RETAILING IS A LOT LIKE DATING.
How to win your way to a consumer s heart. I LOVE IT!!!
How to win your way to a consumer s heart. I M I LOVE BUYING IT!!! IT!!! And then their wallet.
Let s face it. Retail is not what it used to be.
The convergence of a new consumer paradigm and an overcrowded marketplace has finally brought the (retail) industry to the brink of fundamental change. Robin Lewis CEO, The Robin Report
Let s take a closer look at what s happening. And how we can leverage it.
OLD MODEL NEW MODEL RETAILERS/BRANDS HAD THE POWER ONE SHOPPING PLATFORM I NEED STUFF FOCUS ON ACTUAL CURRENCY STORE = PLACE CONSUMER HAS THE POWER MULTIPLE SHOPPING PLATFORMS I WANT AN EXPERIENCE FOCUS ON SOCIAL CURRENCY STORE = INTEGRATED BRAND EXPERIENCE
Welcome to a new era of marketing and service in which your brand is defined by those who experience it Brian Solis Digital Futurist The Altimeter Group
What are the key insights? 1 Engaging experiences help build relationships. 2 Relationships lead to more and better transactions.
A couple of facts and figures: Create a negative experience 89% Percentage of customers who tend to switch to a competitor s brand SOURCE: 2011 RightNow Customer Experience Impact Report.
Average cost of losing a customer: $300 SOURCE: KissMetrics The Price of Bad Customer Service
Let s put this in perspective: $300,000,000 JC Penney lost 1,000,000 customers in 3 months. Which means they lost this much revenue in that period. SOURCE: Forrester / The Business Impact Of Customer Experience, 2012
In today s world consumers expect more from retailers and brands. They want to feel: Understood and engaged. Entertained and amused. Surprised and delighted. Flattered and appreciated.
They want to be courted. I told you, it s a lot like dating!
Consumers want engaging and rewarding experiences. By embracing this want we have an opportunity to build stronger and more meaningful relationships.
Consumers today seek reciprocal relationships with partners who get them who are into the same things, who speak their language, who want similar outcomes in life and who are willing to be invested in the relationship. Retailers and brands should seek meaningful encounters, rather than just incenting cold, one-time transactions. Dee Warmath UoW Center for Retailing Excellence And fierce Hockey Player.
Get it? Meaningful encounters Not just cold one time transactions
Let us tell you about STORY.
STORY is 2000 square foot retail concept in NYC that takes the point of view of a magazine, changes like a gallery and sells things like a store. Every four to eight weeks, STORY completely reinvents itself and features a new theme, trend, or issue through merchandise selection and retail design.
The idea was to create a retail concept that could serve as a matchmaker between brands and consumers, integrating strategies of marketing, merchandising, and business development. Sounds like dating again.
STORY introduces innovative ideas about creating engaging experiences from pasta making classes to talks from TED luminaries, inspiring brand partnerships with start-ups and Fortune 500 companies like HP and Pepsi and consistent creative collaboration.
Don t think of sales per square foot but experience per square foot Rachel Schechtman Founder STORY / Retail Store
RESULTS: On average, most new retail concepts take about three years to turn a profit. STORY was profitable in year 1 and it has become a media-darling, attracting new customers, much bigger or much cooler brands, and is continuing to evolve and grow.
More facts and figures: Percentage of consumers who will pay more for a better 4X experience 86% Consumers who are emotionally connected with a retailer are more likely to shop with them SOURCE 1: Harbor Industries: Industry Trends and Insights SOURCE 2: Forbes Magazine / Customer experience: Is it the chicken or egg?
Anthropologie sure knows how to romance.
We spend the money that other companies spend on marketing to create a store experience that exceeds people's expectations. We don't spend money on messages we invest in execution. Glen Senk President of Anthropologie
Umpqua reimagined the banking experience. Then did it again.
Banks are boring. Technology has been depersonalizing the banking process. The banking industry is mostly focused on efficiency and transaction. So, Umpqua Bank decided to completely change the experience.
They started with a brand perspective. BRAND DNA Community Prosperity AUDIENCE Localists TRENDS Slow Movement -- Localism
Umpqua built an environment where their customers like to be. Umpqua delivered a banking experience that provided a sense of community inviting customers to linger, sip coffee and shop for services.
Umpqua 2.0 Later, Umpqua applied social networking ideas to a physical community bank and altered the community experience. - A community table allows groups to meet - An interactive mosaic showcases community events/activities; - Offerings were made more accessible to reflect the increasing desire for transparency; - And, in its dedication to small business, conference rooms were offered as a service.
