John Schulte has found a key angle to address in the adjustable-bed base market. It’s a sleep angle, and it gives him a competitive edge in the growing adjustable-bed category, he says.
“What’s your sleep angle?” is the clever question posed by Symphony Sleep’s marketing campaign, one designed to help retail sales associates offer adjustable-bed bases to their customers in a more powerful presentation.
That question invites a response from curious shoppers, and it helps RSAs educate them about the numerous benefits of elevated sleep. And conversations like those spark adjustable-bed base sales, the company says.
“Many customers aren’t even aware there is an adjustable bed under the mattress they’re shopping for so our marketing materials are essential to give the adjustable base the visibility it would otherwise lack and highlight some reasons as to why they are a need, not a want,” Schulte explains.
Symphony Sleep is the residential bedding brand of Innovative Sleep Technologies, the adjustable-bed base company launched by Schulte in 2022. Schulte, the CEO of Innovative Sleep Technologies, has been in the adjustable-bed base category for 30 years, and he saw an opening in the market for a new player, one based on a holistic product offering and backed by a portfolio of educational marketing programs.
“Symphony is different because we offer accessories, adaptable to all of our bases,” Schulte says. “Our competitors have ‘niche’ products that serve a single purpose and stand alone from their core lineup. We don’t have such a thing. All of our bases are built to have all of our accessories attach to them so there is no need for a special floor slot to show a one-off type of product.”
The accessories encompass a range of products, including a Personal Safety Storage System with biometric fingerprint technology, an Elevation Kit that tilts the entire bed, a High-Low Lift Kit for consumers who need in-home solutions for assisted living, Safety Bars that add another level of assistance and safety for consumers who require that help, Sleep Sense, a sleep tracker and mobile app, and an Underbed Skirt, which gives the base a finished foundation look.
Retails on those accessories range from $199 to $899.
While Schulte says that consumer awareness of the adjustable-bed base category is still growing, he also notes that many consumers are unaware of the range of benefits offered by adjustable-bed bases, a list that includes improved circulation, reduced pressure points, improved breathing, reduced pain, greater comfort and improved quality of sleep.
That insight has led Symphony Sleep to build out an extensive line of educational materials, including videos that the company’s dealers can show to consumers shopping in their stores. Those videos can engage the consumer and begin the sales process, even if a sales associate is not nearby at that moment.
The videos provide the additional benefit of helping to reinforce key product features and benefits for retail sales associates, the company says.
“We are continually looking for ways to solve retailers’ problems and eliminate obstacles to the sale,” Schulte says. “This is how we add more value to our partnerships with retailers.”
He says the marketing materials provide benefits to retailers and consumers alike.
“We bring our story directly into the retailer’s store, and it is designed to educate not only the end user but every RSA as well,” Schulte says. “We offer in-store displays that include sleep angle water bottles, stand-up displays, posters, mattress retainer bar covers, and floor stickers with QR codes that link to sales presentation videos as well as table tents.”
Symphony Sleep also aims to help its retailers by offering a logical merchandising program. Its adjustable-bed bases retail in queen from $499 to $2,199.
“Customers want a simple, engaging sales presentation,” Schulte says. “RSAs likewise need a standard product line and an assortment of options to present to the customer to close every deal. Our five-base lineup gives retailers a complete step-up story at every price point. Our accessories give the RSAs the ability to address every sleep issue and build onto their tickets to maximize every sale.”
