5 Ways To Get More Mattress Customers Without Ads by Grant Kennedy Web Designer
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5 Ways To Get More Mattress Customers Without Ads

This post is focused on how to get more mattress customers but the principles and tactics can be applied to pretty much every industry.

Objective: Build a solid base of loyal customers without competing on price. Become the local mattress and furniture expert.

High level POV:

This strategy will give your mattress business a strong foundation to grow. Whether starting from zero, rebuilding after a slump, or if you’re rebranding.

We want to do 2 things: bring in warm leads and increase existing customer lifetime value (LTV). 

To do this, we are going to be leveraging 5 tried-and-true marketing tactics. The benefit of these tactics is that they do not require large marketing budgets. Just sweat equity and consistency.

The 5 tactics are: Local SEO, Email Marketing, Networking, Referral Marketing, and Content Marketing.

Before we dive into each of these tactics,  let’s take a look at what you will need.

The Tools:

  • A website with a domain (mystore.blogspot.com or one of those google business sites will not work)
  • Good Business Profile
  • YouTube acct + (pick one: facebook, insta, or LinkedIn)
  • Email marketing software (preferably Mailerlite but anything is fine)
  • A phone with a camera
  • Optional: Canva

That’s it. I’m going to assume you have a smartphone and a website already. Everything else is free or has free versions. 

Now let’s discuss each of the previous marketing tactics briefly before putting them all together into a system.

Local SEO For Getting More Mattress Customers:

SEO is making it easy for Google and Bing to find you and your content, as well as show its value. That’s it.

To boost your local SEO, you will need an optimized Google Business Profile, a website, and backlinks. Other than the website, you can do all this for free.

11 Steps for Local SEO:

1. Claim and Optimize Google My Business (GMB)

  • Claim Your GMB: Claim your business on Google My Business.
  • Complete Profile: Fill in all details accurately. Including name, address, phone number (NAP), business hours, photos, and a compelling description.
  • Choose Categories: Select relevant categories for your business. In this case, mattresses or furniture.
  • Get Reviews: Encourage satisfied customers to leave reviews.

2. NAP Consistency

  • Ensure your business’s Name, Address, and Phone number are consistent across all online platforms. This includes your website, social media, directories, and listings.

Not sure which website builder to choose?

Read this article to find out which website builder you should use for your business in 2024

3. Website Optimization

  • Local Keywords: Use local keywords in your website’s meta tags, headings, content, and URLs.
  • Mobile Optimization: Ensure your site is mobile-friendly for better local visibility.
  • Local Content: Create location-specific content, like local news, events, or tips relevant to your area.

4. Local Citations and Directories

  • Local Directories: Get listed on local directories like Yelp, Yellow Pages, TripAdvisor, etc.
  • Consistent Info: Maintain consistent NAP information across these directories.

5. Encourage Online Reviews

  • Positive Reviews: Encourage customers to leave positive reviews on Google, Yelp, and Facebook.
  • Respond to Reviews: Engage with reviewers. Respond to both positive and negative ones professionally.

6. Create Local Content

  • Blogs or Articles: Write blog posts or articles about local events, news, or anything relevant to your area.
  • Local Keywords: Use location-specific keywords in your content.

7. Utilize Social Media

  • Local Engagement: Engage with local communities on social media platforms.
  • Local Hashtags: Use local hashtags to reach a local audience.

8. Schema Markup

  • Structured Data: Add schema markup to your website to help search engines understand your local business better.

9. Monitor and Adjust

  • Analytics: Use tools like Google Analytics and GMB Insights to track your performance.
  • Adjust Strategies: Based on the data, adjust your strategies for better results.

10. Local Link Building

  • Partner with local businesses or sponsor events and get backlinks from their websites.

11. Location Pages

  • If your business has more than one location, create separate pages for each store. If your main store is in Houston and you got another in Ft. Worth, those should have 2 separate pages on your website.

Networking To Get More Mattress Customers:

This one is pretty self-explanatory but to maximize your efforts, you must be deliberate about WHO you network with.

You want to network with business owners in complementary industries who have customers/clients who spend money.

Chiropractors and physiotherapists are the two that you should be trying to connect with.

You’re not trying to sell them anything. You want to build up a professional relationship in order to refer each other business.

Chiropractors spend all day helping people with back issues and those customers are paying in order to feel better. They will also likely pay to upgrade their bed to feel better. 

Give the chiropractor some business cards with a unique code and a special offer for his/her clients. It’s customized enough to know who is a referral and also that they are unique to that chiropractor.

You may even want to entice the chiropractor to refer people to you by offering them an affiliate commission.

Other people to network with:

  • interior designers
  • home remodelers
  • local hotels and motels,
  • resorts,
  • plumbers,
  • fire department,
  • crime scene clean-up companies.
  • If there are bigger companies in your area that offer relocation help to employees, you might be of service to them as well.

If you haven’t joined your local Chamber of Commerce, do it.

Get off of Facebook Marketplace and get out into your community. You’ll get better customers and higher sales.

Email Marketing To Get More Mattress Customers

If you have already been collecting customer emails, awesome! You’re starting out strong. If you don’t have any customer emails, start collecting them today.

If your current CRM doesn’t have an email marketing feature, head over to www.mailerlite.com and sign up for a free account. You will connect this account to your website, use it to collect emails when people click on an ad, and stay connected to past customers.

