Learning from IKEA's Marketing: How to Create a System That Sells

Hello, this is Haru.

In this article, I will explain the marketing success story of the world-beloved furniture brand, IKEA🛋️

IKEA is known not only for providing stylish furniture at affordable prices but also for its unique in-store experience and sustainable business strategy, which have garnered significant attention.

In this article, we will trace IKEA's history and growth trajectory, explore how it grew into a global brand, and delve into key takeaways for us as marketers.✏️

What kind of company is IKEA?

IKEA is a furniture and home decor brand from Sweden, known for providing
high-quality furniture at affordable prices.

It is characterized by its DIY style, where customers assemble the furniture themselves, and its experiential in-store shopping.

IKEA has unique features such as simple and functional designs, environmentally conscious product manufacturing, and a unified brand image worldwide.

IKEA's History and Growth Trajectory

Let's look at IKEA's history chronologically.

💡1943
Founder Ingvar Kamprad establishes IKEA in Sweden (initially selling items like stationery).

💡1950s
Introduces the "flat-pack method" (furniture you assemble yourself) to achieve low-cost sales.

💡1970s
Expands outside of Sweden, growing stores in Germany, the US, and elsewhere.

💡1980s-90s
Strengthens sustainable product manufacturing with consideration for environmental issues.

💡2000s-Present
Challenges new business models such as strengthening online sales, developing urban stores, and introducing subscription models.

In this way, while flexibly changing with the times, IKEA has continued to maintain low price, high quality, and design and has achieved growth.

IKEA's Marketing Success Strategy

There are many marketing strategies that supported IKEA's success, but I will introduce 5 points that are particularly noteworthy.

1️⃣Cost reduction & differentiation through the flat-pack method

IKEA furniture adopts the "flat-pack method" where customers assemble it themselves. This reduces transportation costs and achieves low prices. Furthermore, it provides the joy of assembly, making it a brand with high affinity for DIY culture.

2️⃣The store is like a theme park! "Experiential Marketing"

IKEA stores are not just furniture sales floors, but are designed as showrooms where you can experience living spaces🙌

The maze-like store structure extends stay time and is full of mechanisms that make you want to shop. Furthermore, food menu items like meatballs served in the restaurant are also part of the brand experience.

3️⃣Combination of catalog & digital strategy

IKEA's catalog once boasted a circulation of 200 million copies, holding enough influence to heighten customer purchasing desire.

In recent years, they have accelerated their digital shift and transitioned to a marketing strategy utilizing online catalogs and smartphone apps. They also provide a feature that uses AR (Augmented Reality) technology to check on your smartphone whether furniture will fit in your room.

4️⃣Sustainable Management and Establishing a Brand Image

IKEA has set a goal to "achieve a 100% circular business by 2030," promoting the use of renewable materials and a buy-back service for used furniture.

These initiatives have garnered support from younger generations who value ethical consumption, leading to an increase in brand value.

5️⃣An Exquisite Balance Between Localization and Global Strategy

While maintaining a consistent global brand image, IKEA implements localization strategies tailored to the culture of each country.

For example, in the Japanese market, they offer compact furniture and storage ideas that cater to small housing situations, and have developed urban-style stores. As a result, the brand has become a good fit for Japanese consumers as well.

Marketing Points to Learn from IKEA

To summarize the points we can learn from IKEA's marketing, they are as follows.

☑️Design customer behavior
　👉 Design a system that encourages purchasing behavior, just like IKEA's store layout.
☑️Value the brand experience
　👉 Devise ways so that not just the product, but the entire purchasing process becomes a brand experience.
☑️Fuse digital and offline
　👉 Change your strategy to match the times, just like the transition from catalogs to digital marketing.
☑️Strengthen sustainable initiatives
　👉 To increase corporate value, it is important to also address environmental and social issues.

IKEA's success is not just about a low-price strategy, but is the result of accumulated marketing from a customer perspective🛌

There are many ideas that can be applied to our own businesses, so please try using them as a reference!👍

Introducing Recommended Books

Finally, I would like to introduce some books recommended by me, Haru!📚

👉"Customer Experience Marketing: Decoding Customer Changes to Reproduce 'Sales'"

"Knowing the customer" creates sales. With a practical model derived from over 5,000 pieces of experience data, ideas turn into systems. It is packed with tips that can be used in the field for all planning and marketing staff who struggle with customer understanding.📗