By Kaylyn Bredon, Sr Mgr, Interactive Creative/UX
In
Part 1 of this
series, we focused on how the marketing realm has evolved and the importance of
creating a seamless customer experience. Continuing this discussion, we’ll now
focus on how consumers expect retailers to provide more contextually relevant,
personalized information that is carefully tuned to a frequency that suits each
individual's liking.
Amazing
opportunities present themselves when retailers thoroughly align consumer data
with an approach that has context, personalization and a manageable frequency.
In doing so, they can provide customers with solutions that make everyday tasks
easier while making the shopping experience more enjoyable.
Multiple
tactics and some example technologies are listed below serving as areas of opportunity.
In no way is it a one-size-fits-all prescription — retailers should identify
consumer needs and implement accordingly.
Central Inventory Management
Having
a centralized inventory management system allows sales associates to quickly
track items and provide alternative ways of getting product to customers.
Additionally,
by leveraging inventory insight within a retailer’s website or app, shoppers
can check product availability themselves before making the drive to a store. It
all adds up to an elimination or reduction of consumer frustrations that occurs
when a particular product is out of stock.
Virtually Extended Floor Space
Many
retailers have started to use digital displays, such as in-store kiosks, QR
codes and augmented reality to unveil additional products that aren't being
shown on the display floor. Whether the products can simply be found in the
back of the store or are available solely online, this tactic provides greater access
to products and allows retailers to use the physical shelf-space more
effectively by stocking high-margin products.
Universal Cart/Checkout
It
is becoming more apparent that traditional “point-of-sale” systems are
restricting the experience today’s consumers want. In response, many retailers
are taking a more agile approach to both the cart and the checkout process.
Universal Pricing & Promotions
Consumers
are more educated on prices, promotions and product reviews than ever before.
Special apps dedicated to finding the lowest price on a given product have made
it extremely easy for shoppers to get up-to-date information on where they can find
the best deal. Interestingly enough, such apps do not typically compare
in-store to online from a single retailer.
Responsive Design
Many
retailers have placed the majority of their online focus on the desktop
experience, as this used to be most popular. Upon the introduction of mobile,
accessibility to the web greatly increased along (as did corresponding
analytics). The overwhelming number of mobile visits was proof this channel
could no longer be ignored.
In
response, retailers created mobile sites to accommodate the growing demand for
a better user experience on smaller screens. But in doing so, the management of
two disparate sites proved difficult and created complex user flows. Users encountered
dead-end and broken links, thereby causing most cross-channel marketing efforts
to feel extremely clunky.
With
a responsively designed site, both the content and correlating data is centralized
— meaning the user encounters nearly the same overall experience on any device.
The presentation of that information may vary, but only to provide the optimal
viewing experience.
Context/Relevancy
It’s
important to know what your customers are looking for and to make sure the
content you are presenting is contextually relevant.
Product Reviews/Research
Brick-and-mortar
shoppers are no longer focused solely on in-store shopping — mobile has given
them more power than ever to multi-task, and they’re taking advantage.
How?
Customers are not only comparing in-store and ecommerce prices for the retailer
they’re visiting as well as competitors, but they’re also scouring the web for customer
reviews, a heavily relied upon resource, to facilitate their purchasing
decisions.
When
it comes to product reviews and social engagement, oftentimes marketers try to
hide and filter unflattering information. However, letting customers see other
buyers’ opinions has been shown to increase retailer credibility.
Offers/Recommended products
All
retailers know that consumers are highly driven by getting a “deal” and love to
receive discounts and coupons. However, this doesn't mean it needs to be a mass
offer to your entire customer base.
To
be most effective and increase conversion, consider basing offers on collective
insights while targeting specific segments that have the highest purchasing
intent. Start by investigating past purchasing patterns and online browsing
behavior. Answer the questions, “What do they typically purchase?”, “What do
they intend to purchase in the future?” and “What other products could also
appeal to these needs/this mindset?”
