✔ Why Successful Retail Is Sticky Retail?

In a recent European shopper study we found 65% of shoppers in specialty high street stores in Italy left the store prematurely (summer 2012). In other words they engaged only once with either a product, some merchandising or marketing collateral and then left the store... does that surprise you? This statistic tells us that there is real opportunity for retail marketers to engage with shoppers more deeply.

Introducing a multi-platform experience is one way of improving that depth of the customer relationship. The more effort we spend changing how people interact with the environment the better. In the same study 75% of shoppers who made four or more interactions spent money. Positive proof that dwell times and stickiness drive are a consequence of buying behavior; the decision our clients face is what pieces of the retail-marketing puzzle go where.

Brand Perspectives
Brands own the retail relationship; they have the trust of the retail customer. Measures such as recognition, visibility, share of shelf, share of basket, dwell time, pick and take rate and sales densities help to define good and bad retailing.

Many brands are reliant on the retailer as an ambassador to raise awareness and sales. In highly competitive generalist retail environments brands that have two or more locations and more marketing collateral tend to score better for recognition and saliency. Brands with little or no support get lost very quickly. Smart brands use different channel touch point to get their message across.

Many brand owners use retail to change how people think about them. By approaching consumers out of context they can change they way we view them. Louis Vuitton in New York celebrated its collaboration with the Japanese artist Yajo Kusama, famous for red polka dots, will a life size mannequin of the artist to project their windows and capture the zeitgeist.

Retailer Perspectives
Retailers want to improve shopper numbers, frequency of visit and basket size. The different tactics used to drive performance influence placement, message and opportunity for brands. Future-facing retail is multi sensorial, respects the consumer and uses messaging to support brand storytelling by providing intimate moments at retail.

Size isn't everything - consider West Edmonton Mall reportedly the fifth largest shopping mall in the world (the largest in North America) and still with the largest waterpark in the world. It is relevant to future retail as long as it keeps offering what shoppers want in a memorable and competitive way. Contrast this retail giant with The Little Mule coffee house in Melbourne; a distinctive, individual, relevant proposition that shows real empathy in delivery. The shopper experience is enhanced every time by great staff getting it right.

The giants of retail experiences create solutions either through display or messaging. Category zoning is a useful device to pull and push shoppers through the retail space using dialogue effectively. Simple examples range from the hologram display at London Luton Airport that educates passengers about carry on luggage requirements to more impactful window displays like adidas in South Korea showcasing giant 3D holograms featuring exploded diagrams of the latest running shoes.

Nike's termini store in Rome, Italy, captures the spirit of Nike brand with a coherent on the go retail proposition. Its role is clearly to gain attention and interest; this often gets delivered through digital screens, interactive displays and three-dimensional collateral.

Shopper Perspectives
There are three drivers of shopper behavior: motivation, entertainment and ease. Individual shoppers are complicated, they are driven by sets of motivations, and are also looking to satisfy a need or fulfill a wish. They are influenced by promotion, by format and packaging and they are habitual and often  inconsistent in what they do. 

At retail we can compare similarities and identify patterns amongst groups of shoppers, and then predict future behaviors to maximize the opportunity the retail channel presents.

The shop is where people are engaged, interested and welcomed. The most efficient and effective retail experiences are about scripting, not just about proposition and product display. Demonstrations, evidence and experiences cut across all touch points, and shoppers are open to influence. Our studies prove that 60% of bar counter customers intent on buying the next round of drinks will up trade if an alternative is recommended by the bar staff, that's a whopping commercial opportunity resulting from observing retail behavior.

[ Reprinted from Contagious - Author Jonathan Webb is co-founder of shopper consultancy Retail in Action

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✔ How to select a Search Engine Optimization (SEO) partner?

For many businesses, hiring an agency to assist with Search Engine Optimization (SEO) represents the perfect balance between getting the necessary work done to ensure positive results with your company website and investing the time and energy needed to complete these tasks in-house.   However, although hiring an agency to carry out website optimization tasks might seem like a no-brainer, it’s important to be aware that not all SEO consultancies are created equally, so be sure to ask potential providers the following questions:

1 – How long have you been in the business of Search Engine Optimization (SEO)?

Certainly, everyone needs to start somewhere – and there’s a chance the new consultant you hire will be able to obtain the same results you could achieve with a renowned SEO firm.  However, when it’s your hard-earned money that’s on the line, keep in mind that a long track record of successes demonstrates credibility.

2 – How does your company stay up-to-date on industry changes?

It's the difference between Penguin and Panda.  Because things change so quickly in the SEO industry, it’s imperative that you hire an individual or firm that’s up-to-date on the latest algorithm adjustments.  To determine whether or not your chosen agency makes ongoing education a priority, look for things like whitepaper publication, guest articles contributed to industry websites and presentations.  Really, any credibility indicators that demonstrate that your chosen agency is respected for its knowledge and expertise will suffice to prove that its SEO professionals stay on top of the latest news and releases. 

