Marcusso Designs Furniture

Is a collection of furniture imported from Brazil to the USA

Affiliate Marketing

Hi Adriano,

This idea has taken me a while to formulate, but I think its quite good.

I suggest that we take furniture selling to the 21st century, and embrace online tools for selling, not just for promotion.

But instead of just making a normal online store, I suggest that we take the idea one step further.

Instead of selling just through one website (one portal), we try to get as many other websites to sell for us (many portals).

General idea:

• We design an electronic program that works like online furniture selling widget (add-on feature) that other people can copy and paste into their own website.

• We set up an “Affiliate” program, where we give other furniture dealers a commission for selling our furniture.

• But, instead of being physical people acting like sales people, we use their other websites.

• We design a portal (code) that they paste into their website…

• They are then able to sell our furniture directly from their own website.

Background info – you need to know before understanding my idea:

• This type of technology is not new. In fact, it is quite common in the travel industry, and is just starting to be utilized in the furniture industry as well.

• There are entire companies dedicated to helping companies run their “Affiliate programs”. Take a look at http://www.cj.com/ or http://www.linkshare.com/

• What does “affiliate” marketing mean? - here is a good definition: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affiliate_marketing

• Beyond just a simple affiliate marketing program, I am proposing that we design a “portal”, meaning that they make a window in their website through which we sell our own furniture.

• Some good examples of the “portal” concept in action can be seen in the travel industry. Take a look at http://sales.hostelworld.com/affiliates.php . These guys made a portal that other travel agents can copy and paste into their websites…allowing them to sell travel on their own sites. I did an experiment, and signed up. Take a look at http://youstravelers.pbwiki.com/Budget%20Hostels . This is my site. You can see that I just pasted their portal code into my site, and woooosh….i have all that functionality right there in my own site. For a more professional example (using the same technology) take a look at http://www.lonelyplanet.com/travel_services/accommodation/hostels.cfm You will see the little logo at the bottom “powered by Hostel World.com”.

• Users of these sites can either buy from the affiliate site, or from the original site….the price and service is the same.

• In the furniture world, companies are just now starting to do a similar thing. Take a look at: http://www.roomstogo.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=affiliateProgram&from=BNav . They just allow you to create a banner ad to place on your own website. If someone clicks on it, and then later buys, you get paid. Its very basic in function, but you can see that furniture companies are starting to play around with the idea of using affiliates for selling online. Its just a matter of time before it becomes normal (like it is in the travel industry).

• Take a look at one last website: http://www.floridianfurniture.com/ . This is an ideal customer for us.

• What I imagine is that we could design a simple set of codes that they could copy and paste into their own website. It would act like a portal (“powered by Mosteiro”). Then, when their own current customers came to visit their website, they would see our furniture.

• But more that just being able to see, it would also allow customers to PURCHASE the furntirue right there (on www.floridianfurniture.com) website. The person would think that they are buying from the store that they trusted (Floridian), but in fact they would be buying online from us.

• The store would get a commission (10% standard) for facilitating the sale.

• We would then arrange all of the importing, and delivery.

• All they have to do is to agree to host our portal on their website, and we would do the rest.

• Oh, but we could also give them one printed copy of our catalog, and send them wood samples…so, if a customer came to the store, and asked questions, it would all be right there.

For the store:

• Our program automatically Includes % commission for store

• They provide all of the customer service

• We do all of the importing and delivery

• For an additional fee, we can even do “in home” delivery for them

For the customer:

• They can either pay online through our system,

• Or, they can pay the store directly, who in turn ….they log onto our system, and the store makes the online payment

• Either way, all payments are handled online

• If the customer pays in cash, then the store pays us using the online system

• The customer can request wood samples (which we keep at the stores, or in one central location for mailing)

• For an additional fee, the customer can purchase our “maintainence program”, or an additional “warranty”, covering any touch-ups or repairs that are required later in the tables life. (refinishing)

For the manufacturer:

• Direcly control prices that retail stores try to charge (no crazy markups!)

• Direct contact with actual customers (people), not just with the middleman stores

How to promote site:

• Affiliate program

• We would give 8% commission for sales that happen through a host stores site (with our portal installed)

• Then, in addition, we would give that same store an additional 2% for each referral that they make

• So, lets say that www.floridianfurniture.com were to put our portal on their site, and a customer purchased a $10,000 furniture…then Floridian furniture would get 8% = $800.

• But, if they were to tell someone else to put our portal on their website, and that other site were to make a $10,000 sale, then Floridian would get 2% = $200 + the other store would get $800…so our maximum commission that we would give would = $1000 out of $10,000 = 10% (8% + 2%)

• If the furntirue was good, and sold well….then everyone would want to add the portal to their existing site.

• The more people that added the portal…the more chance you would have to sell your furniture.

• My incentive would be to try and get as many sites to put the software on their site….because I would make a 2% commission on everything that they would sell.

• That way…you wouldn’t just be selling your furniture through the (1) marcussodesigns website …but you would be selling your furntirue through many, many sites all across the internet.

In Brazil first:

• Start in Brazil.

• Sell the portal concept to as many other brazilian websites as possible (furniture stores, interior designers, salespeople,etc).

• Anyone that is willing to host your portal would be able to make a commission.

• The beauty is that they wouldn’t need to know anything about selling furniture because all of the sales are done online (through our own portal)

• They get the commission just for hosting, and getting their friends to purchase online through their site.

• If you find a store in Rio or SP to host your portal, then they are automatically selling your furniture without the need to learn all about the woods, choices, etc.

• All of the necessary information would be found online.

Product Selection:

• Obviously, you would want to limit the choices, and not offer the entire collection

• Keep it simple

• Offer just the most popular (to sell the most quantity), or the most expensive (so your dealer would have the highest commission, and therefore the most incentive to host your portal).

• One suggestion is to focus just on a theme (governors table, for example) Or, a tpey (dormentes, for example)

International

• Any website, anywhere could host your portal, and become an instantaneous seller of your furntire

• So, if someone from Germany comes to Recife and inquires about selling your furniture in Germany…its easy….you just say “YES”.

• They would just need to copy / paste the code into their website….and woooosh…..they are selling your furniture just like that.

• No need for months of training about the woods.

• No need to send 10 catalogs with them in their suitcase (hoping that they actually use them).

• No need to do anything, but just copy & paste and your done.

• Oh, but they would probably ask…how do I import to my own country? Well, that’s really not all that hard. If they cant do it themselves (or if they have no interest) there are lots of companies that will handle the paperwork for them

• Also, if you give them the proper incentive ( 8% + 2% for referrals), I believe that they would try to get other stores in France, England, etc to also add your portal software (so they could make 2% on each furniture that the other stores sold).

• If you set it up properly, and if you offer furniture that will sell (at high prices) then people will tell their friends (in hope that their friends will help them make $)

Final note::

Logistics & importer:

• Its easy to find companies that want to do the paperwork and importing in any country.

• Think about when you want to export…you just find a company that charges you a flat fee + some commission

• For anno + Vermeil…if I want to export their furntire for example, I hire rodrigos company for $400 fee, or 5% commission, whichever is the larger.

• For that fee, his company will do all of the paperwork and make the arrangements in Brazil

• If I didn’t have my own license here in the US, I would just hire someone to do that for me….it would cost about the same.

• Or, if you know a company with offices in both countries, its even easier (just one fee).