How to Merchandise Permanent Lighting in a Supply Branch

A supply branch is built to move material, and most of what it sells does not need explaining. Permanent lighting does. A contractor who came in for fasteners has no reason to ask about a product he has never seen working. The display is what gives him the reason.

Brighter Nights Lighting Technologies is the manufacturer and sells only through distribution, so the branch floor is where many contractors see the line for the first time. This guide covers how to set that up using ordinary retail craft.

What a lighting display has to do

A good display does three jobs in under a minute, with no staff involved.

• It shows the product lit, so the customer sees what the homeowner will see.
• It lets the customer change something, so they understand it is controllable.
• It tells them who it is for and what to do next.

Everything else is support. If you only have room for one thing, make it a small lit display with a control device next to it.

Make it powered and let customers control it

Mount real product the way it goes on a building. Put roofline track under a short mock eave. Set a soffit fixture into a soffit panel. Fasten a sconce to a post or a section of wall. A contractor reads the mounting as closely as the light, and a product zip tied to pegboard tells him nothing about how it installs.

Then give the customer control. Mount a tablet or a spare phone running the app beside the display, on a tether or a locking stand, with a card that says “Go ahead, change the color.” Keep the device charging and set the screen so it does not lock.

The control side is simpler than most connected products on a sales floor. The system uses Bluetooth mesh and runs without Wi-Fi, so the display does not depend on your store network. If customers ask about controlling it away from home, the answer is that an optional Wi-Fi Gateway adds remote access.

A few practical points keep the display working day after day.

• Leave it resting on one calm color. It reads as quality architectural lighting from across the room, and the change comes as a surprise when someone touches the screen.
• Give it shade. Bright warehouse lighting and open bay doors wash out any lit product. A hooded top, a darker backer board or a spot away from the dock door makes the light show.
• Dress the wiring neatly. The display is also a sample of workmanship.

Where to put it in the branch

Put the display where customers stand still. In most branches that is at or beside the contractor counter, in the line of sight of someone waiting on a ticket or a will call order. A customer with two idle minutes and a glowing screen within reach will touch it.

Being near the counter matters for a second reason. When a contractor asks a question, the person who can answer it is right there. Make sure they can, by running the session in training counter staff on permanent lighting before the display goes up.

Samples of track and fixtures people can pick up

Contractors buy with their hands. Next to the lit display, set out loose samples that can be handled, turned over and held up to the light.

• A short section of track. The track is powder-coated aluminum, and a contractor will want to feel the weight and check the finish.
• One of each fixture type your branch stocks, such as a soffit fixture and a sconce.
• Finish samples, so a contractor can match a homeowner’s trim. Soffit fixtures come in bronze, white and black. Sconces come in matte black, antique bronze and pure white.

Tether the small pieces or keep them in a tray at the counter, and replace anything that gets scuffed. A beat up sample sells against you. Label each sample with the product family name used on the box and in the literature, so the customer and the counter are using the same words when it is time to order.

Only display what fits your market. Pool enclosure and lanai lighting is marketed in Florida, Alabama and the Southeast, so a branch outside that region should give that space to roofline, soffit or landscape instead.

Simple signage that says who it is for

A common mistake on a lighting display is a sign that describes the product and never says who should care. Your customer is a contractor. Tell him this is a service he can add.

One header and three short lines is enough.

• A header a contractor can read from the door, such as “Add permanent lighting to your services.”
• A line on what it is. LED lighting installed once, up all year, controlled from a phone.
• A line on how to get it. Order here at the counter.
• A line on the next step. Ask at the counter about training through the Masters of Lighting Academy.

Leave the spec sheet out of the sign. Specs belong in the literature for each product. Keep any competitor names off the sign as well.

Some homeowners will see the display too, especially in branches with walk-in traffic. BNLT does not install and the branch does not either, so give homeowners their own small card. It should say that they can fill out one form and be matched with a certified installer and an estimate, with a QR code that goes to the design form. That keeps your counter out of a conversation it cannot finish.

Keep literature stocked and the display alive

An empty brochure holder tells a customer the line has been forgotten. Put a literature rack at the display and a second small stack at the register, and give one named person responsibility for both.

A weekly check takes a few minutes.

• Is the display lit and responding to the control device?
• Is the control device charged, unlocked and on the right screen?
• Are all samples present, clean and labeled?
• Are catalogs and brochures stocked, current and squared up?
• Is the signage straight, clean and still accurate?

Refill the rack before it runs empty, and pull any printed piece that has been replaced by a newer version.

Refresh the display with the calendar. Set a holiday look ahead of the season when homeowners start thinking about Christmas lights, and go back to the everyday look after. Planning for lighting seasonality covers the timing. And when you want to turn display traffic into trained accounts, the display is the natural centerpiece for a contractor demo night.