To The Trade Only Furniture Showroom: The Online Designer Portal
Online product catalogs and pricing configurators that facilitate the online order process have revolutionized the way that designers buy from trade-only wholesalers. The online designer portal delivers a convenience-oriented model for businesses that need to expand their offerings beyond showroom walls. By offering configurations of complex and custom products that give designers more control, your To the Trade program will become a go-to resource for designers.
An online designer portal for your To the Trade only furniture showroom isn’t a tool just to delight your designers, it creates an opportunity for business stakeholders to increase revenue, lower costs, and accelerate expansions and scaling for business growth, even in a down economy.
So why is it that so few To the Trade furniture companies have moved to this critical element of eCommerce capability and growth? eCommerce is viewed as a ‘nice to have’ addition to a showroom rather than a necessity for the business model to survive. Today, however, the furniture marketplace is changing due to restrictions on showrooms, an uptick in competitors who offer hassle free online configuration and ordering, and click-and-buy options from design tools like Modsy, Havenly, and Decorist.
To the Trade wholesalers are adapting to this eCommerce mindset by delivering online designer portals to their designer’s fingertips. Not only are they offering online catalogs with custom options, they’re combining online To the Trade showrooms with CPQ software, dealer portals to build brand preference and maintain inventory in real-time.
Designer Portals are the new standard for To the Trade companies. To the Trade showrooms that also utilize an online designer portal will have an increase in sales, convenience guarantee, and designer satisfaction. An online designer portal gives To the Trade designers access to their projects at any hour, even if the showroom’s doors are closed. In partnership with home furnishing manufactures who use an Online Pricing Configurator and 3D Product Visualizer, designers will be able to customize pieces to their desired specifications in real 3D imaging and add it to their project.
Benefits of an Online Portal
An online portal for To the Trade showrooms has many benefits as it puts designing, configuring, quoting, and ordering all in the hands of the designers from wherever they are, on their favorite device. If 24/7 access to products and design projects isn’t convincing enough, look at all designers can do through an online portal:
Browse Selections
Designers will be able to peruse all available selections and products of all brands carried, just as in the showroom.
Manage Projects
The online portal organizes workflow enabling editing on multiple design projects at once. Designers also have the option of organizing within projects.
Configure Custom Products
Through the online configurator on the portal, designers will be able to configure custom pieces specifically to their client’s requests online, at any time. Unique requests can be requested and customizations will be designer approved before finalized.
Receive Custom Quotes
By customizing products online, receiving customized quotes will be a faster process than before.
Proof of Selected Preferences
Designers are able to track and view all previous and current selected preferences without the worry of invalid orders. They’ll be able to check what is valid and view order history without having to pick up the phone.
Direct Communication
The chat feature gives designers direct communication with a To the Trade representative to ask questions and request customizations.
Place Orders
Design projects can be easily turned into active orders through the online portal. Individual products can also be ordered through the “quick add to cart” option.
Check Order Status
Designers will have the ability to check any order’s status through the portal without having to pick up the phone.
As eCommerce quickly becomes the new standard for B2B sales, now is the time for To the Trade home furnishing companies to create a virtual showroom that puts the freedom of design in the hands of their designers 24/7.