Although it’s important to choose a sofa that suits your living room, comfort and durability should also be at the forefront of your mind. A typical sofa should last for approximately ten years, and there are many factors that can affect its longevity. Here are some hints and tips to help you find a sofa which will stand the test of time:

Sofas – Hardwood Frames

Let’s start from the inside of the sofa. When choosing a new sofa, it’s vital you pick one with a strong, well-constructed frame. Even better, pick one that features handcrafted solid hardwood frames that are dowel glued and screwed rather than stapled. Leather and fabric sofas such as the Vermont large sofa and Jasmine small sofa from Oak Furniture Land each boast hardwood frames, which are glued and screwed together by skilled craftsmen in the UK. Unlike cheap fabric sofas with chipboard or softwood frames, these sofas are much more cost effective in the long run as they offer exceptional durability for years of reliable use.

Sofas – Seat Fillings and Cushions

Sofas are designed to offer you ultimate comfort and support and the type of filling used in the seat cushions is of the utmost importance. The best type of seat cushion you can find is one that’s been filled using either Duratech or Encore carded fibre. These are the only two filling types to have ever received the FIRA Gold Award for product excellence. The material moulds to the shape of your body – much in the same way that memory foam works – which ensures unbeatable comfort and support. Another key feature to look out for in your new sofa is generously deep seat cushions with fibre-filled backs for extra support.

Choosing sofas – Upholstery

In the sofa world, choice is everything. Leather and fabric sofas come in a wide range of finishes and the type of upholstery used can make a huge different to the comfort and durability of your new sofa. When shopping for a new leather sofa, ‘semi-aniline’ is a key word to look out for. Representing the highest quality, this type of leather sofa will age beautifully and allows the beauty of the hide to be enjoyed in its most natural form. Fabric sofas, on the other hand, can be deliciously soft and the covers are often removable for dry-cleaning purposes.

Contemporary Sofas and Traditional Sofas

Last but certainly not least, you should choose a sofa that complements your living space. If your home is ultra-modern, perhaps you might enjoy the understated sophistication of a full-grain, Italian leather sofa. For a classically-styled conservatory, you might opt for a loose cover fabric sofa with elegant valances. Finally, before you delve into the sofa world for your next purchase, make sure you check for free delivery services and interest free finance options!

As of November 2011, 91.4 million people in the United States owned smartphones, according to comScore which is estimated to have now exceeded 100 Million.

Since it’s launch, the average basket value on Furniture Village’s mobile website is reported to have surpassed that of its main website.

The retailer attributes the new peak in average basket value to the accessibility and usability of its mobile retailing website, which it launched after Christmas and developed with mobile specialists We Love Mobile.

The teams worked together to create a site with fewer ‘taps to purchase’ than many existing mobile retail sites. Now, over one in five online visitors to Furniture Village’s website come from a mobile device such as a smartphone or a tablet.

Commenting on the success of the launch, Charlie Harrison, head of eCommerce at Furniture Village said: “The mobile website has created a new shopping experience for our customers. It’s not an uncommon sight to see someone sat on the very sofa that they’re looking at on their phone.

“We wanted to make buying furniture as easy as possible for our customers. Our new mobile website delivers an exciting new touch-point and we’re looking forward to seeing what we can do with this in future”

The popularity of the television “talent shows” has also increased the significance of this. It is now the status quo for these shows to run during the build up to Christmas, and programmes such as the X-factor and Strictly Come Dancing can, at their peak, draw in audiences approaching 20million – which is almost a third of the population in the UK. The X-factor in particular is a key target for companies with a substantial marketing budget; screened on ITV, the viewer can expect to see more than half an hour of adverts during the course of an average show. The cost to place your advert in these slots is phenomenal – but so is the potential return on investment.

Yeo Valley are a good example of a company that executed their television advert to perfection. Rather than advertise at regular intervals throughout the year, they chose to invest the majority of their budget in one major campaign – which appears to have paid dividends. After the first showing of this years “boy band” campaign, Yeo Valley became the number one worldwide trending topic on the hugely popular social network site Twitter. The video was viewed on YouTube over 100,000 times within just a few hours, and the “single” of the song appeared in the iTunes top 40. Likewise, John Lewis invested heavily in their annual Christmas campaign which once again attracted a huge amount of attention and adoration. Just a few weeks before Christmas the company had reported a fall in profits, and yet just a few weeks later the company are reporting an increase in like-for-like sales of 6.2% compared on the previous year.

