In this Better Data is Better for Everyone series, we’re starting a discussion around product data – more specifically, what the entire industry stands to gain if vendors give showrooms top-notch product data. In Part 4, I’ll talk about how we plan to build a better reputation with our customers and our vendors with better data.

One of the best parts about having great data is the reliability. When we can rely on our systems, we can better serve our customers and our business. As with any endeavor to become better and more reliable, there’s a certain measure of accountability that must be assumed. When we hold our data accountable, it becomes a more valuable commodity. We can trust that we have what we need to make the best decisions day in and day out.

One of the ways we’re adding more accountability is by incorporating showroom feedback for vendors. We’ll be sending out polls to showrooms, asking them to rate vendors. We’ve developed a proprietary data grading tool that will anonymize the responses. Vendors will be able to log in to this tool at no additional cost and see how their data compares to the standard. At a quick glance, a vendor can check to see if their showroom data is at the top of the pack, or if their data could use some extra attention to be more valuable to showrooms. 

We’ll also be providing reports with industry-wide data showing sales trends like finishes and styles. Typically, vendors get this information post-sale, which means that it is always a bit behind the times. With the increasing speed at which customers are moving through trends, every minute counts when it comes to trend forecasting. Our trend data will include pre-sale information, including in-progress orders, shopping carts, quote-building tools, and search histories. 

Keep in mind – XO processes somewhere in the neighborhood of 2,000 searches per second across all of our lighting showroom customers. That’s a massive dataset that can be used to create some pretty valuable analytics. Some of the metrics we’ll be analyzing include:

• Keyword Prominence – The words customers are using to search for fixtures. This data lets you know what customers want, and you can start to incorporate these commonly searched keywords into your data to make your products easier for customers to find.
• Trends – XO covers the entire United States and has a presence in other countries. We’ll be able to see things like which finishes are being added to more orders, and which are being included less frequently than they were before.
• New Product and New Category Searches – We started to see a lot of searches for LED trim about six months before they went huge. The vendors that were able to see that and take advantage of it made a lot of money. Having this data early is invaluable for product ordering and development.
• Drop Analysis – The number of times a fixture has shown up in a search, and whether the product is picked up or dropped. This is valuable data as you determine which products to push and which to discontinue. It can also be used to see your competition and determine why their products may be dropped less often than your own. In addition, this can help you to catch industry shifts like, for example, if a large commercial industry is using product X in bulk and they switch to product Y. With that information, you’d be able to see the shift and avoid stocking up on product X. Typically, vendors don’t know anything about these changes until after the sales data comes through, and by then it’s too late. 

We’ll be collecting all of this data and making it available quickly, which means vendors will get better data, faster. And in turn, they’ll be able to use this data to collaborate better with showrooms to meet market demands more quickly and accurately. When vendors and showrooms can rely on their data to give them an accurate picture of where we’ve been and what’s ahead, we’ll be able to step into the industry each day shining a little brighter than our competitors. When our customers can trust us to give them the most up-to-date products and information, our reputation will speak louder than any marketing campaign. 

It’s no secret that the lighting industry is adapting quickly to compete against an ocean of cheaply made and easily available fixtures sold online. We’ll never be able to out-produce them (nor would we want to), so our focus has to be on reputation. A great reputation is built on providing value, building trust, and establishing connections in our community. I believe that these tools will help vendors and showrooms alike to come out ahead.

Vendors, I ask you to please reach out. These tools will be an invaluable addition to your data building, and we’d love to help you to take advantage. As a showroom owner, I want nothing more than for my vendors to succeed – when my vendors do well, the good fortune is passed down to me, and I can, in turn, pass it down to my customers. Better data is better for everyone – and there are profits to be made if we work together.