-exist - often in the same exact shopping mall. This can also be true of professional stagers.... let's look at each one to make the correlation.
Almost everyone shopping at the mall can afford Sears. Not everyone enjoys shopping there, however. Many feel the store is dirty, crowded or unappealing. The quality of merchandise (with the exception of tools) is not as high quality as our other two stores.
Fewer shoppers can afford Dillards than Sears. Still most shoppers can afford to shop here. Most buyers feel the quality is good & enjoy shopping in this atmosphere. Between our 3 store comparison, this is the best value for your dollar.
Very few shoppers can afford Neiman Marcus. The quality isn't necessarily higher, though the price tags are. The stores appear glamorous and luxurious appealing to the few buyers that will pass through their doors. Shoppers that buy here often do so because it makes them feel more important or because they are looking for luxury or specialty items that they cannot find easily elsewhere. The higher price tag is unimportant to them for the luxury & convenience.
So, when setting up your staging business, who do you want to be? Do you want to be affordable to virtually everyone, but at the risk of being less quality than other staging professionals? Do you want to be mid priced, still affordable to most, higher quality, but perhaps not as luxurious or trendy? OR do you want to be the haute couture of the staging world? Few people will be able to afford you, but you will appeal to the 'money to burn' crowd?
ME? I'm Dillards.... I want to be able to service the general population. I feel it is important to offer a quality product at reasonable prices most sellers can afford. I also feel it is vital that the money our sellers spend comes back to them in saved carrying costs and/or higher offers.
Perhaps not everyone can afford my rates, but most can. Perhaps my homes are not overflowing in accessories and not every room is staged, but I make a significant impact in time on market and end price. I stage homes from the muli-millions to the low hundred thousands & have constant repeat clients & a high referral rate. I offer true value for the dollar and my stats & sales show it...... This is exactly how I like my business. So, who are you?
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Melissa Marro, a published artist, now turned staging advocate and national speaker speaks her mind about real estate and the home staging industry. In her 'no holds barred' approach, audience members find real answers to the industries pitfalls and learn how to overcome them with tried and true information and guidance. With marketing as her passion, she turned a small home based business into one of the nation's largest home staging and training facilities. Selling her successful home staging company in January 2012, Marro is now a full time speaker and instructor for Staging And Resign and Real Estate Staging Association (RESA)'s trade events.
For more information on having Marro speak at one of your real estate functions, please contact her at 843.619.1593 or email at marro.melissa@gmail.com
Melissa
I am shooting for Dillards but I am off to see a Sears customer this morning, gotten from a Dillards referral, I've been warned.
Melissa,
In any business you have to target your desired market. All this depends upon your financial standing of your new venture.
If I had to choose, I am more Sears than the rest.....though I do some Dillards.and a couple Neimans from referrals of these Sears types.....so you never know what to expect.
Melissa - when we got started I really didn't want to "work at Sears" You know the homes under 100K. (Here in upstate NY, a high end home is 200-300K, no million dollar homes here, well maybe 1) We recuited several Realtors and when the calls came in we found that allot of them were for the $80-$120 homes. It seems that they are the ones that need the staging the most! I think everyone in life seems to have the same amount of stuff, it's just that the "Sears people" have less space to put it in! So for now we are "working at Sears", with just doing the basics. We are looking to move up to Dillards and NM (however I've never set foot in either one, perhaps they wouldn't make it in this Sears town) Maybe we need to move, I hear your neighborhood is nice?!?! LOL
Becky
Nice post Melissa! It is interesting how you divided the categories so well. I feel that this is really a great way to explain the different styles of stagers.
My style falls somewhere between Dillards and Neiman Marcus. My inventory is more on the upper end....and of better quality than average. That would also describe my clients. I seem to attract the higher dollar homes yet, I am available to help any client who needs my services. My prices are not rock bottom, yet, I am priced reasonably well for the high value the client receives in return. The rental furniture available (here in FL) does not exactly match my clients high-end homes....it falls somewhere between Sears and Dillards. THIS is my biggest challenge. So, I make up for it with the 'details'. For the moment, this is what I have to work with and I am workin' it! Regards-Kathleen G
Melissa:
My company encompasses all three styles. Every home is staged with the demographics, price point and budget in mind.
That's why staging is such an interesting field. We can highlight the upper end homes with better art and accessories that a discerning buyer of a multi-million dollar property expects. On the other hand, we get to implement unique creativity when the budget is small. so that the outcome is a property that apeals to and makes the buyer FEEL this will be their home.
Ana - I actually meant what type of stager were you, not the homes you work in.... I have to admit that I still do more Dillards than Sears, but even when faced with a multi-million home I find the Dillards approach to be more effective. Staging is about showing size scale and lifestyle. It doesn't take a Neiman Marcus price tag to do this... not even when the house has one. The same concepts apply. It is all about Return on Investment and Overall Value....
Dan - This is so true. It is what I love about my job. I never know what to expect!
Andrea - very very true for redesign! I also find that in staging the middle income homes are more gratifying. It is easy to make an expensive home beautiful. It is more of a challenge to stretch the budget and create a masterpiece on a shoestring budget!
Becky - prices are all relative. You have to work with what your market will bare!