Of course, not all campaigns will have this level of impact and some won’t even have any impact at all. It’s not enough to just churn out a Television campaign – it needs to be done effectively. However, it creates a fascinating battle for buyers’ attention between the big players, and can prove to be the tool that will “make or break” what is the most important sales period of the year in business.

The tradition of the January sales stretch back for generations, as retailers look to cajole customers into parting with their newly acquired cash and gift vouchers with the offer of huge post-Christmas savings. Last year some shoppers were reported to have queued for up to 12 hours, notably in Selfridges on Oxford Street in London, to be the first ones through the doors on Boxing Day for the post-Christmas sales.

The sense of pride and prestige the consumer feels from purchasing an expensive item at sale price is a lot of what drives this trend – as well as the basic principle of having the opportunity to make any savings possible in the current harsh economic climate. In fact, not all of those surveyed that said they would be giving presents post-Christmas was simply because they were cash-strapped; a fifth of participants cited the principle of being able to get more for their money as the driving force for this decision.

Consumers who took part in the survey estimated that they would save more than £40 on average – with some claiming they could even make savings to the tune of £100. The idea of giving gifts after Christmas is certainly a new concept; in years gone by it was deemed essential for consumers to get their gifts in place and to their recipient’s pre-Christmas. For this reason, many retailers heavily position their pre-Christmas sales pitch on the principle of being able to guarantee delivery by Christmas, as this has always been a key proposition to consumers. It would appear, however, that the economic climate has driven many to a new dynamic out of necessity. Indeed, 40% of participants stated they simply could not afford to buy Christmas presents, suggesting the decision has been taken out of their hands.

Therefore now, more than ever, the post-Christmas sales could prove to be crucial to retailers in order to cash in on the sales they may have missed out on pre-Christmas.

Internet shopping has proved to be a much more accessible way to shop as it allows a customer to instantly compare prices across hundreds of stores within seconds, ensuring that they secure the best prices possible. For those of us with large families we know only too well how expensive Christmas can be, so any money saved is a huge bonus – which is why such a high percentage of consumers now do their Christmas shopping online. The downside of this is that 99% of all orders will have to be delivered to your doorstep; this then takes out of your hands the physical date that you will have the goods in your possession.

Subsequently there is a lot of trust placed upon the retailer by the consumer, so the pressure is on for them to deliver on their guarantee. Failure to do so will likely cause a huge amount of upset and negative feelings towards the company, as it will potentially ruin an individual’s Christmas. The introduction of the internet and online review sites allows customers to express their goodwill or displeasure towards a company and its services online instantly – which is then immediately accessible to millions of users worldwide. This has created even more of an emphasis on the modern day business to ensure they offer the highest levels of customer service, as one false move could cause their reputation to be jeopardised in a matter of minutes.

For those companies that fulfil their promises and ensure all goods are delivered before Christmas as guaranteed, the holiday season will prove to be a fruitful period – both financially, as well as enhancing their reputation as a reliable retailer that consumers can trust. This kind of reputation is absolutely priceless to a company, so the importance of this commitment cannot be underestimated.

Of course home improvement can carry very different meanings for different people. One person might be planning to completely revamp the downstairs layout of their home, and the next could simply want to install a new bathroom. Home improvement magazines such as Celebrity Home Angels aim to address a number of issues, so whatever you’re planning to do, there’s bound to be something relevant. Home improvement magazines often outline various projects that other people have undertaken, so you can gain an insight into how they managed to transform their home and importantly how much it set them back. As well as being crammed full with glossy pictures of beautiful properties, home improvement magazines often offer the latest in design news so that you can ensure your improvements are bang-up-to-date.

So, if you’re thinking of improving your living space, why not take a look at some of the many home improvement magazines on offer? Even if you’re simply redecorating, you can uncover some innovative and inspirational ideas that will ensure your house remains stylish for years and years to come.

This book is a first in many ways; the first book on Game Shooting to be published in Britain for over 20 years, a first in that it presents the various types of modern game bird shooting currently taking place in Britain and finally describing a typical formal ‘driven’ game shooting day in comprehensive but simple detail.

The theme throughout the chapters mirrors the programme followed by the many hundreds of pupils introduced and coached by John King in preparation for their game shooting.

Each chapter takes the pupil through a series of typical game shooting lessons with great emphasis on safety and correct etiquette in the shooting field. The techniques explained in the lessons are supported with great clarity by professionally produced diagrams.

The lessons chapters will be of equal worth to beginners and experienced shots alike. The experienced shots will particularly appreciate the tips about how to cope with challenges of driven Pheasant and Partridge shooting including mastering the ‘high birds’.

