Bed retailers struggling to connect with their customers could do with reminding themselves that they are selling much more than just an object, suggests our US correspondent Gordon Hecht, writing for trade magazine Your Source News …
It’s awesome to live in a time with streaming TV. For just a small fee you can watch the latest movies from the comfort of your Barcalounger. And there is an amazing amount of free content available, if you don’t mind viewing programmes that are a bit dated.
I got hooked on a platform called Buzzr. Despite their inadequate spelling capabilities, they provide an array of mid-20th century game shows like The Price is Right and Password. I get a kick out of the prizes that were ‘must-haves’ decades ago.
One of the major awards was a product called the Kodak Carousel. This was like having Instagram in 1965. The Carousel projected your photos onto a screen via a small square ‘slide’ made of cardboard and a strip of film (ask grandpa.) That way, mom and them could all see your vacation or wedding photos at the same time.
Fans of the television show Mad Men may remember the immortal pitch for the projector delivered by Don Draper. The ad exec explains that the Carousel is more than a box with lights and a lens. It’s a time machine that can take you back to happier years just by pushing a button. His words (and slides) paint a powerful picture, and the client can’t say no.
We too sell a magical device. It’s called a mattress set, or a sleep system. It’s more than just fabric, foam, springs, wood and metal.
The mattress set is a place of refuge. When this crazy world seems to be spinning off its axis, your bed is a safe and comfortable place. On the worst days you might say, “I want to go home, get in bed and pull the covers over my head.” It’s the space where you can be alone and sort things out.
If you’re feeling OK, just tired, your bed provides an environment for restoration through this enchanted process called sleep. You always wake up feeling better.
Your bed is also a place of recovery. Aches, pains and illness seem to melt away in a comfortable, supportive bed. And rest assured, adjustable beds are not hospital beds. They are the beds that can keep you out of the hospital.
Many people attain enlightenment in bed. They make it a nightly process to stretch out, adjust the head portion to a partial sitting position, and lift the bed’s lower section to take the strain off their backs. Then they crack open a book and commence reading. Mystery. Action. Romance. Spiritual. It doesn’t matter. They open their minds and relax it at the same time.
It’s also a connection zone. Best when in person, but sometimes via phone, Facetime or text. It’s a late-night chat with someone close to you. They understand you. You’ll exchange sympathy when it’s deserved and advice when required. You may not solve the world’s problems or even solve your own. But you’ll drift off to sleep knowing someone else on planet Earth cares about you.
That comfy rectangle in the centre of your bedroom can also be a place of action and excitement. And no, not just that kind – some people also like to watch TV in bed. With all the late-night sports action, most major events don’t end until midnight in the eastern US. Chances are, sports fans may witness the final out, buzzer-beater goal or Hail Mary pass while resting on their mattress. If they don’t doze off first.
And of course, the mattress is a place of love. The psychologist Abraham Maslow listed love third in his hierarchy of human needs, along with a sense of belonging. People also crave touch, which is a powerful elixir.
Your bed … it’s the place your kids run to when it thunders overnight. Where your pets take over when they want to hibernate. Where you struggle to zip those too-tight jeans. It’s the landing ground where you flop in exhaustion, mental or physical. And the place you start each morning on a day filled with endless possibilities.
We sell more than just beds. We sell the place where dreams begin.
This article was originally published by Your Source News. Gordon can be reached at [email protected].
