Black Friday Launch Pad for Brand Social Media

There is mounting evidence in the use of social media, such as Facebook and Twitter, as an advertising medium. A prime example is the way that brand marketers are targeting Black Friday by sending out messages featuring special deals for their followers. Why? A recent blog post on Simple Thoughts quotes Deloitte Research as saying that, “One in five shoppers plans to use the sites in their holiday shopping this season.”
 
It has been widely reported that retailers and manufacturers have been effectively using sweet deals to attract consumers to follow their company presence on various social media outlets. The hope is that shoppers will continue to follow and build brand loyalty. Black Friday, the biggest shopping day of the year, presents itself as a great jumping off point to disseminate information and gain followers. Hundreds of special offers are being leaked to vigilant consumers.
 
Brand marketers get additional penetration from special deal sites such as dealnews.com who also track and list Black Friday offers. Many e-commerce deals extend to the Monday after Thanksgiving, now known as Cyber Monday, because of consumers’ propensity to shop from their computers that day.

Is The Customer Always Right?

In an article that appeared in Progressive Grocer, columnist David Diamond vents about an unbelievable series of events that happened to him on a recent trip to the drug store. He is quick to point out that the actions he describes don’t necessarily define a corporate culture, but uses the isolated incident to make a point.

In short, Diamond spent 30 minutes running an errand that he had done many times before. But this time he left without the goods and was called a liar and a thief. The fact that this was not a good customer experience or good customer service is obvious. Instead, it serves as a cautionary tale.

The lookout, according to Diamond, is creating a corporate culture in which the rules are more important than the customer. Is the customer always right? They are, in fact, many times wrong. However, a corporate culture that puts policies, rules and computers ahead of people starts to operate under the assumption that the customer is always wrong.

Diamond says, “Successful retailers operate under a variety of different models, but all of them — regardless of how large they grow — demonstrate a fundamental respect for, and trust in, their customers.”

So there it is. The customer is not always right because they are always right. They are always right because right or wrong, they decide if you succeed or fail. Maintaining a trust and respect for your customer base when designing the consumer experience is a way to ensure that policy, computers and a small handful of misguided employees don’t get in the way.

Coupon promotions get a lift for brands and retailers

Brands using EZ-PIC’s point-of-sale promotions will seeing a new redemption process. Parent company, Unicous Marketing, Inc. is partnering with Inmar to handle the coupon redemption processes.

EZ-PIC technology has enabled brands to target consumer with coupon promotions at the point-of-sale based on shopping behavior. The technology has been a huge win for brands over the years. Unlike mass coupon distribution via mail, coupons are specifically designed from shoppers who are purchasing items within the brands market.

The new partnership will help streamline the redemption process since EZ-PIC is expecting millions of dollars in redemptions this year. Of course, with the recession, the increase in coupon promotions is expected as consumers look for bargains. Point-of-sale promotions may be one the best marketing tools for brands in 2009.

In MSNBC article, John Thompson, Executive Vice President for Unicous Marketing, Inc., stated “Teaming up with Inmar on Conexions, the digital promotions settlement platform, gives our application the credibility that’s expected for managing promotional dollars.

Retailers Get Mobile

Smartphone are quickly dominating the cellphone market. ZDNet reported iPhone users downloaded more than 60 million applications within the first month of the App Store’s opening. The availability of smartphone applications can be a retailer’s promotional dream.

Kroger’s recently jumped on the mobile bandwagon by allowing consumers to download coupons via their smartphones. The mobile coupon clipping was implemented nationwide involving national brands such as General Mills.

Customers with a Kroger Plus card can register for a mobile coupon account at www.cellfire.com. Once registered, consumers can search for coupons on the go or at leisure, with the chosen coupons loaded into their Kroger card. The coupons are redeemed at checkout.

