On the way home I keep catching a 30-sheet billboard on Ella T Grasso Boulevard in New Haven for Deke’s Furniture of Branford, CT. There are no pictures on it, just a simple message. Something along the lines of: “The other choice. No assembly.”
Deke’s has done something that small businesses fail to do time and time again. They’ve differentiated their brand from competitors, not by lowering prices, but by pointing out quality in a smart and interesting way. They are obviously comparing their shop to IKEA, who I assume steals a great deal of market share – there is seemingly never a day that place is not packed.
People love going to IKEA. They love the maze. And the meatballs. And the cute little decorations they’ve added to their carts on the way out. But what they don’t love, is when they get home and have to put that pile of particleboard and plastic together. Deke’s only offers solid wood furniture, custom finished, and it’s already put together, so there’s no disappointment (unless you’re really jonesin’ for Swedish meatballs).
Most small business messaging on billboards tends to feature either a huge discount or just a beauty shot of the furniture to highlight the design, with no message to accompany it at all. It all starts to blend together. So kudos to Deke’s for their Davey and Goliath approach, and for standing out in a sea of furniture store mediocrity.
Now if only they can figure out a better social media strategy, they’ll be good to go. (If you have trouble reading the entries below, you can see them on Deke’s Google+ page here.)
