Herman Miller

Five market dynamics shaped the quarter. Holiday gifting drives the December peak, the highest-intent window available. Cost per click and cost per mille on design keywords in France were inflating 12 to 18 per cent year on year, which turned paid efficiency from a nice-to-have into the constraint on the whole plan. French competitors were leaning on design heritage and collaborations, so the differentiator had to be experiential rather than declarative.

On the consumer side, buyers prioritised longevity over trend, expected a sustainability position rather than treating it as a differentiator, and responded to design storytelling over promotional messaging on the same audience.

Three objectives, each with a mechanism behind it. Footfall through a geofenced radius around Boulevard Saint-Germain plus retargeting of past web visitors. Conversion through CRM-linked follow-up with point of sale and CRM synchronised, so offline and online purchase continuity could be tracked. Revenue efficiency by moving budget out of low-performing channels and into paid search.

December built the local SEO and maps fundamentals and the CRM automation flows. January ran one campaign line across search and paid social, timed with the French sale window and Maison&Objet, with daily audience monitoring and maps peak-hour data used to staff the floor. February introduced appointment visits, which raised the service level and, just as importantly, produced the behavioural data the next quarter's media plan could buy against.

Three recommendations, each framed as a capability rather than a campaign. Move CRM from static lead collection to behaviour-based segmentation on visit frequency, dwell time and product category. Reallocate underperforming social spend into Google Performance campaigns optimised for store visits through the Store Sales Direct link. Align showroom events to Maison&Objet in January and Paris Design Week in September, positioning the showroom as a design marker in the city rather than a national point of sale.