Colour splash With Jollity: Bring Your Paint Business to the Fore

COLOURSPLASH WITH JOLLITY
BRING YOUR PAINT BUSINESS TO THE FORE
P I X E L S U T R A

If you sell paint, you’ve got a lot of boarders. Specialty stores, other independent home
improvement stores, farm supply stores, big boxes and even discounters like Walmart all
want to sell to it. But while many retailers can put paint cans on shelves, few are able to
fully maximize the category. Doing this requires a retailer to stay on top of trends, keep
abreast of the latest product innovations, create an inspiring in-store presentation and
offer knowledgeable assistance.
Simply put, being successful with paint means going beyond the basics and finding
ways to make your paint department stand out from the competition.
To see what separates the good from the best, let us focus on three retailers who have
mastered the art of selling this category. Since the best paint retailers always have an
eye on fashion, a bite from the representative from the Pantone Color Institute has been
incorporated, to let you know what’s new and trending in color and design for 2017.
The success of your paint department depends on your willingness to change quickly
with trends in the market. Donnelly, Vice President of sales operations at Flanagan Paint,
a specialty paint store in St. Louis, Missouri, brought in a line of new products. This year,
he’s working to get that same line replaced because they’re already outdated.
According to him things change real fast in this industry. A continually updated inventory
has become a mandate! Unfortunately, most independent hardware stores don’t stay up
with the trends in their paint department. That kind of makes them obsolete right when
one customer sees them. And, that’s not a viable
option for any business. Even when distributors
make it easy to return products in exchange for
new items, many retailers don’t go through the
trouble of swapping them out, and that
can have a negative impact on the
success of the department.
Colour splash with jollity Bring your Paint Business to the fore
P I X E L S U T R A

One of the hottest trends in the paint category right now, for example, revolves around
specialty paints and applicators. Chalk and chalkboard paints, as well as mirror and
glow-in-the-dark paints, continue to be popular.
Stephanie Hunter, floor supervisor at Wildomar Ace, California, says paint that creates a
weathered, antique look is one of the most popular trends now. She adds that rags, chip
brushes and other tools are what do-it-yourselfers(DIYs) are using to produce that look.
Whatever the current trend, the best paint retailers are those who keep an open mind
about what specialty paints might catch on and who search trade shows and magazines
for the latest product trends.
CREATE AN EXCEPTIONAL SHOPPING
EXPERIENCE
Before you can even start putting yourself forward as the retailer of choice in paint, you
need to look the part. While it’s important to have bright light and fully stocked shelves,
it’s not enough if you want to be an exceptional paint retailer. Consumers generally
expect a different experience when choosing colors to paint their homes than when, for
example, they buy a box of nails. They want a place where they can
feel comfortable browsing. And if they’re going to buy a premium
product, they expect a premium shopping experience.
P I X E L S U T R A

P I X E L S U T R A
“If you’re trying to sell a $60 gallon of paint, you can’t have your department looking 60
years old,” Donnelly says. Most stores don’t give indoor renovation of stores a high
priority, but when premium services and products are sold it is imperative to hold that
look - within and without. At Flanagan Paints, a single year don’t pass without making at
least a minor adjustment to the store layout. If it’s been awhile since you’ve given your
paint department a makeover, you’re likely overdue. Most retailers who do well in paint
focus on the customer’s paint-buying
experience. That means staying current
on color racks and planograms
from your paint vendor. Keep new
and premium products at eye
level at the entrance of your paint
department. Make a place that’s
comfortable to sit, look at color
swatches and talk with a paint
consultant.
Source : flanaganpaint

PINE WITH PINTEREST
Ask nearly any retailer what’s new in the paint department, and it won’t be long before
you hear the word “Pinterest.” This social media platform has given do-it-yourselfers a
whole new level of confidence about doing projects themselves, along with a wealth of
new ideas. DIYers who find a project they’d like to try on- Pinterest-ers typically end up in
your store asking for the products to complete that project. If you want to be a top-tier
paint retailer, you should look at Pinterest, too.
Paint manufacturers or dealers must spend a lot of time studying Pinterest to stay
updated themselves on what’s trending and to bring them on! Customers may know what
the finished project will look like, but are not always sure how to get there, or what
products to use. Flanagan Paints even help people figure out how to do a particular
project; having the patience to work with a customer like that is part of offering great
customer service. Look everywhere for trends, including Pinterest and HGTV, so your
business can stay one step ahead of your customers.
The challenge is with customers who want to use exactly what the blogger they follow
have used. So it’s imperative to know what’s trending and all of the latest painting
techniques so that if you don’t have the exact same product, you can direct your
customers to the closest paint colour.
And don’t just follow on Pinterest: Lead the way with a page for your own store. Flanagan
Paint has its own Pinterest page where customers can search for project ideas that
involve the colors and tools found in the store. It’s also a great place for Donnelly to post
project how-to information and establish his business as an authority on paint and
design.
P I X E L S U T R A