Other chapters cover topics ranging from a typical formal driven day as a participating gun, shooting safety and the final chapter treats the reader to a variety of mouth watering, game bird recipes provided by John’s local game cooking expert.

The author John King said: “When writing the book, as with my other shooting titles, I’ve ensured jargon and common terminology are introduced and explained in a friendly relaxed style – in the same manner I would when coaching face-to-face.

“British Game Shooting is such an exciting sport and I feel privileged to have coached so many involved. From those tens of thousands of lessons, I have learnt so much, which has in turn enabled me to write this book. I hope it will be a valid addition to all the libraries of field sports followers.”

The book is available for purchase at www.johnkingcoaching.com. Recommended retail price £34.99

About the author:

John’s first Clay Pigeon shooting book published 1991 became a classic and sold consistently in the UK and USA until he published his “ Clay Shooting For Beginners And Enthusiasts ”book and launched his “ Clay Shooting From Scratch” DVD 2009: Both now No. 1 sellers and being sold in 12 countries.

Word-of-mouth is surely the most trusted source of information when a consumer makes their decision about the company that is right for them as it is information that has usually come directly from someone they know and trust who has had first-hand experience with the company. The main factor that will put off a potential new customer from spending their hard earned money with an untried company is the fear that they will provide a poor service and will let them down. Some consumers may be willing to take the gamble but most will choose not to without some form of assurances and in today’s age this will often come in the form of a review website. They may not know the person providing the review but they can rest assured that for the most part they will be impartial and a company with a strong level of positive customer feedback can convince the modern day shopper to put his faith in the company.

The importance of good customer service has been highlighted by the success of programs such as Watchdog, which are entirely based around the quality of customer service. Coupled with this we have witnessed an explosion in online based customer review sites over the past 12 months sprouting sites such as TrustPilot, whose sole business model involves collating customer service reviews from companies across a wide range of verticals – from Furniture Reviews to Money Reviews to Public Service Reviews. Moving away from the traditional product review model, one only has to look at the influence a sites such as TrustPilot and Money Saving Expert have to see the impact customer service review sites are having in the purchase cycle of consumers.

Overall, customer service is one of the most significant ingredients of the marketing mix for products and services. Great customer care is fundamental to building customer loyalty. No customers means no sales, and ultimately no business. Good service it seems has surpassed good product, or at the very least is as equally important to consumers.

Produced by Wordley Production Partners, the advert aims to raise brand awareness and reinforce the company’s core selling point: ‘No veneers, no chipboard – just solid hardwood’. It depicts a couple exploring an Oak Furniture Land showroom for the first time. With a sense of mischief, the husband is keen to inspect the quality of the furniture; even going as far as lifting a dining table to feel its weight. Clearly impressed with the furniture, the ad concludes with the couple jumping onto one of the beds and a pan shot of the Oak Furniture Land Thurrock showroom.

The ad also highlights Oak Furniture Land’s free delivery service and interest free finance options (up to three years interest-free credit or buy now, pay later on all purchases over £600). It showcases just a few of the many products available, including a distinctive Rustic Solid Oak Sideboard (£359) and Solid Oak Extending Dining Table with six Leather Scroll Back Chairs (£699). Tabitha Penny, Head of Marketing for Oak Furniture Land, comments:-

“We’re very excited about Oak Furniture Land’s debut TV advert. Following the tremendous success of our new showrooms, we decided that now would be a good time to support our growth with a TV campaign. The objective of the commercial is to raise awareness of our brand and drive viewers to our website at Oakfurnitureland.co.uk. We aim to show off the quality of our products and their fantastic, highly competitive prices.

All our furniture is handcrafted by skilled craftsmen using traditional dovetail joints – we don’t use chipboard, MDF or veneers in any of our products. Oak Furniture Land is currently experiencing double-digit like-for-like sales growth and we intend to maintain this pace until our brand is firmly established as a household name.”
For more information on Oak Furniture Land and its debut TV advertising campaign, visit www.oakfurnitureland.co.uk/category/tv-advertising/
About Oak Furniture Land:

Recognised for quality, value and choice, Oak Furniture Land is the largest retailer in the UK to make hardwood furniture directly. Everything is designed and crafted in-house and delivered, free of charge, direct to the customer’s room of choice.

This approach allows the company to cut out the middle man; and reflect these savings in their highly competitive prices. Oak Furniture Land was recognised as one of the UK’s fastest growing private companies by the Fast Track 100 in association with The Sunday Times. Published on the 5th December 2010, the Sunday Times Fast Track 100 ranked the company number 34 in the league table.