Example Only. A strategic approach for your internet platform. Click Here To Take Your Assessment

Internet Performance Assessment for Your Store Example Only A strategic approach for your internet platform Click Here To Take Your Assessment Compliments of:

WHEN YOU INQUIRE ABOUT YOUR WEBSITE STRATEGY, WE PROVIDE YOU WITH DETAILED 89 POINT ASSESSMENT THAT OUTLINES YOUR STRENGTHS, WEAKNESSES AND OPPORTUNITIES. OUR PROCESS We will begin the process by showing your personalized assessment with charts and graphs based off our findings. After we have done this, we will perform an analysis summary that outlines your strengths, weaknesses and opportunities. What Matters to the Shopper With over 82% of furniture shoppers doing research online before visiting a local store, staying ahead of the competition requires not only a web presence, but a comprehensive internet strategy. FurnitureDealer.net has analyzed your internet presence based on the three aspects that matter most to the shopper: Finding your website Researching your store and products Ability to communicate with you in their preferred way Your Customer of Today & Tomorrow Your customer today is much different than your customer of 5 years ago. They are younger and grew up in a wired world. The baby boomer generation 47-65 years old is not the primary consumers of home furnishings as it once was. Generation X & Y, totally 112,000,000 in numbers are the new demographic for home furnishings and they are wired for the internet. This makes it critical that your internet strategy attracts these new buyers to your retail store, and to do this you must be found in search. 3 out of 4 furniture purchases (76%) are influenced by online research and 81% of home furnishings shoppers cite the internet as their #1 source of information. In a recent survey of these generations 59% of these individuals use their smartphones to find: Nearby Stores, research product details, research reviews and more. If you are NOT found in search, you risk not making the connection.

With over 82% of furniture shoppers doing research online before visiting a local store, staying ahead of the competition requires not only a web presence, but a comprehensive internet strategy. Finding your website - Attract Researching your store and products - Engage Ability to communicate with you in their preferred way Connect Finding Your Website For the shopper, it s all about finding relevant search results quickly. To attract the shopper to your website, you need to come up on the first page of Google (and other search engines like Yahoo and MSN) for furniture related searches in your local trade area. Researching Your Store and Products The shopper wants to know if you can help them solve their decorating or furnishing problem. Your website needs to engage the shopper with enough information about your company and your products to make the decision to choose you. Not only does this information need to be on your website, but also needs to have intuitive navigation to it. Ability to Communicate with You in Their Preferred Way Once the shopper knows you can help solve their home furnishings challenge, they want to connect with you, in the way they prefer. They want clear instruction on how to contact you online, by phone or in person.

Assessment Criteria We have assessed your online performance and compared it to that of your local competitors based on three objectives that are most important to the online shopper: Search Engine Optimization Navigation & Product Information Lead Generation Tools Search Engine Optimization Consumers search online for furniture and interior design services in a variety of ways. While some searches are focused around a retailer s brand (i.e. IKEA Furniture Store), over 50% of all furniture-related searches are not dealer specific. We have outlined the most common ways furniture shoppers search for furniture online and have analyzed your website s search engine optimization performance accordingly: General Searches Category Searches Branded Searches General Searches General searches are the most common search phrases among non-dealer specific furniture searches. These phrases use terms such as furniture or furniture store combined with a geographic term such as Minneapolis or Twin Cities. Category Searches Category searches are the next most common type of furniture search. Category or room searches are comprised of furniture specific keywords such as bedroom furniture or reclining sofa combined with geographic terms. Branded Searches Manufacturer branded searches are comprised of a manufacturer s brand name, collection name or specific item name combined with a geographic term.

The information highlighted in Red will be part of the strategic analysis. Each performance assessment is unique to your store and market. Your Competition & Market Area - MARKET SEARCH QUERY 10.00 9.00 8.00 7.00 6.00 5.00 4.00 3.00 2.00 1.00 0.00 Performance of Furniture Site vs. Key Local Competitors YOUR STORE Competitor A Competitor B Competitor C Branded search Category search General search Note: XXX Store came up in many searches as did YYY Store Navigation & Product Information Once the shopper has found your website, help them do what they came for: learn as much as they can about your merchandise and services, easily and quickly. Based on the shopper s online behavior, we have analyzed your site on the following: Ease of site navigation quality and comprehensiveness Ease of Site Navigation If a tree falls in the woods, does anyone hear it? The same argument applies when asking; is your online product information of any value if no one can find it? Navigation features are extremely important to the main objective of your website, which is to create selling opportunities by engaging visitors. Good navigation is intuitive, allowing the shopper to use whatever search method they choose to find what he or she is looking for easily by room, brand, collection, product, feature, style, dimensions or keyword. Quality and Comprehensiveness Once the shopper finds what they are looking for, help them complete their research without having to leave your site. Enable them to drill down into as much detail as they like about your merchandise. Good product detail includes showing multiple, high quality images from different angles, detailed copy, product specifications and features and benefits. Products must be kept current by continuously removing discontinued items and adding the latest new merchandise.