Cross-sell, don’t just up-sell
Purchasing
history gives insight into where brand loyalties lie; however, the retailer
loses when it always offers discounts on items that consumers would be willing
to buy without a discount. Instead, consider providing an offer on a product
that complements the consumer’s typical purchase.
For
example, if a user always buys Ritz Crackers, don’t discount the crackers,
cross-sell cheese. When this tactic was discussed at SXSW, findings revealed
that some retailers who incorporate this tactic typically experience an 18
percent conversion increase. At the same time, consumers still see it as a win
because it saves them money.
In-Store Wireless Networks
When
customers are in a store and can’t get service due to bad cell reception and no
Wi-Fi, they feel stripped of their decision making powers. The result could be
a canceled purchase in favor of deferring the purchase decision until a time
when they can complete their research.
In-Store Navigation
Allow users to find
what they are searching for quickly by giving them access to information on where
products are located within your brick and mortar location. As users continue
to look for ways to ease their shopping experiences, this tactic, executed
through Wi-Fi and indoor mapping, gives them a clear physical path to the
products they seek. For more detailed information and some current technologies,
check out Google Maps Indoor and Bytelight.
Geo-fencing
With geo-fencing you
are able to set a “zone” or given radius around a point or location, be it a
whole store or something more specific, like an aisle. When customers walk into
the zone, they will receive a push notification or alert letting them know that
an offer is available. This allows retailers to initiate marketing
opportunities in real-time, when products are available and top of mind.
In the past, some
friction existed as the user had to have the app running to receive any
notifications, ultimately draining battery life. However, current geo-fencing
technologies allow entering a zone to trigger the app to “wake-up,” which then
pushes the notification. For more information, check out the mobile software
company Meridian.
Email Segmentation
Relevancy is key when
sending marketing messages, especially email, and segmentation is absolutely
necessary. Segments should be created as common user actions and affinities are
identified. Segments will need to evolve as users placed in certain segments
one week, could very well funnel into a different segment the following week.
Frequency
Consumers have a
certain tolerance for just how many emails/texts/etc. can be received in a
given amount of time before they feel overwhelmed. This is typically referred
to as email fatigue and most users will opt-out at this time.
Retailers can succeed
by allowing shoppers to indicate both how often they feel comfortable
interacting with a given brand and what types of information and offers appeal
to them most. This type of preference modification can be done at the time of
sign-up, and should always be available through some type of user dashboard.
Depending on the
desired call-to-action, a balance in frequency can also be achieved by
utilizing the most optimal channel for different scenarios. For example,
sometimes a push notification seems more contextually relevant and more
personalized than an email. Other channels to explore outside of email and push
notifications include text messages, social media and in-line messaging.
Finally, business
rules should be defined and refined as more alerts/messages are deployed. This
includes a layering and prioritizing of each type of outreach to ensure the
most important message is delivered. If a user has indicated that they only
want to receive one email a week, a retailer needs to determine whether a special
offer or weekly advertisement makes the most sense. Keep in mind that highly
personalized offers usually take priority, as they tend to result in greater conversion
rates.
Personalization
“All things to all
people” no longer holds true in today’s marketing landscape. At a “Death of
Demographics” SXSW session it was said that “30 percent of all ad budgets go to
people that have not purchased in the last three years.” So how does one
increase the ROI on their marketing efforts? Studies show that consumers who
are engaged on a more personal level view it as a more favorable interaction.
Summary
Many
retailers have traditionally been reluctant to share merchandising information,
like store layouts, pricing and even hours, due to competitive reasons. As
mobile usage becomes an ever-more popular sales channel, retailers cannot miss
out on the opportunity to provide real-time solutions that are convenient while
communicating that the brand cares about its shoppers and making their lives
easier.
Mobile
is an integral piece of the whole, but the goal is really to create fluid user
experiences that are enjoyable and effortless across all channels. By doing so,
retailers will see an increase in overall brand loyalty, a direct impact on the
bottom line and, ultimately, business success.
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