Page 28 - NECO News

Martin Appliance first store, built in 1979, had a handful of employees in the early ‘80s.
Martin Appliance consistently provides a high level of customer ser- vice because the company is able to retain talented employees for years.
“It’s a place where people come to work and stay because one of the questions Dennis (Martin) often asks is, ‘How are the employees going to react to this?’ rather than “How much is this going to cost us?” Mat- thew said, adding that the management philosophy at Martin Appliance is, “Let’s try to make money while we are pleasing our customers.”
“That seems to be a recipe for success,” he said. “People want to work and do business here.”
Covering a three county area in Southeast Pennsylvania, Martin Ap- pliance is an authorized dealer of brands like Amana, Bosch, Dacor, Elec- trolux, Frigidaire, and more. The market varies among the six stores, but in general the territory covered by Martin Appliance is quite rural, which often comes as a surprise to visiting manufacturers’ reps.
“There is not a big city close by,” Matthew said. “We’re not near Phila- delphia or Pittsburgh. We’re near smaller cities and these are not cities where we’re doing business in high-rise buildings. These are rural and suburban communities.”
There is competition, however. The newest Martin Appliance location is less than a mile from several big box stores that sell appliances.
“In some ways that is an asset rather than a drawback because it drives excitement in the appliance arena,” Matthew said. “Were not afraid of it.” Jake agreed saying, “The biggest challenge today is getting the mes-
sage out to people that we can be as competitive as the big box stores on price and that we provide better service and installations.”
Getting that message out is part of Matthew’s job, and he said the tools available through NECO membership help tremendously in Martin Ap- pliance’s marketing efforts.
28 NECO News
DECEMBER 2016