Kathleen - Thanks for complimenting my distinctions. Maybe you are Macy's... *wink* Our rental here doesn't even come to the Sears standard, which is why I own my inventory!
Renee - Yes, different price points definately require different furniture, art & accessories. Your style is a little more 'modelish' where I personally prefer staging as 'less is more'. Different philosophies for different clients. Both work - just as Sears, Dillards and Neiman Marcus all serve a purpose....
Elaine - This is where a broad portfolio helps. I find I prefer Dillards clients. Again, it is easy to make a beautiful house beautiful....
Maureen - how funny...... you have had some interesting ones lately!
Julia - I don't know if I've ever shopped at Nordstroms. We don't have those here.... sounds like a fun place to shop though!
I prefer to be STARBUCKS -- becasue EVERYONE is the Pacific Northwest goes there, no matter where they buy thier underwear.
:-)
Cute post Melissa, I totally get your point!
Julianna - Thanks for 'getting it'! I prefer Gloria Jeans... lol.... they don't burn their beans! But I can't go to the mall in my underwear ... well, only my underwear!
Melissa,
When I said I had been warned about today's Sears consult I meant this referral wants a Nieman stage on a Sears budget, it is a FSBO. I always aim to do the very best no matter what the budget and I think Dillards fits that. Nieman stages just don't fit the area I have been getting business from or my style as a Stager. I am of the less is more school.
I do however find the wanting something for nothing attitude (Sears comment) I run across every now and then tiresome. This consult today was a prime example. My fees are in line with other Stagers in this area. I have two recent client references for full service stages that resulted in offers after they had been sitting and this person #1 Wanted me to give her a guarantee/refund if she was not "happy" with finished product (sounds like a future topic for discussion) #2 Did not want me rearranging anything she did not agree with. Why hire me? I guess being the new kid on the block people think they are doing me a favor by hiring me instead of Sally up the road with the Neiman prices!
Terrylynn - you are most welcome! It has been rumbling around in my head for about a week, but I hadn't had the time to post.....
Cindy - I know exactly what you mean & yes it does make sense!
Ana (I think - you forgot to log in) - This can be a common problem. It is funny how some agents & homeowners think their home will give you so much business that you should cut them a break. I agree with you - no warrantees or guarantees. There are simply too many things you don't have control over. If they don't want to do what you've said to do, why are you there? I just laugh when I leave clients like that. Clearly they don't understand what they have in front of them.
Gary - whew.... it seems that others had a hard time with it! I'm glad there were a few of you who understood what I was trying to get at.
I agree and disagree with the idea that it chooses you. I think there is some 'luck' involved, but at the same time things like branding, marketing venues, etc will determine the ultimate client. Even when you look at the logos of the stores above, they fit the client they are gearing themselves towards. When we designed ours, we knew who we wanted to target & ta da! That is who most frequently calls us.
Thanks Elaine.
Gary - I just changed it to 'members only'..... good idea! I had considered yesterday afternoon, prior to some comments above just deleting the negativity that was bantered back & forth, but in the end decided it wasn't what Craig would do..... sometimes things just have to lay where they are.
Ana - I re-read your earlier posts too, and I guess I didn't 'get it'. I apologize for that. Perhaps something was missed in translation because I was agreeing with you on the 'neiman' at 'sears' pricing. Too many clients want that & just don't get what we do.....
Terry - The Dollar Tree is my 16 yr old daughter's favorite store. It is amazing the goodies she finds in there!
Elaine - I couldn't agree with you more. I was trying to make a point about niche's. I've blogged about how important it is to create them on more than one occassion. I also tried to point out in the very beginning of the blog that they can all co-exist in the same shopping mall (the afore mentioned stores). There is nothing wrong with any of them & they can & should co-exist.
We all shop at different places for different reasons. I can buy Cheerios at nearly any grocery store - I chose to buy them at Publix, because I like that store and HATE shopping at Food Lion. I may pay more for Cheerios there - even if they are the same product. They are no more valuable at Publix than Food Lion HOWEVER I do find that I am happier & less stressed when I shop at Publix vs other stores & will pay for that happiness. This does not put down the people who shop at Food Lion - it is a personal choice on my part. It also doesn't put down people who shop at Harris Teeter (an even higher end grocery store here). Does this make sense?
I certainly did not intend to have all this drama on my post.....
Because one of the controversial bloggers deleted all their posts from this and other of my blogs I have removed comments that referred back to their posts. I hope this does not offend anyone, but without their comments one cannot see what point was being made back....
I am also taking this off the members only and moving it back to public....
Spring cleaning.
I'd say Dillards by a country mile. Better selection and service. Have been a fan for many years and keep going back, though I've moved three times in the last eight years. I also do a blog on them, so maybe I'm biased.
Zander S
http://dillards.info/
I'm a newbie, but hope to be in the Dillards group. I was in real estate lending for many years, and I always enjoyed working with first time home buyers. They were so grateful and happy about you helping them with their first home purchase. Most of the Neiman Marcus borrowers were just a big pain in the butt. Not all, but most. You coundn't work fast enough for them. I could have gotten alot more done if they would have just left me alone and let me do my job.