Take a look at their pin boards and created curated looks. They are not only attractive and
appealing, but also show a high sense of marketing by learning and updating
consecutively. Learning is imperative for any business and Flanagan Paints have nailed it.
Similarly, a global industry player Asian Paints have also done the same in their
marketing moves. They too keep their Pinterest page active and ethically, beautifully
chosen blend of colours and textures.
Source : pinterest
Source : pinterest
P I X E L S U T R A

P I X E L S U T R A
Also, it gives easy Home decor ideas, or Do it Yourself projects that can be accomplished
with Asian Paints’ own range of paints and tools.
Asian Paints also introduced it’s new line of wall stickers and they are so in trend with the
current generation and for children, as always! Imbibing leading trends and not just wall
paints, Asian Paints has nailed it all!
BE PROACTIVE IN EDUCATING
CONSUMER, STAFF AND YOURSELF
Waiting for a customer to ask a question about a project won’t always get the conversation
started. Because of the wealth of information on the Internet, the average consumer today
probably did a lot of research on the project they want to tackle, so they may not think they
need your help.
h t t p s : / /
w w w. y o u t u b e . c
o m / w a t c h ?
v=zsP7_bG1I5s
Ezycolour Consultancy @ Home with Colour Shastra Experience

P I X E L S U T R A
Encourage your employees to start the conversation. The information the customer has
may not always be accurate, so it’s important to find out exactly what they found out
online, and then confirm if it’s really correct. To do that, it’s even more critical that
employees are well-trained in product and project knowledge. Asian Paints provide their
customers with an array of services, literally anything that can cross the mind of a person
buying a paint or service. Therefore, they have at-home color consultation service, ‘Colour
Shashtra’ - color selection based on Vastu Shastra principles, home painting services.
They haven’t put themselves any way backward. They’ve grasped almost everything to
cater to their business and displayed them beautifully on their website- which is a vision to
watch.
Taking the extra time to ask customers about their projects and make sure they have the
correct information can help build the sale, not only with add-on products, but with the
correct products. Experts, for example, often said that one of the most misunderstood
parts of the painting project is the primer. Among the many different types of primers
available, do your customers know the correct one to use? They may initially choose a
cheap primer, but if you educate them on the differences between the primers and the
advantages of each, you could easily upsell them a better primer that does the job right. In
addition to being proactive in educating customers, the best paint retailers are proactive in
providing ongoing education to their employees.
PREMIUM PAINTS
All of the paint retailers researched after, have shown more and more consumers are
buying premium paints. Industry experts have definitely seen a trend toward higher-quality
paints, as people are willing to spend more for better quality. An assortment that includes
all price levels for each type of customer may not be that unusual for a paint department,
but the best retailers are proactive in getting their customers to try the higher level of
products.

P I X E L S U T R A
Albrecht Painting Company, that sells anywhere from 150 to 250 gallons of paint out of their
stores every week, give away a premium item if it means their customer will at least try it.
These are the most intelligent moves to get people become your customers, rather than
relying the ones who are already there. Read the below testimonial of Albrecht regarding
his sales of rollers:“My do-it-yourself customers used to come in and get the cheapest
rollers they could find. Then I started giving them quality roller covers for free and asked
them just to try it. Now, they’re hooked on them and buy them constantly.” As Albrecht has
found, usually convincing the customer to buy a premium product rather than a cheap one
involves some education.
Sometimes it’s helpful to simplify the language to distinguish the different levels of paint
you can offer; ask your customers if the paint they are choosing is for a permanent home,
small-time abode or investment property. Using these denominators usually helps the
customer decide what type of paint they should buy.
Don’t think that do-it-yourselfers are the only ones who need education about quality
products, either. Oftentimes, big paint industry manufacturers have to educate their
contractors who have always gone for the lower-quality items, but may be willing to switch
once they know the benefits of a better product. Albrecht of Albrecht Paints uses his
giveaway tactic to promote new products or to hook the business of a prospective
customer.

