It’s not always easy for stores to stay afloat. If you are a retailer, it’s inevitable that you will experience a drop in sales at some point. And there’s no way of knowing if the slump you will inevitably find yourself in can, in fact, be fixed or you’ll be forced to shut down the shop. Over the years I’ve seen a lot of struggle in retail, just last year one of my favorite Italian leather shoe store closed its doors because hot water pipes had burst nearby and the path to their store was cut off from the buzzy street traffic for months. But, if your troubles aren’t connected to unforeseen accidents or natural disasters, we can definitely deal with the more understandable problems, like foot traffic decline or a seasonal sales dip. Scroll down for our short & sweet list of 5 tips to better your store’s marketing.
Tip 1: Master the art of customer engagement with digital signage
Developing a stronger relationship with your store’s customer is, honestly speaking, a breeze in our tech advanced age. With just a couple of Apple media players and our favorite Kitcast TV digital signage we were able to retain customers on a whole new level, significantly boost sales, train staff in a highly effective way, boost foot traffic and effectively control our inventory. If you don’t do anything else, introducing digital signage into your daily routine will be a sure way to guarantee you all of the benefits of a great marketing campaign. Programmatic DOOH along with incorporated mobile tech will allow you to precisely target your audience and get them through your doors and into the store. Same goes for your window display – digital screen or a video wall with eye-catching creative content will turn your store into a customer magnet.
Over the past few years retail has been completely transformed by digital signage. Smart shelves, wayfinding screens, information displays, digital mirrors, AR try-on displays, etc. are all getting your customer service to the point of excellent. Digital signage is perfect for gathering and data analysis, stock control and overall store monitoring. New cutting-edge digital signage tech can tell you exactly what sells in your store, how often you need to restock, inform you about emptied out shelves and even conduct quality control. For example, the newest DS tech can keep track of products and temperatures informing you of potentially spoiled food and ensuring the safety and quality of foods and beverages. DS POP displays will boost sales and increase brand awareness, and the amazing stats that we are seeing for the DS use in the education industry will allow you to effectively engage your staff, conduct quick and effective brand and product trainings and communicate safety protocols.
Unsurprisingly, there are tons of ways to better your stores marketing with DS all you have to do is choose the right hardware and software, and you’re good to go!
Tip 2: Work on your online presence
Newer overlook online marketing for your store: online ads, website, and all of your social media accounts are a crucial part of your retail marketing. Quality online presence means increased exposure, much bigger audience and, of course, sales boost. I think that is impossible for anyone in 2019 to think that they can run a successful retail marketing campaign without a strong online presence, though, often enough there are essential things that are overlooked minimizing the possibility of positive customer experience. You need to work on every key component on your website, your visuals, and content. Your online store has to run seamlessly, keep your website continuously available to the users, often test and check your site’s performance. Your social media accounts have to be a huge priority, simply having an account isn’t enough anymore. You should always keep your account information updated and accurate, your content has to be interesting, current and, fit in on the platform you are using. Make sure to use visually pleasing sharable content, use videos as much as possible and always, always pay attention to the format. Don’t try to keep a straight face while using unusable FB video on Instagram. It looks very unprofessional and will undoubtedly result in the loss of customers.
Tip 3: Incorporate the new tech
There are a good deal of examples of innovative tech drawing in crowds: customer love in-store tech and any marketing campaign betting on innovation is a sure winner. In the end of last year we’ve seen high-tech supermarkets popping up everywhere across the world. Eloquiis and Adidas presented their 3D-printed apparel, Walmart now has pick-up towers, there is Nike’s Speed Shop, Amazon Go’s automated checkout, Zara’s self-checkout, Target’s mobile wallet, ASOS visual search, Audi’s VR showroom, Topshop’s VR waterslide, Walgreens, Home Depot and Walmart’s amazing AR projects and thousands more that are at the top of their marketing game with the new in-store cutting-edge technology. Study your competition, get inspired by the innovative ideas being implemented every day across America’s stores and start working on your high-tech marketing today.
Tip 4: Omnichannel is the way to go in 2019
Omnichannel in retail is all about the customer experience. It is very convenient for retail shoppers to use multiple channels across multiple devices. That is the new norm. Moreover, recently Google gave us more than enough stats to bring retail up to date: 85 percent of digital shoppers start the purchasing on one device yet finish it on another, order online and pick the order up in the brick-and-mortar store or vice versa. As an example physical showrooms, just like those of Bonobos’ in New York, are a real hit right now, they allow customers to come in, find the right fit and then shop online knowing their exact size. Consumers don’t divide your brand into channels, they are just shopping and want a seamless flow from one channel into another and your job is to make all of that happen.
Tip 5: Reviews, reviews, reviews
Always remember, that your online reviews are the first thing everyone searches for while thinking of making a purchase in your store. So, a huge part of your marketing efforts should be focused on getting great reviews. Use all the means available to you to understand your customers experience in your store. Use Google online surveys, send out e-mail questioners, talk to your customers in the store, or use your digital signage to effectively collect data and analyze your customer’s experience. By collecting all of the necessary information and diligently addressing all of your customer’s concerns your review sections will become an ode to the greatness there is your store in no time whatsoever.
