1. How would you characterize the household wood furniture industry and BatesManor’s relative position in this industry?

The wood furniture industry is a growing industry. Customer spending for wood furniture is highly cyclical and closely linked to the incidence of new housing starts, consumer confidence, and disposable personal income. It is a 12.4 billion dollar industry. Manufactures are becoming more vertically integrated. Every year more wood furniture is being imported into the US.

2. How do consumers buy furniture? Develop a buyer behavior model.

The first step is the recognition for the need of a décor change. Many changes in peoples live lead to this recognition. These changes consist of getting married, moving locations, having children, growing older and wanting to downsize.

3. What is the purpose and role of the IMC mix in the household wood furniture industry?

The IMC mix plays an important role on delivering information of the offering and even facilitating an exchange for the offering in the household wood furniture industry. A company could use IMC to convey the message that they have the highest quality furniture to their consumers, which would allow them to be in the consumers consideration set if they are looking for high quality wood furniture. The role and purpose of IMC is to deliver an integrated communication to the target consumers. The goal is to have “one voice” throughout all types of communication. In highly competitive industries an effective IMC can help increase growth and revenue with your company. 85% read furniture advertisements. 95% get ideas from magazines. 99% like having a sales person when considering a décor change.

4. What should be the objectives of BatesManor’s new communication program?
Bates Manor should incorporate the IMC mix in the new communications program. The company should