MOVING ON TO WALL COVERINGS
AND DIYS
Generation 21st century is becoming Generation DIY in more ways than just crafting. In the
past, crafting and do it yourself remained somehow dominantly practised by homemakers,
grandparents and kids initially. But our generation has more than transcended. This
generation loves doing things by themselves, adventurous as they are- Paint industries
could have panicked at the idea of losing customer services, wherein customers want to
practise DIYs. But some smart companies took it as a challenge and brought out to
customers tips and techniques to help them achieve the look they want, all by themselves
but getting the expert special touch. Asian Paints enlarged their resource section where
customers can now see DIY videos brought to them by Asian Paints themselves. Here are
some of the most watched and important videos:
P I X E L S U T R A
h t t p s : / /
w w w . y o u t u b e . c o
m / w a t c h ?
t i m e _ c o n t i n u e = 1
& v = V u 5 6 3 p r F u U o
How to plan before you paint - Interactive Film

This section has widely popularised the urban lifestyle and is getting huge profit margins
over the years.
Wallpapers or coverings not only makes a room individual but also it has a broad range of
designs to create a unique living environment. In that case, it is no different from paints.
Busy urbanized homes are growing at a rapid pace in this century, coping up with their
needs, paint manufacturers are also changing their eye on viable options to sell out and
create a buzz. Wallpapers are less work and once it’s finished there’s no delaying to enjoy
your new space, unlike wait till the paints dry out.
Asian Paints brought out their latest designer and beautiful collection of wallpapers called
‘Nilaya’. They are available in different textures and by categories such as ‘cartoon
characters’ or ‘floral’/ ‘geometrical’: anything and everything is possible with wallpapers.
Asian Paints introduced their line with very creative and relatable present day lifestyle
short films to portray what exactly they aim to achieve.
P I X E L S U T R A
h t t p s : / /
w w w . y o u t u b e . c o
m / w a t c h ?
t i m e _ c o n t i n u e = 1
& v = V u 5 6 3 p r F u U o
How to paint your wall DIY video by Asian Paints:
How to plan before you paint - Interactive Film

P I X E L S U T R A
Let’s take a look at some of the most-watched films produced by Asian Paints-
h t t p s : / /
www.youtube.co
m / w a t c h ?
v=K7fFx0o0VOU
h t t p s : / /
www.youtube.c
o m / w a t c h ?
v=Do9sEPeSk5I
Asian Paints Butterfly Effect Wall Stickers
Asian Paints scoot away and easy rider Wall Stickers

P I X E L S U T R A
They have also run a series of episodes in their campaign named ‘The Great Indian
Makeover’ wherein they renovated and decorated living spaces of innumerable people,
including celebrities.
TECHNOLOGY AND PAINT
The worst thing to happen after painting is that the shade you selected does not really
look as good as how you thought it would! That’s because colors are best judged when
seen, not thought. That’s why Asian Paints now lets you “Visualize”, using the Virtual
Reality technology, how your room will look like after it has been painted in a certain shade
of color before applying true paint on the wall. You can choose from a number of sample
images already provided in the app and try different colors on the walls. The app contains
a variety of images of different categories like- bedroom, dining room, living room, kitchen,
and even exteriors.Choose the sample image you like. Then to paint the walls in the image,
choose “paint” icon on the bottom left and tap on “explore” on the top left. You can choose
from a range of colors that appear on the left side of the screen.
h t t p s : / /
www.youtube.co
m / w a t c h ?
v=lvB9ux4MWDkThe Great Indian Home Makeover

P I X E L S U T R A
And tap on the walls in the picture
to paint. Or even better, to get a much
realistic visual you can also take a picture
of your own room which you want to paint. And start “painting”
the walls in the picture. You can take as many pictures as you
want. So, the next time you think of painting your room, try this app first: Asian Paints Color
Visualiser. Take a look:
COLOUR WITH AUGMENTED
REALITY APPS
Choosing the right color for your room is not an easy task. The colors that you see in the
catalogues generally differ when you have them painted on the walls and the paint
swatches are not enough. Augmented reality app TapPainter does exactly that. You can
use this app and see how your rooms would look with different shades of paint on them.
Paint companies like Dutch Boy, Behr, Sherwin Williams, Benjamin Moore, Dunn Edwards,
California Paints and many others have provided paint color decks for the TapPainter AR
app. You can choose any shade from their paint decks, enter the color code and see your
room in new colors. Going with civilisation and lifestyle trends and incorporating
technology such as Virtual Reality or Augmented Reality is the key to progress of your
paint industry.
Source : asianpaints

This was an analysis about various modern marketing techniques for your Paint
Industry. If you would like to have a detailed discussion, please get in touch with us
at hello@pixelsutra.com. We would be glad to assist you.
www.pixelsutra.com
P I X E L S U T R A

Colour splash With Jollity: Bring Your Paint Business to the Fore

Recomendados

Recomendados

Mais conteúdo relacionado

Mais procurados

Mais procurados (20)

Semelhante a Colour splash With Jollity: Bring Your Paint Business to the Fore

Semelhante a Colour splash With Jollity: Bring Your Paint Business to the Fore (20)

Mais de PixelSutra Design Services Pvt. Ltd.

Mais de PixelSutra Design Services Pvt. Ltd. (10)

Último

Último (20)

Colour splash With Jollity: Bring Your Paint Business to the Fore