AMBER INSIGHTS

As governors begin to open states, business owners find themselves questioning if they should hit the brake or stomp on the gas. Unfortunately, there are no how-to videos on YouTube.

Safety guides from OSHA are available for manufacturing and retail, but they can only carry you so far when assessing the risk to business and persons. As a business owner, your state’s reopening guidelines are required reading – as is the White House guide for reopening. Regardless of our political leaders’ confidence in our ability to safely reopen our country, the business community seems less so.

Now that you built a community on social media and have a fully stocked digital catalog of products to sell, it’s time to embrace the art of social selling. We call it an art because it’s a subtle sales tool that varies greatly from the offer and close of traditional retail.

For effective social selling, carefully consider your audience's interests. What types of media do they respond to? Is there a particular topic or inspiration type that evokes a like, comment or share? Model your new material to the identified preferences and begin creating social content that’s relevantly linked to products in your digital catalog.

As the dividing line between growth and stagnation, Ecommerce seems daunting for small furniture companies. But the good news is that software and platforms exist to make online sales easier, less stressful and easier to manage. So, this is your chance to mark another big item off your long-running to-do list.

Content is one of those weird words that marketers like to throw around. Content marketing. Content strategy. Content creation. So, if you’re doing your own marketing, the term may be confusing. After all, where does one procure – ahem – the content?

At its simplest, content refers to any visual material your company shares with persons outside of your company. This includes everything from whitepapers and product brochures to social media memes and product videos. It also includes your website and all its contents – not to fuzzy the word – including landing page copy, imagery and blogs.

If you’re like a lot of furniture companies, you’ve put off starting social media accounts. Maybe you thought it was going to be a fad. Perhaps the prospect of starting and maintaining a presence just seems too big, or you’re not sure what you would contribute. That’s why the marketers here at Amber Engine have assembled a quick start guide to help your company engage with your audience fast.

As the days and weeks wear long on our patience and pocketbooks, it’s worth a look around to see what your company needs to put in place to accommodate business once we’re past the pandemic.

Some speculate that we will never be “back to normal” because coronavirus and the subsequent quarantine has shaped our daily lives so much that it will be impossible to do “business as usual” again. That may be true, not only from an operational perspective but also, crisis planning and digital assets will change.

While some businesses are closing production facilities, others are announcing re-opening strategies. Have you created your reopening plan? Are you working the time between wisely?

What is your company’s contribution in times of trouble? Is there a way to answer the call of your conscience in a creative and inventive way? This post explores the creative ways in which companies, both within home furnishings and without, are making a difference in difficult times.

Do you find yourself with more time on your hands and less clarity about what to do with it than normal right now? With social distancing at its peak, business as usual has come to a grinding halt for most furniture leaders.

Today's post we’ll help you formulate a coherent sense of priority for your furniture business. In it, you'll learn what projects and tasks you can prioritize in marketing, sales, and technology so that you come out as strong as possible from this pandemic.

It’s tempting, in light of all of the changes brought on by Covid-19, to feel as if there’s nothing constructive you can do to keep your furniture company moving forward. It may even be tempting to wave the white flag, mentally shut down, and watch the chaos unfold while you go through the motions, but there are better options for furniture leaders. Today, we will explore a more proactive agenda for your company during this time of uncertainty and crisis.

Even though production is back online in China after Covid-19 closures, American furniture suppliers still face an uphill battle with supply chain disruption. And it isn’t because India is still in their 21-day lockdown, either.

Noel Hacegaba, deputy executive director of administration & operations at the Port of Long Beach noted that 20% of scheduled carriers were curtailed because of coronavirus. Add reduced staffing to complete port closures and it all adds up to an uncertain wait for those of us eager to get back to business.

Steering the ship may be daunting on the daily, but especially so in times of crisis. Now, more than ever, leaders are left to navigate the COVID-19 maze in the dark. Without the support of a close-knit team to rely on, a room to read and feedback from employees, this is a trying time to make decisions, inspire action and steady losses.

When we find ourselves in situations beyond our level of expertise, it is imperative we turn to others for guidance and support. But, what happens when it’s your name at the top of the org chart? Where do leaders turn in times like this?

Pandemic Playbook Series Post 2: In this period of Stay Home we’re all companies asking, “Should we try to market during this time?” “What should our outbound message be right now?” “How do we talk to people without coming across as dirty, slimy or greasy?” Here are the three rules for marketing during the pandemic.

Pandemic Playbook Series Post 1: Whether your company has a Crisis Manager in place or you’re navigating new territory on your own, there’s a strange combination of elements at play. The desire to remain socially sensitive, the drive to provide employee protection and the need to navigate layoffs – and subsequent rehires – when the economy recovers. Let us help you navigate this challenging web during and after the Covid-19 crisis.