Kitchen & Bath Design News is the industry's leading business, design and product resource for the kitchen and bath trade.
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January 2015 ForResidentialPros.com | 9 Editorial { Eliot Sefrin, Publisher Emeritus } Facebook.com/KitchenBathDesignNews @KitchenBathDesignNews M ost people a re familiar with the adage, "the more things change, the more they stay the same." In the kitchen and bath industry, however, a more aptly suited maxim might be: "while some things forever stay the same, others change as swiftly as the lat- est trend." Dealers and designers need to frmly embrace that maxim when it comes to their sales eforts in 2015 and beyond. To wit, as 2015 unfolds and the Kitchen & Bath Indus- try Show opens this month to the trade, the industry seems primed for another year of steady, sustained growth, fueled by projected gains in housing starts, home sales, remodeling outlays and kitch- en/bath sales ( see Forecast 2015 and KBIS Guide, Pages 74 & 83, respectively ). All of which brings us to the singular thing that for- ever stays the same: the art of successful selling. In fact, according to a sur- vey conducted on behalf of Kitchen & Bath Design News by its strategic research partner, the Research Insti- tute of Cooking & Kitchen Intelligence (RICKI), most design professionals describe their approach to selling as "people-focused," rather than design- or product-focused. Most say that being "relation- ship-oriented" best describes their sales style and that, when selling, they place em- phasis on their experience, design capabilities, reputa- tion and ability to handle the project from start to fnish ( see story, Page 80 ). Nothing new in those fndings. Same as always. T he K BDN -R ICK I sur- vey also found that clients with unrealistic budget ex- pectations are dealers' and designers' most vexing sales challenge; that referrals re- main the best source for leads; that showrooms and Web sites are critical factors in driving sales, and that the most successful sales tactic remains personal service. Nothing new there, either. None of it will likely ever change. But then there's the thing that's clearly changing, now and always: the composition of the market and the mind- set of consumers. It's clear, for example, that kitchen/bath consumers con- tinue to become younger and less traditional, and that Gen- eration Y, a powerful buying force whose size rivals that of the Baby Boom Generation, will no doubt key major chang- es, from design aesthetics and product-delivery channels to marketing techniques and sales tactics ( see Consumer Buying Trends, Page 13 ). In fact, a second survey, conducted in 2014 for RICKI members, found that while Gen Y consumers have some attitudes similar to older adults, they bring diferent backgrounds, tastes, experi- ences and expectations to the cash register. For one thing, they're less conservative than their forebears. They're also more likely to use cooking, food or other kitchen apps, more open to ethnic foods, and represent the frst gen- eration in which alternative media is the standard. For Gen Y, the defnition of "kitchen" is morphing from a traditional space for cooking and eating to an all-around living space. Likely having grown up in homes with open foor plans and great rooms, Gen Y considers the kitchen less "heart of the home" and more of a "place to hang out." Dealers, designers, mar- keters and product suppliers must recognize all of this as they try to capture the attention of today's new consumers, adapting to new selling techniques even while clinging to successful, time- honored approaches. In other words, dealers and designers must understand that the only way to succeed in an evolving market is by recognizing that while today's consumers may respond to diferent selling cues than cus- tomers of the past, they must be sold the same as always: personally and skillfully, by service-oriented design pros in close touch with their needs. With Selling, Some Things May Change But Others Stay the Same Today's consumers may respond to diferent selling cues than those of the past, but they must be sold the same as always: by service-oriented design professionals in close touch with their needs. Publisher Paul DeGrandis Publisher Emeritus Eliot Sefrin Editor Janice Anne Costa Managing Editor Anita Shaw Contributing Editor Andrea Girolamo Group Editorial Director Patrick O'Toole Contributing Writers Kim Berndtson Joe Dowd Jamie Gold, CKD, CAPS Elizabeth Richards Denise Vermeulen Columnists Ellen Cheever, CMKBD, ASID, CAPS Hank Darlington Leslie Hart Bruce Kelleran, CKD, CPA Stephen Nicholls Ken Peterson, CKD Mary Jo Peterson, CKD, CBD, CAPS Sarah Reep, CMKBD, ASID, CMG, CAPS, IIDA Bryan Reiss, CMKBD Eric Schimelpfenig, AKBD Creative Director & Production Tracy Hegg Editor, ForResidentialPros.com Andrea Girolamo Circulation Manager Mike Serino Reader Service Manager Jeff Heine Administrative Assistant Marie Snow Copyright © 2015 by SOLA Group Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this magazine may be produced in any form, including electronically, without written permission from the publisher of Kitchen & Bath Design News . ® "Dealers and designers must adapt to new selling techniques even while clinging to successful, time-honored approaches."