Though it may seem very ‘cookie cutter’ developing a retail strategy as a business can be very difficult. More traditional methods would say that keeping the existing customer base happy is what will ensure the highest level of success for a business, while the new school would say that new customers become existing customers, so catering to them would be more effective. It’s hard to know which of these two ideologies is the best fit, as every retailer will be different. This post, however, will attempt to discern which of these methods is most effective, in addition to the ways that retailers can go about implementing them.
Every strategy devised a retailer is in the name of producing more consistent dynamic revenue growth. The way many successful retailers of the last decade have done this is connecting the online and in-store techniques used to garner business. In doing so, you’re giving customers the best of both worlds, both in retail locations and online through personalized offers. These techniques are typically referred to as cross-selling and up-selling.
Societal and technological changes have ushered in this digital age, meaning an omnichannel marketing strategy is imperative for the success of any retail businesses. Most existing brick-and-mortar stores may feel hesitant regarding this strategy, but the truth is, failure to adapt can mean failure to maintain any level of success in the industry.
With less and less customers finding any incentive to visit small business brick and-mortar retail locations, it can be hard for the businesses unwilling to adapt. Had they created a fleshed out online presence, their products could reach more eyes and wouldn’t limit customers in the way they could shop those products. Webstores are only the beginning, as social media pages, e-mail and text communication can provide plenty of alerts for customers. These opportunities present customers with new products or sales of current products and can lead to a competitive advantage.
As previously mentioned, customers are finding their time in-store to be much less interesting than what they imagined, which has raised the alarm for retailers. This lays credence to the idea that utilizing more advanced digital techniques while in-store can improve the customer experience drastically. This extends to the digital signage found in stores all the way down to the tablets that customers can browse products on. It also includes digital techniques, such as buy online, pick-up in store sales tactics to keep customers returning to physical retail locations. Omnichannel marketing makes this possible.
Do you believe it’s time for your retail organization to make a change in the way it approaches its omnichannel marketing efforts? To learn more about the different types of strategies contributing to these approaches for businesses, be sure to take a minute to check out the infographic included alongside this post. Courtesy of IDL Displays