Umpqua 3.0 Recently, Umpqua rolled out yet another iteration of its bank experience to include a Discovery Wall - An interactive touchscreen showcasing financial tools and info. - Return on Responsibility, featuring real-time information about how Umpqua supports the community (hours volunteered by bank associates, youth financial literacy initiatives, charitable contributions made by Umpqua, etc.) - LocalSpotlight - featuring local merchants and their products. - There s even a hotline phone so customers call the bank s president directly.
RESULTS: A better experience helped Umpqua grow from $120M to $8B and has meant substantially more deposits, more loan purchases, better recruits and a community of happier customers.
More facts and figures: Loyal customers spend more than new customers. 33% 50% SOURCE: Forrester / The Business Impact Of Customer Experience, 2012 Retailers that invested in relationships saw their sales increase by this much. (Without increasing their marketing budget)
The customer journey has changed.
Consumers expect better experiences. They want to be courted not to be sold. Sounds like dating again! Instead of thinking about the path to purchase think about the journey to a relationship.
The path to purchase has changed. A The old path B
The journey to relationship. A The old path B The new path
Introduce yourself. Get to know her. Surprise her. Understand her. Inspire her to share. A Thank her. B Invite her in. Learn what she likes. Entertain her. Help her discover something new. Anticipate her needs. Keep in touch.
The path to purchase.
The journey to relationships.
Relationships lead to transactions. To go after the single sale and skimp on the relationship is to miss out on an entire community of customers and future transactions.
We are evolving into a KINSHIP ECONOMY in which the job of the brand is to facilitate and foster relationships and connections among consumers. Brands need to offer social currency that consumers can spend with other consumers. J. Walker Smith The Futures Company
Create experiences that add value. In this kinship economy, along this new path, communications should focus on courting the customer, not selling to her. Brands need to add value, not solely sell. And to add value they must create meaningful, relevant, interesting experiences.
And here s why it matters:
Introduce yourself. Get to know her. Surprise her. Understand her. Inspire her to share. A Thank her. B Invite her in. Learn what she likes. Entertain her. Help her discover something new. Anticipate her needs. Keep in touch.
SOCIAL CURRENCY: Positive conversations Positive reputation Social network B ACTUAL CURRENCY: More customers More transactions More margin
It may sound crazy. It is bold to tell retailers and brands to make the purchase secondary and invest in relationships first. But it also makes good business sense. Because those relationships will build social currency. And that social currency will pay off in actual currency now, and down the road.
More facts and figures: 74% 55% 74% 50% Percentage of brand marketers saw an increase in website traffic after investing just 6 hours per week on social media. Percentage of shoppers who share their purchases on social networks. Percentage of consumers that rely on social networks to guide their purchasing decisions. Percentage of revenue that brands are expected to generate through social media by 2015. SOURCE: Dr4Ward / What Is Social Currency And How Does It Effect Social Commerce? Infographic
Conclusion: 1 Engaging experiences help build relationships. 2 Relationships lead to more and better transactions.
Want to do better at retail? Here are a few dating tips.
1 You can t start a relationship if you re a wallflower. Get noticed. Go from bland to brand. Stand out from the rest. 2 Stay true to your brand personality. If it feels forced to you, Be honest. odds are it feels forced to your customer too. Get to 3 know her. Sophisticated digital tools mean you don t have to assume what she wants. Use them the right way to ensure you understand her needs and wants. Give her 4 something special. Give her something she can t get somewhere else. Resist the temptation to follow the crowd. What s right for one brand, may not be right for you. Find what makes you unique and use it. 5 Keep her engaged with something unexpected something that Surprise her. invites her back again and again.
6 Thoughtful notes, updates and conversations let her know you re Stay connected. thinking of her, even when she isn t buying something. 7 Don t over Yes, technology is great. But just because you can, doesn t mean do it. you should. 8 Be nice to her The opinion of her community goes a long way and can make friends. or break your success in the end. Remember: It s not all 9 In this new era of retailing, the consumer has the power. about you. And it s all about her.
Good luck.
Thank you.
We re a brand experience agency. From the very beginning, we set out with a clear purpose help our clients create value for their businesses through smart and effective branding programs. Over time it became evident that the biggest opportunity for this to happen rested in our ability to transform the way brands engage with their audiences. So, we decided to focus on creating unique, relevant and interesting experiences across the touchpoints that really matter. Thankfully, we had the chance to be exposed to the way that things are done in Silicon Valley which taught us to embrace innovativon and inspired us to develop new methodologies and new tools. We're now considered the No. 1 agency in Silicon Valley. We love what we do. And like to work with clients that challenge us to create amazing experiences.
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