For the retail organizations of old, new customer acquisition was atop the list of priorities when considering which strategies would benefit their bottom lines the most. While acquiring new customers is certainly important, many retail organizations today are more focused on keeping their most loyal customers happy and allowing new customer acquisition to take a back seat. Is this the best way to conduct their marketing efforts though? This post will serve as a breakdown between the many strategies some of the biggest retail organizations are utilizing to ensure both existing and new customers are receiving the best retail experience possible.
Prior to breaking these strategies down, it’s important to identify exactly why these organizations need to be making constant changes to their tactics. When considering how these retail organizations profit, they’re looking for strategies that can ensure their dynamic revenue growth will be increasing over time. The challenge for businesses has become how to balance satisfying both their existing customers and differentiate themselves enough to attract new customers. The infographic coupled alongside this post is meant to help achieve that balance. Businesses will have to start by finding the most effective way to integrate both their online and in-store selling strategies to provide the most optimal shopping experience for their customers. Proper integration allows organizations the ability to use selling tactics such as cross-selling and upselling to improve revenue growth.
This is what’s known as an omnichannel marketing approach, which can be difficult to perfect. However, as a result of recent lockdown restrictions, it’s imperative to be able to pull off for the sake of any retailers’ customers. While some long-standing brick-and-mortar stores may be hesitant in adapting this strategy, it is in the best interest of both customer and organization. The ways in which both parties benefit is astounding.
For example, let’s take an average visit from a customer in a brick-and-mortar retail location. Most customers spend about 15 minutes to an hour in store while searching for their products and then purchasing their products. However, with an established digital marketing presence, your brand is able to be continuously interacted with even outside of any retail location. Social media pages, text alerts, e-mail offers, etc., are all ways in which customers can digitally interact with your business. A unique enough offer is the perfect catalyst for bringing customers into the store.
Now let’s consider how the online experience is impacted through these strategies. Most often, the level of personalization that customers receive is much higher online. This strategy only further fortifies that personalization. Through personalized e-mail and text communication, more and more customers will become aware of a retailer’s products or services. Whether that communication be focused on product promotions, upcoming sale information or even specific product recommendations, it’s hard to achieve this level of personalization in store. That’s not to say digital techniques shouldn’t be integrated to retail locations though. On the contrary, some digital techniques in store are quite effective. For example, touch screen monitors or tablets are great for displaying critical information regarding products in store while also allowing customers to interact with these tools and get a more hands-on look at everything a product has to offer.
Alternatively, these customers could find their way to a businesses’ online web store. With a sophisticated enough system, the level of personalization that can be offered online exceeds anything possible in store. Product recommendations can be suggested based on previous purchases and wish lists all while providing customers a simple shopping experience at their fingertips.
The foundation provided within this post regarding the many mixtures of strategies for both online and in-store retailing is a great starting point for any retailer hoping to shake up their current offerings. If your organizations was hoping to learn more about these different types of strategies and how they could fit in to your current strategies, be sure to consult the infographic coupled alongside this post for more information. Infographic courtesy of IDL Displays