If you don t show a HUGE catalog with thousands of items that consumers are searching for; a specific item, collection or brand and it s not there, they ll assume you don t have it and possibly move on. & Navigation Analysis of YOUR STORE & Competitors Performance of Furniture Site vs. Key Local Competitors 10.00 9.00 8.00 7.00 6.00 5.00 4.00 3.00 2.00 1.00 0.00 YOUR STORE Competitor A Competitor B Competitor C Navigation Lead Generation Tools Convert site visitors into qualified sales leads by encouraging shoppers to identify the merchandise they re interested in and share what they found with friends, family and your sales and design staff. We ve analyzed your site by the various ways it helps visitors communicate with others and your store: Direct Interaction Tools Decision Making Tools Marketing Tools Direct Interaction Tools Direct interaction tools encourage website visitors to directly interact with your store. These include contact us forms, prominent phone number promotion and store locator information pages. These tools are critical to the main objective of your website, which is to generate selling opportunities for your salespeople. Decision Making Tools Decision making tools on a website help a shopper make buying decisions. These tools include the ability to save products to a wish list, print a product information page or forward it to a friend for their feedback either through a traditional email or through their preferred social media network. Marketing Tools Marketing tools enable you to market to online shoppers in a way that s consistent with your traditional advertising. This can be done by promoting your store s current advertisement prominently on your website and encouraging site visitors to sign up for email and financing to receive your special offers.

Marketing & Sales Tools Analysis of YOUR STORE & Competitors Performance of Furniture Site vs. Key Local Competitors 10.00 9.00 8.00 7.00 6.00 5.00 4.00 3.00 2.00 1.00 0.00 YOUR STORE Competitor A Competitor B Competitor C Navigation Performance Summary SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION This is probably the most critical elements of having a great website. When a consumer searches for a product, a brand, a collection and more, being found for that search is critical. Here we perform a 40 point assessment for your primary markets, as well as, your secondary markets We analyze your internet market penetration based off the qualifying attributes we used to develop your assessment. These attributes can be seen in The Appendix of this document. We search the surrounding cities and towns where your store is listed: City/Suburb A City/Suburb B City/Suburb C City/Suburb D City/Suburb E City/Suburb F City/Suburb G City/Suburb H Much like television advertising, 3 principals must also apply with your internet strategy: Consistency, Frequency and most of all Reach. The goal with any

marketing strategy is to reach as much of your target audience with minimal cost. We analyze you complete selling/delivery area - population reach - to assess what we believe is your total market reach potential. We perform this analysis in three (3) key areas of Search: General: Estimated Market Penetration is: X% Category: Estimated Market Penetration is: Y% Branded Search: Estimated Market Penetration is: Z% Every analysis takes approximately 2 hours to complete and each report is unique to your market, based off the information you supply us. An example can be seen below. The absence of products and dynamic content on websites inhibits your store's ability of being found in short and long tail searches. Over 25% of all searches are accompanied with a specific item or brand these long tail searches are essential to capture as they are the shoppers closest to making their buying decision. Throughout our network of 850 home furnishings websites, that receives over 300,000,000 page views a year, 50% of the traffic entering our sites comes from on the item (search query) page. This is where your descriptive content MUST be written dynamically for SEO. There are two types of search engine optimization static and dynamic. Static means the information pages are created by hand. Dynamic means that they are generated through powerful database tools. A typical SEO specialist who produces static content will talk about being able to get you first page listings for a small number of keyword search phrases (Maybe 10, 20 or 100). They sometimes offer guarantees. Why limit yourself to just a few when you can have ten s of thousands of key word phrases to increase your store s ability to GET FOUND? That s how we do it. Dynamic content creates a website that is well designed to be search engine friendly that utilizes original rich product descriptions which will achieve thousands of keyword phrase visits through thousands of landing pages. The difference is dramatic, but the descriptions and marketing sound similar. We focus on the dynamic content as it pertains to search. After normalizing and standardizing the data, we concentrate on creating high quality online product presentation displays to help and assist customers find and research your home furnishings products before they call or come into your store. We help generate leads from your website through product presentations to your retail store.

