Healthful sleep leads to healthy business

Roger Wardell isn’t a doctor, but he plays one in all the marketing pieces used by his chain of 14 mattress stores, Sleep Doctor Mattress. He appears in a doctor’s lab coat with a welcoming smile on in-store banners, the chain’s website and print ads.

“Sleep Doctor” is a catchy name, but it also suggests the store’s philosophy: buying a mattress is more about buying good, healthful sleep than it is about buying a piece of furniture.

“What we’re actually selling here is good sleep,” said Doug Poll, regional manager of the stores in the Grand Rapids area.

The sales staff, known as sleep consultants, are educated about issues that affect a restful sleep and the importance of sleep to overall health. They also learn to match the correct mattress with customers, based on sleep habits and preferences.

Typically, mattress stores are considered a subcategory of furniture stores, but that’s misleading, said Poll. Most furniture purchases involve a heavy element of appearance and style.

“Your mattress isn’t in the living room, your friends and neighbors don’t see it,” he explained. “You don’t even see it yourself most of the time, so it’s not about appearance. That’s one reason it’s really more a medical or health product.”

The sleep consultants ask customers about their sleep positions, their firmness preferences and whether they have been sleeping well or fitfully. Sometimes even medical history plays a role.

They also explain innovations in mattress construction and materials. Even customers who have bought a mattress in recent years sometimes believe they must trade off support for comfort, when in fact they are separate issues, according to the store’s literature.

“We educate our customer more than anyone else does,” said Poll. “An educated customer makes a better choice, ends up happier with the purchase and returns next time—not to mention the good word of mouth.

“We help them choose the right mattress, whatever their price point. They can’t choose well just by lying on a few mattresses for a few minutes.”

In a typical mattress store, according to Poll, sales are driven by price.

“But for the customer it’s really not all about price,” Poll said. “They’ll say it is, because they don’t want to be swindled or pay more than they can afford. Our job is to do more to make sure that the customer will love the mattress six months from the purchase, not just the first few nights.”

Still, management understands the importance of value and keeps margins competitive. Along with its promises to “beat any advertised price or it’s free,” the store offers a “90-day comfort guarantee” that allows the customer to exchange a mattress in the first 90 days.
Since it can take 30 to 45 days to adjust to a new mattress, the guarantee offers peace of mind to customers and allows the store to show off its great customer service.

What have the owner and regional managers done to ensure their business’s success?

“Good people—that’s the biggest thing,” said Wardell. “Once you start putting really good people in your organization, things will fly.” The store website claims that its sleep consultants have an average level of 10 years experience.

“We prefer not to hire and train rookies,” said Poll. “We do hire young guys sometimes, but we have to see in them that they can become what we need.”

“We’d rather have seasoned veterans with years of retail experience. Mature people tend to understand the need to learn what we do.”
Knowing the customer base helps management make better decisions, such as on inventory. Stores that do much more take-away business, rather than delivery, must know how much and what to keep on hand, but it’s very dependent on the specific location.

Wardell opened his first two mattress stores in Grand Rapids in 1995, and the expansion from the original two stores to 14 locations was carefully paced. For the first five years, Wardell was intent on building business in those first two stores and getting the systems in place to allow further growth.

When that was accomplished, he planned and executed growth in various regions of Michigan: first in western Michigan (more stores in greater Grand Rapids, as well as Muskegon, Kalamazoo, Holland); then in the Saginaw area (Saginaw, Flint, Bay City and Lapeer), then in mid-Michigan (Lansing, Okemos and Jackson).

“We wanted to make sure we didn’t spread ourselves too thin,” explained Poll. “Sometimes companies grow too quickly and they can’t keep control of it.”

Wardell has plans for growth, both within and outside Michigan, but is quiet about the details. Decisions to expand will depend on many factors, including the economy and the price of petroleum, which affects both shipping costs and petroleum-based materials like foam.

In addition to new physical locations, the store has recently expanded and updated its online presence. Unveiled less than six months ago, the revamped website (www.sleepdoctormatress.com) offers a full catalog of products, a “customer forum” that allows visitors to post questions about sleep and mattresses, and an online “sleep survey” that helps customers prepare for a store visit, along with the usual store information.

Perhaps the most unique feature of the website is the use of 20 brief videos in which Wardell, in his lab coat, explains information that is also presented in the text. The videos give a friendly, personable face to the information, creating an experience that’s closer to what a customer might have in the store with a sales consultant.

Although many customers might not be comfortable with the idea of buying a mattress sight unseen (or unfelt), Wardell thinks the website serves a valuable function. It informs customers in unique ways, and for those who do seek good deals online, it sells mattresses as well.

Poll thinks a good retail manager spends time watching other retailers, and has noticed trends that frustrate him.

“As a consumer, I think retailers still don’t give the service they could. Price is what people talk about, but what really matters and what makes a life-long customer is great service.

“If customers know they can trust you—that you’re going to treat them right, you’re going to move fast on any problem they have—that’s what makes a retailer last. It’s a combination of sharp management and exceptionally good service.”

This article was written by Amy Buttery, Michigan Retailer staff writer.