3 – Do you engage in any grey- or black-hat practices?

If you’re making the investment into hiring an agency to improve your website’s optimization, why risk blowing your money on consultants who use the grey- or black-hat practices that could eventually get your site penalized in the search rankings?  To avoid throwing your money down the toilet in this way, carefully question agency candidates on their ethics and the specific methods they use to promote their clients’ sites.   

4 – How do you approach keyword research?

There are as many ways to approach keyword research as there are SEO consultants working today, so while there’s really no right or wrong answer to this question, it is important that the agency you select uses keyword research techniques that are in line with your company’s natural search placement goals.  Pay special attention to agencies that promise high Search Engine Results Page (SERP) rankings for extremely competitive keywords.  If it sounds too good to be true it typically is.  While the eventual payoff may be nice, you’ll see much better results with a keyword research plan that will allow your company to micro-target.

5 – How do you qualify traffic in your campaigns?

Simply getting more visitors to your website isn’t always a good goal for an SEO campaign.  What you really want are highly-qualified visitors that convert well according to your company’s conversion rate optimization plan, so be sure to ask potential SEO agency candidates how they plan to filter visitors and build the right type of traffic for your site.

6 – How will the success of your campaign be measured? 

Just as a simple increase in site visitors isn’t enough to justify campaign success, be sure to ask your chosen SEO agency how they determine whether their efforts are in fact working.  Be sure whatever metrics are used to measure success are ones that truly indicate success for your business.  As an example, simply increasing average time on site – a commonly reported SEO metric – doesn’t matter if these changes aren’t tied to corresponding conversion rate increases and ROI.

7 – What types of reporting will you provide?

In order to protect proprietary SEO tactics, web optimization agencies may limit the scope of their reports to eliminate detail that could be used by competitors to recreate successful campaigns.  However, that doesn’t mean that you should be left in the dark about how things are progressing with your project.  Ask specifically about how frequently you’ll receive reports and what level of detail will be included to stay on top of your campaigns.

8 – How available are you for client communication?

The wonders of digital communication mean that you aren’t limited to choosing from SEO agencies in your immediate geographic area.  But whether you decide to work with a remote provider or a consultant in your city, be very clear about the level of communication you can expect to receive as a client.  If anything goes wrong with your site, you’ll want to resolve these issues as quickly as possible – but to do that, you must have access to clear communication channels with your SEO agency.

9 – Do you have any long-term clients who are satisfied with your work?

SEO agencies are occasionally criticized for drawing out the length of their projects in order to increase their billable hours.  So for this reason, it’s important to gather feedback from past customers who have successfully completed long-term projects with your potential consultants.  If you hear from several companies that investing in a full-length project with your chosen SEO agency resulted in positive ROI, that’s a good indication that you’ve chosen who will put your website’s needs ahead of re-billing priorities.

10 – Do you limit the number of clients you take on at once?

If you’re thinking of working with a larger SEO agency that has a substantial in-house staff, ensuring that appropriate focus is given to your project may not be an issue.  On the other hand, if you decide to work with a small team or a solitary SEO consultant, ask if your chosen provider sets limits on the number of ongoing projects that can be taken on.  Because SEO campaigns require consistent effort to be successful, the last thing you want is for the provider you’ve contracted with to bump your project to the back-burner to handle a bigger customer’s request.

11 – Who will be doing the work on my campaign?

Depending on the SEO agency you retain to work on your business’s web optimization projects, you could have a highly-qualified SEO technician performing ongoing on-page and off-page SEO work – or, you could unknowingly have certain elements of your campaign shipped off overseas worker where quality controls may be much more lax.

Finally, given all the different variables involved in selecting the SEO agency that’s right for your company’s needs, consider starting with a short-term project to get a feel for the caliber of the organization’s work.  Starting with a three-month assignment should give the agency enough time to produce some meaningful improvement in your website’s results, as well as providing you with enough information about the agency’s work practices to decide if they’re the right fit for your SEO needs.

And lastly - if you’re a brand manager looking for a proven, experienced cutting-edge SEO agency – give us a shout.  We’re always happy to see whether we can help.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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NOTE:  FOR MORE ARTICLES AND POSTS FROM THE LAST WEEK PLEASE VISIT US ON TWITTER @GOODBUZZ.  IF YOU HAVE INFO, ARTICLES, CASE STUDIES, OR OTHER EXAMPLES OF (TTL) PARTICIPATORY MARKETING BLISS - PLEASE FEEL FREE TO EITHER POST VIA FACEBOOK OR SEND VIA E-MAIL AND WE’LL TAKE CARE OF IT FOR YOU. ;) PLEASE IDENTIFY IF YOU FIND A DEAD LINK (AS THEY WERE ALL LIVE AT THE TIME OF THIS POSTING)