NAVIGATION AND PRODUCT INFORMATION Here we analyze your content, navigation and assess your assets and liabilities' Here is where a sale is generally won; give the customer a great shopping environment with lots of products and an easy to shop format. Our assessment in this area integrates our proprietary knowledge as to how consumers shop, typical time on a furniture website as guaged on our successful platforms and more. In this area we perform a 35 point assessment analyzing the content and navigation properties of your site on your site. We look at: Indexed pages for search How many items/products/collections are available to be viewed Product Information Product descriptions Product Specifications Related Items & descriptions Brand catalogs Product images Marketing In-site search tools Data integration And a lot more... is King! We have over 75,000 items in our library from over 450 brands: The library includes: Furniture, Mattresses, Appliances & Electronics http://bigfurniturewebsite.com/manufacturers.aspx LEAD GENERATION TOOLS In this area we look at what marketing tools your site has and doesn't have. A website must have tools for the consumer to contact your store the way they, the consumer, prefers. We perform an in-depth analysis based off our 14 point assessment criteria that outlines what lead generation elements you need to be more successful. The ultimate goal of having a great website is to create leads and qualified sales opportunities for your sales people. If you don't have a "variety" of those tools, the odds of making the connection become slim. Consumers want to know about the product, the brand, availability, pricing, and other items available. You will want to give the customer every available means of contacting you including; social media links, print this page (you will find many a customer walking in with a print out of what they found on line), forward to a friend, add to wish-list, contact the store

about this particular item with item link, and more. MARKETING STRATEGY & TACTICS After reviewing the 3 areas above, we will suggest ideas that we believe can improve your internet marketing strategy. The goal is to enhance the consumer's and salespeople's internet experience, the in-store experience and more. Useful tips on how to help up-sell with related items, product information tools and more. Here is an example: Additionally, a great website should have a major presence in your store. Place it on 65 flat screen TV s and let consumers browse, save to favorites and email an item to their friends, loved ones and more. Use it as a sales training tool where your sales people can get all the specifications, features/benefits, warranty information, related items, availability; everything a sales person needs to answer the consumer s question. AND if you have a save to Favorites, the sales person can create a consumer specific wish-list/on line catalog of those items the consumer wants to buy. After all, it s your online store branded catalog and if you have great content, marketing messages, specials and all the information someone needs, the sales process becomes more seamless. One area that retailers are not fully aware is that on our websites, 50% of the traffic entering our sites comes in on the item (search query) page being found by category, brand or item with their search. Translated, that means potentially 50% of your consumers may never see your Home Page and miss any promotional messages, special services and more. These selling tools MUST be on every page of your site. If you offer Design Consultation, tell them on every page. If you have a Special going on, tell them on every page and tag every item on special, on display, in stock and more. With the average consumer only visiting 2.2 stores before the sale, you must have a winning internet strategy.not just a website. In the Appendix, we will show you how many areas that your store is not being found. Your website is also a great way to market your store at minimum costs. It s critical today to connect with consumers and create leads for your store. Make sure your current promotions are prevalent on your site, a current ad page, a page to apply for financing, and a sign up for e-mail message to start building your e-mail list for a monthly e-mail blast. These messages need to be on "EVERY" page, not just your home page. Next ask yourself how much money you are spending on Old Traditional Media? 67% of people get their news/sports/general information on-line. If you advertise in the newspaper, you risk missing this customer. Plus why advertise on Sunday, when most people are home watching football, going to church, having family time and more. This method is expensive and old media. Your website could be a 10,000 page living advertisement. 24/7 82% of consumers use the internet to get information on Home Furnishings and 76%

of those individuals state that the web was very influential in making their purchase decision. 78.3% of homes are wired with high speed internet. 239,893,600 individuals Most homes have at least 2 computers Your consumer of today is very different. Look at the statistics below from ComScore. Close to 50% of today s consumer are looking for products, services, reviews and pricing on their CELL PHONE! The old saying is: I know 50% of my advertising is wasted.i just don t know which 50% The message here is simple. Reallocate a percentage of those funds you have for traditional advertising, marketing & promotion. Start with 20%-30% and now you can really gauge the success of your marketing strategy with real time analytics, merchandising and more. TOTAL APPLIED COST INVESTMENT IN YOUR WEBSITE An old saying is: Why reinvent the wheel? Many retailers do just that by trying to build and maintain their own website, product catalog, marketing message postings, lead generating tools and more. Some people claim investments in technology is that great black hole or money pit

that is always hungry for more! When retailers look at the totality of this investment, many are shocked. The cost for an internet technician The cost of a copywriter to write copy, specifications and more that is tailored for SEO The cost of someone constantly updating and posting new content Upwards of 40% of furniture content is new every year. Electronics are even higher The cost of someone constantly removing old content The cost of designing, developing and implementing marketing messages in a timely manner. Does this investment require 1 person or many? When you get right down to it, why not hire one team that knows this business and does it all: FurnitureDealer.net. We ve been doing this for 16 years and it s all we do and we ve been doing it for many of North America s Elite Retailers. See what they have to say: Here When you partner with us, you are assigned a team that will work with you to formulate and maintain a multichannel marketing strategy. This team manages your SEO, product catalog, website content, email marketing, sales training, and full channel integration to ensure that your message is seamless across each of your communication platforms. There s a lot more we can discuss. Please feel free to contact either of us below. Thank you for your time FurnitureDealer.Net Mike Bernstein Dave Schwartz mike@furnituredealer.net dave@furnituredealer.net 952-345-7161 952-345-7173 Click Here To Take Your Assessment Please reference the Appendix on the next few pages that outlines our assessment criteria.