The wave of mobile marketing is moving fast. Making both the smartphone market more attractive and allowing retailers to reach consumers on a different platform. The trend for retailers to use mobile apps will continue to grow. In the future, we may see customer feedback apps or a mobile suggestion forum. There are endless possibilities for companies to reach consumers using smartphone applications.

Customer Experience: Insight Required

Recent discussion by Bernic Hurst on RetailWire, focused on the premise that consumers may feel pressure from retailers researching buying behaviors. It’s interesting how Hurst insinuates the attempts by retailers to create a more comfortable and friendly atmosphere can be detrimental to customer experience.

At ICCDS we have found when retailers take time to understand their customer needs and shopping patterns, they are better positioned competitively. Quality retail research is necessary to achieve completive advantage. A retailer cannot operate on management assumptions and general ideas of what constitutes a great customer experience. You have to have insight. Read more…

Report Indicates Consumers are Looking for a Seamless Shopping Experience

A recent discussion on RetailWire discusses how crucial it is for retailers to integrate selling channels. If a customer wants to make a purchase online and pick up the item at the nearest store, then they should be able to do so. Wal-Mart does a great job with this. I believe most retailers know that they should be integrating their selling channels to keep up with the evolving shopper experience, but the problem lies in the technology investment and logistics of it all. Are most retailers ready to make the necessary monetary and time investments? Probably not. However, those retailers that already have integrated selling channels are ten steps ahead of competition.

What do you think? 

Retailers Getting Ready For Back to School

Retailers know that they will be facing a difficult back to school season this fall. They are aggressively introducing new products, slashing prices, and amping up marketing. However, despite these efforts, analysts say it will make little difference to consumers pressured by rising costs.

What do you think?

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Retailers Are Doing Whatever It Takes

What are retailers doing to increase sales? One strategy is offering deeper discounts. Nordstorm has slashed prices, starting at 40%, vs. 33% last year. While Nordstorm is offering deep discounts, other retailers are going after a different customer segment altogether. Earlier this year, Old Navy began pitching their clothing at twentysomethings. Now, their ideal customer is the budget-conscious mom shopping for herself and her family. When retailers realize slashing prices and targeting different customers altogether is not enough, what else can they do? Perhaps teaming up is the answer. For instance, retailer Macy’s has teamed up with FAO Schwarz to bring toys back to its stores.

Do price cuts work?

Yes, price cuts work in the short-term, especially during hard economic times when consumers are ultra price conscious. However, one problem retailers might face is that consumers will get use to the lower price points. Even when the economy does improve, customers might not be willing to pay full-price for items.

As a long-term strategy, price cutting does not work. One problem retailers might face is that they start a price war with competitors. Once this happens, prices will keep on dropping and no one wins.

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Scorching Heat Improves Sales at Retail Stores

The intense heat across much of the U.S. sparked an increase in demand for items such as air conditioners, fans, cold drinks, and summer apparel. During the first week of June, sales for air conditioners increased 20%, bottled sales went up 4%, and 6% for swimwear over the same week in 2007.

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What Happens When Your Customer has 4 Legs?

PetSmart, the #1 US specialty retailer of pet food and supplies, is focusing on more specialty services this year such as “doggy day camp” as well as overnight boarding which includes dessert and a belly rub. These news services are an effort to further differentiate PetSmart from competitors during tough economic times.

A retailer such as PetSmart should be measuring how effective their new services are through a customized survey.

Customer Surveys

What are PetSmart’s customers really thinking? Now, it would be difficult to ask Sparky, the Golden Retriever, whether or not he enjoyed dessert and a belly rub during his overnight stay since he cannot talk. Perhaps five consecutive barks for a five star rating? Well, maybe it would be best to stick to asking his pet owner for feedback. It’s important for retailers such as PetSmart to know what services are most beneficial to pet owners and which are not. Although Sparky would love to have a belly rub, if his owner thinks otherwise, Sparky will not get a belly rub. It’s important for any retailer to know what the essential services are and what the “extras” are.