Luxury Products Group talks Bubble Bash with Amy Siders of Waterhouse Bath and Kitchen Studio in Perrysburg, OH

The Big Bubble Bash

 

September 16th, 2021 marked the first-ever BUBBLE BASH event at the Waterhouse Bath and Kitchen Studio in Perrysburg, OH. Leading the event was Amy Siders, the new Showroom Manager, along with the fantastic Waterhouse staff. Together they invited their local community and the turn out was phenomenal. In attendance, Waterhouse was met with over 250 guests, an array of local businesses who partnered with the showroom, and an overwhelming amount of support from suppliers. I had the opportunity to speak with Amy and find out what Best Practices she took to arrive at such a successful community event.

 

LPG:  We were pumped watching you promote Waterhouse B&K Studio’s first BUBBLE BASH event and we are elated to hear about the success that followed. As the new showroom manager, how do you bring success to the Waterhouse Showroom?

Waterhouse:  The showroom is already gorgeous. The sales staff is top-notch. Our offerings are impressive – a wide and varied assortment.
But things can always improve.
I’m here to grow the business. To increase our presence in the neighborhood, the community, and the region. To explode our online presence. To garner new business and to keep the business that we have already earned. I’m bringing a new perspective and a fresh pair of eyes to an already successful, long-standing member of the business community. I want Waterhouse to be not only “a” destination showroom, I want us to be “the” destination showroom.

“I’m bringing a new perspective and a fresh pair of eyes to an already successful, long-standing member of the business community.”

 LPG:  I absolutely love your passion and determination to put Waterhouse on the map and enhance your local presence. What was your favorite part of producing the Bubble Bash event?

Waterhouse:  By far, the best part was hitting the streets! The Waterhouse showroom is just steps away from downtown Perrysburg, Ohio, which is home to dozens of dining options (from brewpub-friendly fun to romantic date night locales) and amazing spas, salons, florists, and other retailers. Being so new to this position and new to the area, it was important for me to learn more about our neighborhood. I sourced local craft beer and a huge array of appetizers from a local brewpub, dozens of floral and greenery arrangements from two local florists (which we gave away to our guests), and a plethora of prizes ranging from gift certificates to local estheticians and spas to free personal training sessions to a set of 5th-row tickets to our minor league baseball team, the Toledo Mudhens. To understand our customer is to know where they eat, what they do in their spare time (and how much spare time they have) and how they take care of themselves – a showroom like ours caters to an entire lifestyle and not just to a specific demographic.

“To understand our customer is to know where they eat, what they do in their spare time (and how much spare time they have) and how they take care of themselves…”

LPG: You truly impress us at LPG. We always feel like we are learning with our members and it’s honorable when businesses strive to bring other business up with them. How did you decide who to invite to engage with all your amazing lines?

Waterhouse: I had to go for our “big four,” meaning Kohler, Moen, Delta, and Brizo. Bain Ultra was also in attendance. All my vendor representatives have been incredible – generous with their time, their knowledge, and donations for our first big event with me at the helm. I had invited each rep that I had met in the short time that I have been here but logistics, travel restrictions, Covid, and other schedule demands dictated that most of them stay closer to home. I’ll continue to reach out to our vendors for partnership on future events.

“We invited our commercial and residential clients, builders, interior designer, real estate agents, our partners…along with family and friends.”

LPG: We love to hear when suppliers and showrooms work together to create success. Speaking of success, does Waterhouse foresee another Bubble Bash in the near future?

Waterhouse: Hands down, YES!!! The party was a big hit! Locally sourced food and beer, an exceptional DJ spinning all night, gorgeous flowers and decor paired with our dazzling array of fixtures was the perfect pairing. We invited our commercial and residential clients, builders, contractors, interior designers, real estate agents, our partners through the Toledo Home Builders Association and Chambers of Commerce along with our family and friends. The weather was perfect, the atmosphere was – dare I say it?—bubbling over with excitement. ; )
I’ll shoot for at least two big events each year with smaller, monthly events to celebrate dates like World Toilet Day, National Bubble Bath Day, National Shower with a Friend Day – anything that can create buzz and garner new business for us. I want Waterhouse to be on the tip of everyone’s tongues.

I’ll shoot for at least two big events each year with smaller, monthly events to celebrate dates like World Toilet Day, National Bubble Bath Day, National Shower with a Friend Day – anything that can create buzz and garner new business for us.

LPG: We can’t wait for the next event and you better believe we will be there to bring the bubbles. For all of the other amazing members, do you have any best practices you’re willing to share that other showroom managers could learn from?

Waterhouse: Listen more than you talk. This is a hard one for me (and for most people with a sales background) so I have to practice it daily. Really listen to your employees. Don’t interrupt. Don’t offer advice if it isn’t requested or warranted. 90% of the time, a team member will arrive at the correct decision (or the appropriate course of action or the correct answer, depending on the situation) if he/she just talk through it. I don’t need to give out all of the answers – I simply need to ask probing questions and be a guide.
The same goes for every client that walks through the door. Ask questions. LOTS of questions. We have so many choices and so many vendors and so much to absorb visually in the showroom that we need to simplify the process as much as possible, so our clients aren’t overwhelmed.
Merchandising starts at the front door. A-frame sidewalk signs, a gorgeous entryway or vestibule, and shop windows set the stage before the front door opens.
You can never have too many friends or teachers. Sometimes those traits can be found in the same people. In just a short time (I started at Waterhouse in July), I can now call my sales and warehouse team members, friends. My vendor representatives know as much about my family as they do about my business. You hear often that it’s not personal, it’s just business. I don’t play that way. We’re helping to design someone’s home – their most personal and private spaces – and if that’s not personal, I don’t know what is.

“Merchandising starts at the front door. A-frame sidewalk signs, a gorgeous entryway or vestibule, and shop windows set the stage before the front door opens.”

Thank you Amy Siders and the team at Waterhouse B&K Studio for sharing your skills, experience, passion, and love for the industry. Congratulations again! LPG cannot wait for the next big Waterhouse event!

“I am thrilled to be a part of Luxury Products Group. Every day I meet a member or a supplier who is burning with passion for not just what they do, or what they can bring to their company’s table, but for the overall industry. This group is filled with go-getters, community builders, friends, and families who don’t look at each other with a competitive eye, but rather ask how they can help. I’m so grateful to have Amy Siders of Waterhouse B&K Studio share her knowledge, experience, and passion with all the LPG members. The success of the Bubble Bash event was earned and reveled in by many. Amy worked with her staff, community, local businesses, and supplier partners to truly create an experience that will permeate positive business practices within the community. These are the type of best practices we love to hear and share. Congratulations to Waterhouse B&K Studio!”

Francesca Messina | Luxury Products Group | Marketing Director