Kitchen Cabinet Brands Differentiate With Social Media Campaigns And Promotions

Throughout 2020, home renovations saw an uptick in popularity. Houzz, a popular website and community about home renovations and design, noticed “kitchen and bath remodeling projects picked up 40% in June [2020].” When remodeling kitchens, cabinets are often the most costly item. (Appliances and countertops are the next most costly items.) With renovations popular right now, cabinet brands need to differentiate their offerings and make shopping and purchasing as seamless as possible. 

An Unpredictable 2021 Should Push Cabinet Brands To Set Themselves Apart From Competitors

During Q3 of 2020, professional remodeling services saw a 2% year-over-year increase in business, and a study December 2020 predicted “the number of big-ticket projects [in Q4 2020] (with a value of $1,000 or more) nationally will increase by more than 8% over 2019.” Additionally, 83% of new homeowners in 2020 jumped into home improvements, compared to 70% in 2018, with kitchens being the leading remodeling priority. Some insiders anticipate the market will slow in 2021, making it essential that remodeling and associated brands create satisfying browsing, selection and buying processes for consumers. Content marketing, social media campaigns, VR/AR and direct-to-consumer (DTC) selling options are digital tactics many cabinet brands and manufacturers are deploying to stay ahead in this bustling, yet uncertain, market.

The RTA Store Offers Exclusive Online Sales With Content Marketing Highlighting The Brand’s Expertise

The RTA Store, a cabinet and kitchen design store, leans into the preferences of digital shoppers with exclusive online sales and promotions, seamless communication with consultants and online design tools. As ecommerce has become increasingly popular throughout the last year, consumers are becoming more tech savvy and expect shopping experiences won’t be clumsy or hit a lot of bumps. The RTA Store also shares its expertise with content marketing, including a lifestyle blog that covers topics ranging from charcuterie to budget remodeling. Home service brands, like cabinet manufacturers and installers, need to prioritize keywords and phrases that optimize their SEO performance to reach consumers when they’re looking. Robust content marketing, FAQs and video content may all be effective for this purpose. 

Semihandmade Disrupts The Kitchen Cabinet Industry While Shifting Focus To Lifestyle & DTC

Semihandmade founder John McDonald stumbled onto the idea of merging IKEA’s prefab cabinets with custom cabinet fronts in 2011, and now his business Semihandmade is bringing in revenue of more than $16 million a year, with a 367% growth rate from 2015 to 2019, the result of more than 20,000 completed projects. Despite what McDonald describes as an “odd” relationship with IKEA, Semihandmade has become very successful by merging custom with affordable, a winning gamble as homeownership soars among Millennials. Semihandmade is all over Instagram, leveraging influencers in the design world and serving as inspiration for trends like natural wood cabinetry and bold color. “I was always great at connecting and building relationships,” said MacDonald. “In terms of social media, it’s the same sort of thing.”

In 2019, Semihandmade increasingly outsourced its manufacturing to focus more on becoming a lifestyle brand. Semistories, the Semihandmade content hub that features customer stories and successes with the Semihandmade cabinetry, shows consumers what the brand can do. And, this month, Semihandmade plans to launch BOXI, a DTC cabinet ordering platform that cuts out IKEA as the middleman and uses AI solutions to help shoppers select from the brand’s eight popular style options. “There’s 15 paint companies, 175 mattress companies; there’s tiles and eyeglasses and sofas and shoes and chairs — but the question is: Can you do DTC for kitchens?” said McDonald. “The answer is: I don’t know, but we’re definitely going to try.”

Eliminating pain points has always been a priority for McDonald, and BOXI is the latest iteration of that brand mission. Digital solutions like ecommerce platforms, even for something as big and costly as cabinets, can be game changing for brands trying to raise margins while gaining attention in crowded markets, especially with audiences that prefer online transactions.

‘Cabinets To Go’ Leverages Customer Acquisition Campaigns To Connect With Consumers

Many cabinet companies have evolved to include digital lead generation strategies, including lead forms and click-to-call inbound paths. Cabinets To Go, a cabinet brand with both retail stores and a robust ecommerce website, offers a variety of ways for consumers to connect with consultants to learn more about product options, pricing, services and installation. With revenue greater than $90 million, Cabinets To Go is a one-stop shop for kitchen design and guides shoppers to a variety of different touchpoints during the browsing process, including free design consultations, free quotes and live chat. Consumers increasingly expect frictionless, direct access to customer service that facilitates easy purchasing. The “free design” button on the Cabinets To Go website takes shoppers to a detailed lead form that includes an opt in for receiving offers and savings, creating a future opportunity for Cabinets To Go via email outreach even if the immediate sales opportunity doesn’t pan out. 

Kitchen cabinet brands must be available for consumers when they are ready to start looking, offering easy accessibility to customer service and seamless transactions. With multichannel marketing and websites designed to provide information and convert sales, kitchen cabinet brands can spur engagement with high-intent consumers, leading to bigger sales and repeat business. 

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