My husband and I have researched the market and found what we hope will be a good location with good demographics and foot traffic to open an Upscale Furniture Consignment Store. We want to make the biggest impact as possible upon opening. Mainly, we are looking to create a brand. I have experience with furniture design and interior design, and will have a workroom in the back for making signature pieces that we will sell along with consignment pieces. What is your best suggestion to create good brand recognition for a company with NO Branding yet??

I basically want to be THE place for people looking to furnish their homes with a designer look for less. As of now, we have no name and no tag line either – so I’m wanting to come up with our branding ideas first and let that dictate where we go with the name….I may be doing this backwards – but my thought process is this – once the name is out there – it is out there – like it or hate it – unless you want to start “branding” all over again. Thanks for any help!

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Jay’s Answer: “Designer Look For Less” means different things to different people. So, before you start with a name & tagline & other branding-related tasks, focus on your target market first (even though you found a “good location”):

• Age
• Location
• Price point
• Competition (both local & Internet)
• USP – What makes you unique?

For example, you could place all your consignment pieces on your website and allow people to subscribe to your site to find pieces that match what they’re looking for. That would help both consumers and designers. Or, maybe you offer free room design consultations (bring in a photo and designers can show how to use the pieces you sell to “make” a room). Or even, rent out furniture to home-stagers.

Before you start spending money on branding, spend your time & money on your marketing strategy & plan. It’ll save you lots in the long run.