WHY BETTER DATA MATTERS

It’s no secret that we live in a world run by data. I’m going to make a very bold statement here: if showrooms like yours and mine want to stay relevant and sell more lighting, getting better data from our suppliers is no longer optional. 

Better data is necessary.

In my last post, I talked briefly about what “better data” looks like to me as a showroom owner (in short, it’s product data that is ON TIME and ENRICHED with searchable keywords, classifications, multiple photos, descriptors, etc.) and I invited showrooms to start reaching out to their top few vendors about working with us to make that happen for showrooms (not just the online goliaths). 

In this article, I’ll be going into a bit more in detail. Please feel free to reference this article in your conversations with vendors – use it as a jumping-off point to get the conversation started. 

DATA: Three Basic Things Showrooms Need from Our Vendor Partners

High-quality data leads to more sales for my showroom and for our vendors. Point blank… if my vendors at Hansen Lighting ask us what they can do to get us to sell more of their product, one of the first things we say is: GREAT DATA.

High-quality data makes MY website and electronic catalog (and almost all showrooms are using one of the two major e-catalogs in lighting now) more searchable and more useful, and as our supplier that makes YOUR catalog more searchable and useful. 

When you’re speaking with your vendors, PLEASE remember – we are partners in business, not adversaries. Help them to feel appreciated for getting us great data by committing to sell more of their product, and be respectfully persistent… but never accusatory or demeaning.

Keep in mind, though, that better data for showrooms is not an unreasonable request. If a vendor sells through online e-tailers, the three things I’m asking for below almost certainly already exists. Compiling better data for showrooms is a task with little downside, just treat showrooms collectively as you would one of your etailers. 

With that in mind, here are the three basic components of great data: on-time, enriched data files, and high-quality images.

ON TIME DATA

In short, if you are going to show us an item in Dallas OR if you want us to sell it (if you’re not releasing it as a new item at market) the full data for that item should be in XO and Lights America. 

It would be incredibly beneficial to all if it were an industry standard for vendors to create and provide product data for new products before those products are released. Data should be part of the merchandising and display process – not an afterthought.

Many of the sales reps in our showrooms will see an item in their e-catalog before anywhere else (most of us don’t go to every Dallas market, and if we do, we don’t bring every one of our sales reps each time). 

Vendors: please make it a priority to have the data for new products into XO and Lights America prior to market. If you don’t have the bandwidth to do that, get in touch with an XO representative about some software (much of which is free) that is coming out soon to make your data management job easier, and/or some outsourcing options that will help make this task much more doable. 

Showrooms: Invite your vendors to make this a priority. Get us your product data on time… and that means before we see new items in Dallas. If a vendor doesn’t feel they can do that on their own, ask them to contact XO about the tools coming out that make on-time data very doable.  

ENRICHED DATA

Enriched data is exactly what it sounds like – data that’s… more. This can include everything from dimensions, details, styles, where it’s used, install locations, directions, mounting type, finish, etc. The more data the vendor can provide, the better.

Generally speaking, if a lot of potential lighting buyers are likely to ask a question about an item, think about adding the answer to your data (“can this vanity be installed facing up or down?” “is it energy star compliant?” “will this match my farmhouse style?” “How heavy is the glass?”). The ALA’s lighting industry data standards have outlined the ways to enter that data, so there is some precedent for how to include those answers (if you need the latest copy of the ALA data standards, let me know and I’ll send you the link).    

HIGH-QUALITY IMAGES

There are two things showrooms need out of their images: quantity and variety, and accurate metadata. In a 2021 consumer survey, 35% of consumers stated it’s frustrating when retailers don’t have enough images for their products. Products ALWAYS sell better when customers feel like they have a good understanding of what it will look like in their home – so high-quality images, and whenever possible multiple images of a product, make a big difference. 

Metadata is text information that describes the details in the image and where it came from. This is both for ADA compliance (a few showrooms have been hit with threatened ADA lawsuits over not having metadata on our images, so we’re sensitive to making sure that the products we sell online comply). Equally important, though, is that accurate metadata plays a vital role in search rankings – it’s a big deal for SEO.  

Reality-Check: This Won’t Happen Overnight

To Showroom Owners, 

As with any change in any industry, even small changes can take time. For me and my showroom, this is something worth grinding on until we get there. I encourage us all to start now – develop a great data relationship with your top vendors. Thank those that are getting their product data into XO and Lights America on time, with enrichments, and with great images. Thank them in person and thank them by selling more of their products. 

To Vendors,

If this seems like a big ask, allow us to show you how committed we are to making it super-doable. Just reach out. You don’t have to start from scratch or do any of it manually – XO has spent more than a year developing tools (and again, most of them are now free to use) to make getting great data to showrooms super-simple. 

Just reach out. The new tools make great data very doable. 

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SUMMARY:

We share the same goal – to sell more lighting! Let’s work together as partners now to make it happen for us as showrooms and for vendors. I’m committed to this because I feel very passionately that better data is how we’ll turn the next big corner in lighting, and that’s better for everyone!

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If you missed Part 1, click here to read It’s Time for Better Data. 

Stay tuned for Part 3, where I’ll take a look at some of the (not insignificant) upsides for vendors for getting great data to showrooms. It really is a win-win scenario.