If you already have a list, send out a quick email to everyone on your list. No fancy graphics or salesy language. Just ask them how they’re doing and if their purchase is still serving them well. Invite them to reply or give you a call. That’s it. Relationship rekindled.

From here on out, whether your list is big or small, email them at least every week.

“People don’t read emails. I don’t read them, I just ignore them or delete them.” Yeah… and you’re also not your customer. You’re not some random ecommerce company they bought from once. You met them in person and sold them a mattress, piece of furniture, etc. 

They will read your email if you aren’t salesy and are writing to a friend. Be a human, not a sleazy marketer. If you provide value, they will read it.

To your email list, you can offer exclusive deals. Only available to them. If other people want the deal, they have to sign up. You can automate this easily in Mailerlite (sign up, auto email with discount, then moved onto regular newsletter list).

Grow your list like your business depends on it… because it does. 

Don’t worry if a lot of people aren’t opening your emails. That’s ok. They’re still seeing your name in your inbox… again and again and again. It’s free advertising.

When you see a Coke ad, you might not want to drink one then and there but you’re more likely to think of Coke when you’re thirsty. 

Email marketing has the highest ROI of any other marketing tactic. 1 email can generate thousands of dollars in revenue and grow your customer LTV substantially.

Referral Marketing:

Here we’re going to start combining a couple of these tactics together. Like I mentioned in networking, you can offer people finder’s fees for bringing you leads.

Another way you can increase your referrals is with your email list. Your email list gets exclusive deals but you can empower your subscribers to give out that deal to others. Make it limited tho (it’s artificially limited but your subs don’t need to know that). 

For example,

“Hey Jennie,

Hope you’re enjoying the sun this 4th of July weekend! Got any special plans?

The wife and I are planning on heading to the lake with our kids for the weekend.

Just wanted to let you know about a special deal we have on cooling mattress toppers. They’re guaranteed to keep you cool while you’re sleeping, saving you a ton of money on your AC bill.

You automatically get 30% off because you’re a subscriber. If you don’t need one, that’s ok. If any of your friends are having trouble sleeping at night with this heat, feel free to pass this email on to them. I’ll pass your savings on to them.

If there is anything I can help you with, please let me know!

Sincerely,

Bob”

Same discount, same product but now your customers are enticed to spread the word. People like helping other people solve problems. Sets them up as a hero.

Content Marketing

You’re going to create content that sets you up as a local authority on mattresses and furniture. You do this by creating videos on topics, questions, and concerns your ideal customers might have. You’re then going to post them on Youtube, your website, and social media.

Step 1:

Brainstorm all questions and concerns past customers have had. Try to imagine all of the one’s they might ask. You can use Quora, Reddit, or Google to help. If you’re particularly keen, you can also check out Answer The Public.

Write these all down on a piece of paper, a Google doc, spreadsheet, or whatever you prefer.

Step 2:

Sort these ideas based on difficulty. The easier they are to talk about without research, the higher they go on the list.

Step 3:

Put these ideas on your calendar. Minimum 1 a week. Shoot for 3 per week.

Step 4:

Before you record, grab any props you might need. If you’re comparing 2 pillows, get those pillows. If you’re offering a sale or something, mention it at the end of the video and invite people to sign up for your mailing list if they want the discount.

Step 5:

Record the video. If you’re not used to it, it’ll feel scary/weird/uncomfortable. That’s ok. It’s normal. It’ll go away in time.

Step 6:

Post it… unless you really messed it up. If you froze or it was really bad, just do it over. Big budget movies shoot scenes tons of times to get it right. Don’t be too hard on yourself.

Step 7:

Upload to YouTube, Facebook, and/or Instagram individually. Don’t use your YouTube link for FB and Instagram. They don’t like that and it won’t get as much traction. DO USE your YouTube link on your website. Embed it on a page and type out what you said. 

If you don’t want to transcribe your video yourself, people on Fiverr or Upwork will do it for cheap…or college kids.

Step 8:

Share, share, share.

Step 9:

Repeat steps 1-8 for the next video.

Put in the reps. Avoid politics. Talking about politics or social issues will only hurt your business. Keep it focused on helping potential customers.

So now let’s put all of these together into an action plan.

Action Plan

Daily activities:

  • Reach out to 1-2 local business owners in complementary industries. 
  • Research topics for videos and add them to your list.
  • Follow up with a recent customer by phone. See how they’re doing and ask for a Google Review. 
  • If a customer has a birthday, email them and wish them a happy birthday.
  • Check Google Business Profile for reviews or new questions.

Weekly Activities:

  • Email mailing list. Give an update about the store, about the community, about the industry, offer a deal, and wish them well. That’s it. Keep it human.
  • Create a video on a topic and post them to YT, FB and/or Insta.
  • Take a picture of new products and post to your Google Business Profile and social media accounts.
  • Post new deal to Google Business Profile.
  • Attend any networking, business, or community events. 

Monthly Activities:

  • Create 2 new offers: a tripwire and a main offer.
  • Create content calendar of video topics.
  • Look at analytics and compare to previous month

If you consistently provide value to your ideal customer, they will choose you even when there is a cheaper option. The tough part is just cutting thru the noise which is why you need to be consistent. Day in, day out. 

Remember: Marketing is like bodybuilding. You got to put in the reps.

Useful Reading:

  • This is Marketing by Seth Godin
  • Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss
  • Marketing Made Simple by Donald Miller
  • Hubspot’s free inbound marketing course
  • Little Red Book of Sales by Jeffrey Gitomer

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