9:00 am – 10:00 am

Don’t make these common mistakes in your email marketing

Ken Mahar, CEO, Email Broadcast

Email marketing should get great results. If yours isn’t, you’re not doing it right – and you’re not alone. Most furniture retailers make five key mistakes in their email campaigns. Find out from Ken Mahar how many of these blunders you commit. Then learn the latest strategies to set your business apart using email marketing automation, retargeting, segmentation and more. You’ll leave better equipped to run a flawless campaign that’s sure to get great results.How many mistakes are you making in your email campaign? Find out with this dynamic talk from Email Broadcast CEO, and furniture veteran Ken Mahar as he walks through each of the 5 mistakes almost all retailers are making with their campaign. Also learn the latest strategies to set your business apart using email marketing automation, retargeting, segmentation and more. Don’t miss this one as Ken’s talks have been top rated and provide actionable advice.

10:30 am – 11:30 am

Increase your revenue with the right follow-through

Lenny Kharitonov, co-founder, Unlimited Furniture, EmmaMason and Greenboard

Your marketing team works hard generating customer leads from your website, social media, phone inquiries and in-store traffic. But, do you know how well your salespeople are following up and closing the sale? Industry retail veteran Lenny Kharitonov will present proven closing techniques that work with online to in-store customer engagement, tracking leads and closing sales.

1:00 pm – 2:00 pm

That Google Analytics guru can be … you

Fredy Wright, digital director, Conquest Digital Solutions

Your site’s Google Analytics can give you valuable information, or they can befuddle you. What do all those terms and charts really mean? How do you use them? Fredy Wright can tell you! By the time he lets you in on all his must-know tips for interpreting the data, you will be a Google Analytics guru, too! Learn how to track the flow of visitors to your site. You can see where they are, what they’re doing and what interests and behaviors they reveal. All this and more will show you how to get expert-level use out of the web’s most popular digital analytics software.

2:30 pm – 3:30 pm

Micro, macro and mega influencers: Paid ‘word-of-mouth’ publicity boosts sales

Ellen Gefen, Gefen Marketing; Jeanne Chung, Cozy Stylish Chic; and Lisa Cody, Twin Star Home

Influencers boost sales and increase market share for businesses in other industries. They can do the same for furniture retailers, large or small. Ellen Gefen will lead a lively discussion with two experts who are already working successfully in this field. Jeanne Chung is an interior designer and retail store owner who captures the ears and eyes of consumers with the help of “friends” they trust. Lisa Cody, vice president of marketing for Twin Star Home, works with design influencers on the company’s “Style Takeover” program. They’ll tell you how you can use paid influencers to win loyal customers for your business.

4:00 pm – 5:00 pm

Getting ‘likes’ on Instagram? Great! Now turn them into sales 

Jason Pires, CEO & creative director, Furniture Branding

Digital marketing engagement means customers are interested. But you’ve still got to pull them into your store and get them to buy. Jason Pires will outline strategies and tactics to build compelling experiences that reach from your store to customers’ phones and back again. He’ll also show you how to utilize tools such as geo-targeting, redeemable coupons and “Instagrammable” activations, all of which push up sales.

10:30 am – 11:30 am

Proven steps to grow cash flow

David McMahon, certified management accountant and organizational improvement specialist

Join David McMahon in walking through a case study of a business that was struggling just to meet payroll but turned itself around and significantly grew its cash flow. Drawing from other real-world retail examples, David will share proven steps for evaluating your business, spotting opportunities and implementing actions that bring in more cash.  

1:00 pm – 2:00 pm

Consumers follow a winding path: Steer them in your direction Multi-touch Sales Phenomenon: Embracing the Online to Offline Model

Ken Widger, marketing program manager, MicroD

These days, consumers take many different routes to a purchase. The successful retailer is one who can meet them on any path. Ken Widger will explain how the shopping journey has evolved and disclose the secrets of top retailers who have learned how to engage customers at many points along the way, beginning long before the purchase is made. If you want to learn how to steer the customer’s journey from your online channels to offline sales, don’t miss this.

2:30 pm – 3:30 pm

How to utilize a digital sales process to turn website traffic into in-store appointments and sales 

Scott Hill, chief revenue officer, PERQ, LLC

Are you successful in leveraging your website to start the sales process BEFORE the customer arrives in your store? Or are you missing these golden opportunities? When asked this question, most home furnishing retailers say they don’t even know how to begin. Don’t be one of them! Scott Hill will address the challenges and explore best practices to help your sales teams reach consumers in a meaningful way so they can set appointments and close more in-store sales. Scott will share examples of your peers who have created successful digital sales strategies, with up to 15 percent of their overall revenue originating from their websites.

4:00 pm – 5:00 pm

Sales management excellence: How to get the most from your sales professionals

Lorri Kelley, owner, Lorri Kelley Advisors

Retail is all about sales. So, it’s not likely your business will thrive unless your sales staff is well-trained, energized, motivated and encouraged. That only happens with strong sales-management leadership. How good is the sales-management leadership in your organization? Industry veteran Lorri Kelley was one of the best in her exemplary career. She will present specific steps for becoming an exceptional sales manager and getting the most from your sales team – while having fun and celebrating the great results you’ll achieve.

9:00 am – 10:00 am

How increasing customer lifetime value fuels revenue growth

Laura Khoury, CEO, Shoptelligence  
What does customer lifetime value mean to you? It should mean a lot, especially if you’re in business for the long run. CLV is the worth of a customer over the entire period of his or her relationship with the retailer. It’s an important but often-overlooked metric, as it costs less to keep existing customers than to acquire new ones. Increasing the value of your existing customers is a great strategy to drive revenue growth and compete in an increasingly crowded market. Laura Khoury will explore best practices for increasing customer satisfaction across digital and in-store experiences and maximizing positive interactions to gain customers for life. 

10:30 pm – 11:30 am

Avoid e-commerce pitfalls and keep customers coming back

John Bancroft, senior consultant, Fit for Commerce

Today’s consumer expectations for online shopping leave no room for error; a competitor is just one click away. Retailers and brands must master the execution of the online experience to meet the demand of the digital shopper. John Bancroft will address pitfalls and best practices to help optimize the ecommerce site, increase sales and, ultimately, keep happy customers returning.

1:00 pm – 2:00 pm

Find, develop and keep great people

Joe Milevsky, CEO, JRM Sales & Management, Inc.

Nothing creates more stress in business than people issues. No wonder. If your workforce isn’t managed correctly, people problems can dramatically limit your potential and eventually engineer your company’s demise. So, leave those troubles to the competition! Management expert Joe Milevsky will tell you where to find the best people, how to attract, screen and interview them and what you can do to create a company culture that brings out the best in your employees and inspires them to stay. Joe also will cover positive employee performance reviews, coaching for improvement and how to properly hold people accountable.

2:30 pm – 3:30 pm

Develop loyalty with a successful rewards program Loyalty Program Success in the Furniture Industry

Chad Burwell, founder, Rewardslp.com

It typically costs five times more to win a new customer than to keep an existing one. How do you keep your customers coming back time and time again? Loyalty programs! Although loyalty programs are relatively new to the furniture industry, there are retailers who use them to their advantage. Chad Burwell will outline three types of loyalty programs and explain how they cultivate customer loyalty. If you implement a loyalty program today, you’ll see customers come back tomorrow.