Appendix Table 1: Search Engine Optimization Your City & Surrounding Areas Search type Search term YOUR STORE Competitor A Competitor B Competitor C General furniture Your City Your State 1 1 1 General furniture Your City YS 1 1 1 General furniture store Your City Your State 1 1 1 General furniture store Your City YS 1 1 1 General furniture City A YS 1 1 General furniture City B YS General furniture City C YS General furniture City D YS General furniture City E General furniture City F YS General furniture City G YS General furniture City H YS General furniture Your State 1 General furniture YS 1 General furniture store Your State 1 General furniture store YS 1 Category sofa Your City YS 1 1 Category love seat Your City YS 1 Category poster bed Your City YS Category recliner Your City YS 1 1 1 Category dining set Your City YS Category end table Your City YS 1 Category mattress Your City YS 1 1 Category bedroom furniture Your City YS 1 1 Category dining room furniture Your City YS 1 Category living room furniture Your City YS 1 1 Category home entertainment furniture Your City YS 1 1 Category home office furniture Your City YS 1 Category home theater furniture Your City YS 1 Category reclining furniture Your City YS 1 Category leather furniture Your City YS 1 1 Category contemporary furniture Your City YS Branded Brand Name A furniture Your City YS Branded Brand Name A Living Room furniture Your City YS Branded Brand Name B furniture Your City YS 1 Branded Brand Name B Bedroom furniture Your City YS 1 Branded Brand Name C furniture Your City YS Branded Brand Name C Dining Room furniture Your City YS 1 Branded Brand Name D furniture Your City YS 1 Branded Brand Name D Motion/Recliners furniture Your City YS 1 1 * Dealers marked with a "1" were on the first page of results for that search phrase at the time of the search. * These searches were done on Google in Septmeber/October 2011 by FurnitureDealer.net.

Table 2: Navigation & Product Your City & Surrounding Areas Feature type Feature YOUR STORE Competitor A Competitor B Competitor C Navigation search by room 1 1 Navigation search by product 1 1 1 Navigation search by brand 1 1 1 Navigation Search by keyword 1 1 1 Navigation Narrow your search Navigation Narrow your search by Availability: Navigation Narrow your search by Price: 1 Navigation Narrow your search by Design Style 1 1 Navigation Narrow your search by Product Type 1 1 Navigation Narrow your search by Upholstery type 1 Navigation Narrow your search by Material type 1 1 1 Navigation Narrow your search by Bed type 1 Navigation Narrow your search by Table type 1 Navigation Narrow your search by Dimensions: Navigation Compare multiple items on one page Information Multiple image viewer 1 Information High resolution images Information Product specifications 1 1 Information Additional info Warranty etc 1 Information Videos on site Information Video integration on multiple pages Information Brand catalogs within your site 1 1 Information Room Planner 1 1 1 1 Information Clearance Page Information Specials Page Information Product tagging - on display, in stock,etc Large content library on site Original content Detailed product information Detailed Product Specifications Detailed features and benefits 1 Related Items 1 1 Detailed Collection Related Items 1 Features and benefits Descriptive copy 1 Videos and Brand catalogs

Table 3: Lead Generation Tools Your City & Surrounding Areas Feature type Feature YOUR STORE Competitor A Competitor B Competitor C Direct interaction Contact us form 1 1 Direct interaction Contact us form on every page Direct interaction Call the store 1 1 1 Direct interaction Call the store on every page Direct interaction Sign up for email 1 1 Direct interaction Sign up for email on every page Direct interaction Visit the store 1 Direct interaction Turn by turn directions to your store 1 1 Decision making Add to wishlist - favorites 1 Decision making Request information with product info Decision making Print this page Decision making Forward to friend Decision making Send to social media 1 1 Marketing View current ad page 1 1 1 1 Marketing Current ad-promotion on every page Marketing Apply for financing 1 1 Marketing Product tagging for clearance, special, hot buy * Dealers marked with a "1" had the attributable tool on their website at the time of the assessment. * These features were assessed in September/October 2011 by FurnitureDealer.net. More Information Mike Bernstein Dave Schwartz mike@furnituredealer.net dave@furnituredealer.net 952-345-7161 952-345-7173 Click Here To Take Your Assessment